Page 6 of Read Me, Baby
“The voice?”
“Yeah. That didn’t sound like Mrs. Holly.”
He snickers. “Oh? You think about how Mrs. Holly sounds? Does she whisper sweet nothings into your ear?”
“Man, shut the fuck up. I’m serious! There’s someone else with her.”
He rolls his eyes. “Stop fucking around with hearing voices and if you tell me you see dead people next, I’m quitting. Let’s get this shit installed and get out of here. I’m about to go crazy being locked in here with you two.”
I shake off the lingering odd feeling and get back to work, but then, only a few minutes later the voice is back, drawing my attention away from the job.
“...Read to them?..” she sputters, uncertainty and unease evident in her question.
“Whoever it is, they’re in the Read Me, Baby room. Are you surprised she has a sexy voice?” Maverick asks knowingly. I give him a dry look, and he adds, “That’s your scene, isn’t it? You’d know.”
He chuckles and I suppress my urge to punch him. These guys never let up on my fondness for romance novels.
“Maybe it’s the new librarian?” Wes says. “Have you met her yet?”
“Ooh, yes!” Maverick crows. “You better get down there and meet her before some other sad sap snatches her up!”
“Fuck you guys,” I grumble. “And how would I have met her when I’ve been working up here with you two fools. Let’s just finish up and get out of here.”
I find myself working with a little more enthusiasm hoping to get out on time and see what’s going on down there. With only about forty minutes left, I push as fast as I can, but by the time we clean up and make it downstairs, Mrs. Holly and the new girl are both gone.
I leave for the day with a newfound pep in my step hoping tomorrow brings about a change for the better.
CHAPTER 6
JAY
It’s the weekend and I couldn’t be happier to have the time to myself right now. We’ve been working hard all week, and I was on emergency call for three of the five nights, but my dad and uncle covered the weekend, allowing us guys to spend some time on the boat without a care in the world.
The first thing I bought myself after working for almost a year out of high school was this boat. It’s nothing spectacular but it gets us to the middle of the lake where we pretend we’re in another world.
I’ve made a great life for myself here, I doubt I could be happier anywhere else. I have my family and friends; the only thing I’m missing is a good woman. My friends all think it comes down to one thing - my love for romance novels. They tell me I’m worse than a woman, thinking that the fairy tales are true and the reason I can't find a good girl is because my standards are too high.
That's fine. I’ll take that any day. I’d rather wait for the perfect girl than get my heart broken by someone who's just a passing dream. And by perfect, I mean perfect for me. I'm far from it, but I know there’s someone out there I can make happy. And who can make me happy.
“This is the life. Beer, sun and being a passenger princess.” Wes kicks his feet up and takes a drink from his beer.
I scoff. “You’re only the passenger princes because you have no idea how to handle a boat.”
“I don’t need to know. I got you,” he says with a wink, and I roll my eyes.
“So, tell me, Wes,” Maverick interjects. “I saw Hazel out yesterday. Where were you?”
I see Wes’s body lock up before he begins to speak. “Where was she?”
Maverick laughs. “You’re so easy. She was at Thats a Wrap with some girl I didn't recognize.”
He shrugs and I see his tension disappear likely because he’s happy that Maverick said she was with a girl and not a guy.
“What's with you two anyway? You’re on, then you’re off. What's wrong? Can’t seal the deal?”
I’m provoking him right now. I know why he won't commit but he also has a lot of time invested in this girl. If it was me? I’d go for it. Make it work, but I’m ready for that kind of commitment, and even though we’re family, he’s completely different from me. I’ve always looked for and have been ready to settle down here, however, Wes is more the eternal bachelor. I think he’s afraid to have to take care of someone other than himself. Failing another would be the worst thing he could do, and that fear holds him back from ever getting serious.
“Sealing the deal is the only thing we do well,” Wes replies flippantly.