Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“But he’s dying,” Kat finishes for me. “And this is your last chance to talk to him.”
“Yeah.” I groan and sit up straight. I look her in the eye and steel myself for what she’s going to say. “What should I do?”
She tilts her head, considering. “My relationship with my own family is a little, uh, rough, I think is a mild word for it.”
I grin at that. “I guess we have something in common.”
“Just trying to imagine if I were in your position… I think I’d want to go home. I think I’d want to see him one last time. Maybe he’ll be what you remember and you’ll feel justified in everything you’ve done, or maybe you’ll get some closure on all the bad stuff, or maybe you’ll just get to say bye. But I think I’d want to go.”
“Shit,” I say and lean my had back, looking up at the cloudless sky. “I knew you were going to say that.”
“Sorry,” she says. “Want me to pretend like you should stay away?”
“Yes, kind of.”
“Okay.” She clears her throat. “Hey, Melody, don’t go home to see your father on his deathbed, you’ll totally never regret that! Definitely something people never, ever regret!”
“Asshole.”
“You’re welcome.” She finishes her iced tea and taps the bottom of the glass with her fingernail. “Seriously Melody, I don’t know what happened between you and your family, so I can’t tell you what to do. All I know is this is your last chance.”
“Thanks for listening.” I stand up and step away from the table. “And sorry again for lying.”
“Want me to break the news to Tina? Think she’ll take it as well as me?”
I rub my face with both hands. “Can we just not? Do we have to?”
“No, we don’t,” she says and sounds thoughtful. “I won’t say anything unless you’re ready, okay?”
“Thanks, Kat. Really, for everything.”
“Sure. Just don’t run off on me again, ‘kay?”
I laugh and turn away, blinking rapidly. I don’t want her to see me cry as I walk back to the barn, but the tears are there and I can’t stop them.
This is my last chance. I know she’s right. And I hate that I have to make this choice, because I’ve worked hard to avoid thinking about my family.
I’m not that person anymore.
But the past is always there and I can’t change it, no matter how many lies I tell myself.
As I reach the fence, I pause and take my phone from my pocket. I compose a quick text and send it to War.
We’re going out tonight. Drinks on me.
Chapter 4
War
“Is that an actual mechanical bull?” I squint across the packed bar toward the giant brown and black monstrosity. There’s a bunch of padding set up around it for when whatever drunken idiot inevitably gets flung off in the most awkward and embarrassing manner possible. “You brought me to a bar with a mechanical bull?”
“Absolutely,” Melody says as she accepts the two shot glasses the bartender hands her. She’s in jeans and a denim shirt and looks like she just got off work, and it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen in my life. Her hair’s down and wavy, her eyes are shining and sharp, and she throws back her whiskey like she was born with a glass bottle at her lips. I do the same and enjoy the pleasant burn in my belly.
She orders two more.
“Got to say, I don’t normally do shots of cheap whiskey in bars with actual mechanical bulls. Are you getting drunk enough to ride it or what?”
“Absolutely not,” she says and grins at me as she shoves the next shot into my hands. “But you are.”
My eyebrows shoot up and before I can argue, she’s throwing her liquor back. I do the same and grunt with frustration. What the hell got into this girl tonight? She seems like a totally different person—carefree, intensely present, incredibly alive. Not the uptight, angry, anxiety-laden girl from the dive the other night, or the morose and quiet and shy girl from back in the day. This is a new Melody—an outgoing and bright and shiny Melody—and I can’t tell if I like it or if she freaks me out.
“There’s no way in hell I’m going to climb up on that thing,” I say, scowling at the leather and metal travesty as she takes my hand and tugs me through the crowd. My eyes move to her shoulders, her back, her ass, and, fuck, I’ll follow this girl wherever she wants to go—and I’m still not getting on the damn bull.
“How much do you know about my family?” she asks as we claim a high top. She has to stand close and talk loud over the techno-influenced country music blaring through the speakers. It’s a godawful nightmarish sound but the beat’s all right and if it means Melody gets closer, I don’t mind one bit.