Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
She scrunches up her nose. “Professional?”
I nod. “Yes, professional. No flirting with the guys. No fraternizing.”
She laughs. “Fraternizing?”
I start to explain what fraternizing means, but she shakes her head. “I know what fraternizing means. Is this a new rule you’re implementing today, or was it already in place?”
I shrug. “Does it matter? It’s a rule. If anyone bothers you, you come to me. Anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, you come to me. You need anything, you come to me.”
Her eyes are twinkling, and I know I’m screwed when her lips twist in a smirk. “So anything I need, I come to you?” She’s nodding her head. “I got it.”
“I’m going to get you started, and then I have an appointment. Can you stay out of trouble until I get back?”
She doesn’t even try to hold back. Her eyes about roll back in her head when she rolls her eyes at me. “Yeah, I think I can handle it.”
“All right, let’s go.” I’m walking down the path, and she’s huffing trying to catch up with me. I slow down so she can keep up, and when her breathing evens out, she asks, “Do you like it here, Kanan?”
I shrug but keep moving. “Yeah, Whiskey Run is nice. All the guys are here. I have a job when I thought no one would ever hire me, so yeah, I like it.”
“So you’re here to stay.”
I stop walking. “Yeah, I plan to. Why all the questions?”
She holds her hands up with a laugh. “Geez, I’m just making small talk, that’s all.”
I’m about to push up my sleeves and then stop before turning around to walk again.
“You know it’s too hot for long sleeves.”
I keep moving. She’s jogging again to keep up, and I force myself to slow down.
“You know why I wear long sleeves.”
“No, not really. You shouldn’t have to hide your scars, Kanan. Not from me… or anyone else for that matter.”
I keep my eyes in front of me. “You say that now. I bet if you had to look at them all the time, you’d have a different opinion. They’re ugly. You saw them last night in the dark. Trust me, in the harsh light of the day, they’re even worse.”
“At least you have a good reason for yours. You earned yours. No one, and I mean no one would make fun of your scars. If they did, they’re the assholes.”
I hear the pain in her voice. We’re almost to where we’re going, so I stop and look at her. “What do you mean?”
She shakes her head in confusion.
I repeat what she said. “You said, at least I have a good reason. What do you mean by that?”
She opens her mouth, closes it, and then starts again. “I mean, you were hurt serving our country. You risked your life, over and over, to save people… to save me… to save my dad.” She reaches for my arm and runs her finger up and down the sleeve. “No one will judge you for how this looks. If they do, come talk to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Shocked, all I can do is stare at her. She’s protective of me, just like I am of her. There are so many things I should tell her, but I can’t bring myself to do it, not yet. “I want you to be safe today. Please don’t get hurt while I’m at my meeting.”
She nods. “I’ll be fine, Kanan. I know that by looking at my life right now, it looks like I have no clue what I’m doing, but I can work.”
I nod my head, and then we walk the rest of the way to the shed. Ricardo and some of the other guys are in there, and I stop next to my right-hand man. “Ricardo, this is Emerson. Emerson, Ricardo.”
He smiles real big at her and puts his hand out for her to shake. I put myself between them. I might as well get this started on the right foot. “She’s off limits to everyone, and make sure they know it. If I’m not here, I expect you to look out for her—”
Emerson moves to my side and puts her hand on my arm. “Ignore him. I can take care of myself. What would you like me to start with, Ricardo?”
He looks between Emerson and me, and it’s obvious he doesn’t know what the right thing to do is. “She can work on the garden until I get back.”
Ricardo nods but doesn’t look at her. “Right, you can start on the garden.”
I give him the order to get her started, and then after telling them I’ll be back as soon as I can, I walk away.
But no matter how fast I walk, I can’t escape my thoughts. When I get to the therapist’s office, I stop in front of the assistant’s desk. “Hey. Does Dr. Kline have time to see me?”