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At nine, he forced his stiff legs to uncurl and walked around the building to his bike He hadn’t had a sip of whiskey since Toni left, and was sober as a judge

Mounting his bike, he inhaled the fresh o to his wo out his phone, he placed a quick call then rode out into the night

SHELL DRAGGED HER weary ass up her stoop If she were any s up the steps Each and every muscle ached with the cootten a full night’s sleep in days Five, to be exact But it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart

The scene from Copper’s office had replayed in her le All led to the sa conclusion Copper hadn’t been able to stand the sight of her Her worst night frouilt, and a renewed sense of the sha

Would his reaction have been different had she confessed the truth herself?

Should she have kept herRusty at the park?

Hell, her doubt went back five years to wondering if she never should have left Townsend when she found out she was pregnant

She’d slogged through the past eek, put on a happy face for Beth, and did her da looks froht, once again lonely in her bed, she’d cried until her eyes blurred and her heart felt like a wet sponge wrung out until it was bone dry

With a sigh, Shell shoved her key in the door She was sick of living in her own head, but couldn’topen, and she trudged inside only to co her sofa

“Copper,” she said, hand flying to her dru here?” Suddenly, shock turned to worry, and she started down the hall “Is Beth okay?”

He rose and followed “She’s fine, Shell Having a sleepover with Toni and Zach tonight”

Her shoulders fell Shit This conversation was going to be so awful, he’d felt the need to send her daughter elsewhere

Slowly, Shell turned and forced herself to glance up at theher heart God, she’d h he looked as wrecked as she felt with his messy hair, bloodshot eyes, and—was his shirt on backward—he was still irresistible to her And she wanted nothinglirets of the past few days Had she known the way this would all end, she’d have been sure to hold him one last time before it all imploded