Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“The fire approached much quicker than anticipated. Hours faster than they told us it would.” A groove sat between Julian’s dark brows. “She got caught in the shed while transporting equipment back and forth to the truck. There’s only one entrance and it was blocked by the flames.”
“But Julian got there in time. He ran in, covered my face, and hustled me out.” August didn’t realize how stiff he’d turned until Natalie shoved him a little and he almost pitched sideways like a toppling statue. “And it’s a good thing, too, because I’m alive tonight, in this bar, to kick your ass in axe throwing.”
Hallie whooped and held up a glass of wine. “I know that’s right.”
“Your turn, August,” Julian prompted. Was he smirking?
August couldn’t even feel the axe in his hand when he picked it up. He turned it over a few times, looked down, and found it shaking. Damn. “Uh, does someone else want to take a turn?”
“Turns must go in order,” Julian said, pointing at the rule sheet.
Having no choice, August made sure no one was standing too close, then threw the weapon—watching with a sour stomach as it landed in the outer ring. No one said anything when he stepped back and gestured for Natalie to take her turn. She looked at him curiously on her way up to the barrier, picking up the handle of her blade. This time, she caught the middle ring, followed by Hallie doing the same. Julian got a bull’s-eye. They were all talking and planning the next round, but August couldn’t concentrate on what was being said. All he could see was Natalie trapped and scared, and he needed to get some air. Now.
“I’ll be right back.” August tried to smile but was pretty sure he just looked ready to hurl. “Just stepping outside for a minute.”
“Hey.” Before he could take a step, Natalie reached out and caught his wrist. “You’re not mad because you lost the wager, are you?”
“What wager?”
She blinked. “Come on, let’s go.” She pulled him through the crowd toward the door. “You’re having a mental breakdown. Either that or you just realized you gave up the chance to ridicule me over a thirty-minute makeup routine, so you’re faking amnesia.”
Christ, he needed to pull himself together. “I remember.” They stepped into the crisp evening, onto the empty sidewalk outside Jed’s, the last remnants of the earlier sunset giving the air a purplish glow. Or maybe he really was just having a mental break. Could air taste purple? “But I was kind of counting on winning.”
“What happened?” Natalie asked.
“I’m not very good at feeling helpless. That’s how I felt hearing that story.” He looked her over, head to toe, barely resisting the urge to reach out and run his hands all over her skin. “You’re okay? You didn’t get burned anywhere?”
Her mouth opened and closed, her stance shifting side to side. “No. It was really scary, but beyond the fact that I triple-check my smoke detectors now, I’m fine.”
“Good.” A beat passed. “How can you doubt your brother loves you when he ran into a burning shed to save you?” August said it without thinking, raking a still unsteady hand down his face. God, he really needed to thank Julian for what he’d done. He would.
Soon as he got back inside.
In fact, he was going to ask him to be his best man.
“It’s . . . his nature. He always does the right thing.” Natalie’s cheeks were deepening with color. “It gave him a terrible panic attack afterward. He’s had this anxiety since we were kids and I made it worse because I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Yeah, Natalie. So inconsiderate of you. Next time, try to predict the fire.”
“Wow. Nice. Using logic to make me feel better. That’s low.” Her lips twitched slightly to let him know she was joking and his fucking heart just sort of wrapped itself in a bow for her. “I spent a lot of time thinking he blamed me for his episode after the fire. But he . . . doesn’t. He told me he doesn’t. We’re a lot better now that we’ve spent some time together.”
“But?”
Her chin lifted. “How do you know there’s a but?”
“Nat-tuition.”
Lips twitching, she sized him up for a couple of seconds. “We all go it alone in this family. But they . . . were all ready to go it alone long before I was. Now Julian and my mother are getting closer and I’m the independent one. I’m kind of like, hey, remember everyone telling me to get my shit together and go stand on my own two feet? Well, I did. And no one . . . cared or noticed. Now I’m supposed to make this big effort to reconnect? No. I found what I was looking for somewhere else. For a while. And I just want to get it back.”