Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
A giggle got free, and I snuggled up to his side as we started back down the path. “I think you only want me for my sweets.”
He pressed his lips to my temple. “That’s right, I want all the sweets.”
Suggestion filled his voice, and I giggled again as he shifted to curl his arm around my shoulder and tucked me closer to his side. His tone grew somber. “Your brother is going to want to kill me, Dakota. And I know it’s going to take time to prove to him who I really am and how much I really love you, but I will. I’m going to show this whole fucking town that you belong with me, Dakota Cooper. I’m going to give you everything.”
I stilled, shifting so I was standing in front of him, my eyes on the unforgettable lines of his face as I set my palm on his cheek. “I don’t need everything, Ryder. I just need your honesty. I need your truth. Your devotion and your love.”
“You have it, Dakota.” His thumb swiped over my bottom lip. “Love is on the house.”
EPILOGUES
DAKOTA
Six Months Later
The clatter of dishes and voices filled the restaurant. Every table and booth were taken during the lunch rush, except for one of the long tables in the middle that sat twenty that had been reserved for a large party scheduled to arrive in ten minutes.
Satisfaction pushed at my ribs as I wandered through the dining room, ensuring the guests were happy and well fed.
Their smiling faces and their mumbled praise over the food never failed to send me soaring.
I was proud of Time River Market & Café. What I had built and what it offered our small community. From such a young age, I’d known this was what I wanted to do, and it filled me with pride at what it had become.
I’d found a speck of shame in it, but it had been on Ryder and me to eradicate it, to do something good in its place, and I’d found joy in that, too.
A foundation had been started in Amelia’s name in Poplar. It was a shelter for at risk teens, and Ryder and I had doubled the money he’d given me to fund its opening.
Ryder volunteered there every weekend, and he would take the cookies I’d bake and share them while he shared pieces of his story. How one choice could have a devastating ripple effect, but how each of us have the power to walk a good path. That sometimes we stumble, but we have to fight our way back onto the right track.
Fight for health and joy and security.
He’d fought for his, and I was so proud of him for that.
I glanced up to find Beth smirking at me from the other side of the counter. “You look like you’re over there daydreaming again. That man must be something in bed because every day you’re walking around here on a cloud. It’s kind of annoying,” she teased.
I swatted at her as I rounded the counter, redness hitting my cheeks. “Would you stop it?”
“Never, not when you turn to mush any time I mention his name.”
I saw no point in denying it since every thought of him made me all squishy inside.
“Do you need any help?” I figured I’d do best to change the subject before she got carried away.
She ducked her head into the short refrigerator under the counter. “Would you mind double checking the dairy order is coming in tomorrow? We are running super low on whipped cream, and you know how the town considers that a local tragedy.”
A slight giggle got free. “That they do. But I just checked this morning and everything is in order.”
“Do you mind checking again?”
“Um…sure. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get me out of your way.”
Beth waved a teasing hand at me. “You are in the way. You know I have things handled out here.”
“Fine, fine, I see what I’m good for. Ordering supplies,” I told her as I started for the swinging door.
“And recipes. Don’t forget the recipes,” she called behind me. I was laughing under my breath as I headed back into my office. I added three more cases of whipped cream just to make sure.
The truth was the bakery portion of the business had been booming.
It wasn’t a bad problem to have.
While I was back there, I decided to check emails to make sure everything was handled.
A few minutes later, I looked up to find Beth standing in my doorway. “Hey, would you mind coming out to help fill the drink orders for the big reservation? They’re an unruly bunch and Chloe is having a hard time keeping up.”
“Oh, I see how it is—you do need me.”
“I’ll never admit it.” She sent me a playful smirk as I edged past her and started down the hall.