Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Georgie stood. “I’m ready.”
“Blayze?”
I shook my head. “I can’t, Dad.”
All it took was one look from my father, and I knew I wasn’t going to get out of this.
Pushing my chair back, I let out a frustrated sigh.
“Who do you want her to ride?” I asked, glancing at Georgie as I walked past her. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly looked away.
“Your mother’s mare, Elly. She’s the most gentle one in the barn.”
Georgie chuckled. “How do you know I haven’t ridden in a while?” she asked my father.
“That’s what happens when you live in the city and travel all over for your job.”
I headed out of the barn to find Hank. He’d been working on the ranch for as long as I could remember and was the only man my father trusted with his beloved horse Romeo.
“Hank,” I said as I walked up to the corral where he was working with a horse.
“How’s it going, Blayze? Everything okay?”
I shook my head. “No. There’s a pain in the ass woman here, and I have a feeling she’s going to make my life a living hell.”
Hank let out a bark of laughter. “They always do in some way or another, but they more than make up for it.”
I glanced back over my shoulder and watched Georgie and my father step out of the barn. The way the sun hit her golden-brown hair made it shimmer.
“That her?” Hank asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, focusing back on him. “That’s her. Do you know what pasture Elly and Romeo are in? Dad is taking Ms. Crenshaw on a tour of the ranch via horseback.”
Hank took a closer look at Georgie. “Is that Georgiana Crenshaw?”
“Yes, do you remember her?”
He nodded, then looked at me. “Seems to me the last time you two saw each other there was some funny business going on behind this barn.”
I rolled my eyes. “Christ, did everyone know? I was stupid and young. The horses?”
He gave me another nod. “Front pasture. Your Duke is up there grazing with them.”
Giving Hank a pat on the back, I thanked him, then headed toward the front pasture. It would only take a whistle to get the horses to come to me.
With the help of Decker, another ranch hand, we guided Duke, Elly, and Romeo out to the front of the barn.
“There’s my handsome boy,” my father said as he walked up and took Romeo from Decker. “Thanks, Deck.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Shaw.”
“Wow, what beautiful horses.” Georgie walked up and ran her hand down Elly’s neck. “What breed is your horse, Brock?”
With a proud smile on his face, Dad answered, “He’s a Zangersheide. This guy right here has bred some of the world’s best show-jumping horses. I paid a small fortune for him, but I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.”
“Do you still breed him?” Georgie asked.
Dad smiled and ran his hands over the horse. “Nah. He’s retired now and living out his best life with a few gals in the pasture.”
Georgie laughed, then turned to Elly. “Beautiful paint.”
“My mother adores paints. She’s got a good temper, so she should be easy to ride. Do you need help…”
My voice trailed off as Georgie mounted the horse with ease.
I mounted Duke and gave him a pat on the neck.
Georgie was watching both of us. “And the name of your beautiful buckskin?”
“Duke.”
“Duke?” she asked with a sly grin. “Any particular reason you named him Duke?”
I smirked. “Because my father said I couldn’t name him King.”
“Ready to head out?” Dad asked as he walked over to us on Romeo.
Georgie tried to hide her smile and failed. Turning to Dad, she gave Elly a slight kick. “Ready.”
Chapter Six
GEORGIANNA
I spent the afternoon riding and talking with Brock and Blayze. They showed me around the ranch, introduced me to some different people, and brought me to Tanner and Timberlynn’s stunning log cabin that was seated on the edge of a beautiful lake. Tanner was Brock’s younger brother and had once been ranked number one in the world for team roping. He currently helped Timberlynn train horses and worked with rescue horses, as well as helping his family run the ranch.
After lunch, we road over to Ty and Kaylee’s house. Ty was Brock’s older brother and had been forced to give up bull riding after an accident. He and Dirk, Brock’s best friend, both raised and trained bulls for the PBR.
Everything had been off the record so far, but I found I really liked Timberlynn and Kaylee. I’d always been fond of them when I was little.
As we handed over the horses to a few ranch hands, I heard a female voice call out from behind me. When I turned, I smiled to see Lincoln Shaw, Brock’s wife and Blayze’s mother. She was still as beautiful as she was when I was little. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her green eyes reminded me of mine. It wasn’t often I met another person with true green eyes.