Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82568 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82568 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“She sounds like someone else I know.” Holden didn’t have to ask to know Roe meant him.
“I guess she and I got all the worry for ourselves and our parents.” Because they hadn’t cared, not about anyone other than themselves.
“I’m real sorry about that. I can’t imagine. You both deserve better. You’re giving Sean better, though.”
Damn, he hoped so. Somehow, Roe’s words eased some of the concern inside him.
They pulled up at the farm. There were a lot of people there—clearly more than just Roe’s family. An unfamiliar wave of nerves swept through him. He had no idea what he had to be anxious about, but he was.
“I think Mama’s in the house. She’s the boss, so she’s the one we need to find.”
“Okay.” Holden nodded.
They stopped in front of the truck, and Roe frowned, asked him, “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Nothing should be wrong, but hadn’t he just been feeling uneasy? Roe’s frown deepened, and Holden couldn’t help wondering how he knew. How he’d taken one look at Holden and noticed he was feeling some kind of something. It made the panicky feeling intensify. “Nothing. I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, of course.” He was just losing his shit for no good reason. He couldn’t think of a bad one either.
Before Roe could reply, Holden heard a feminine voice saying, “There you boys are! Decided to stop sleepin’ the day away, did you?”
“It’s nine thirty, Mama,” Roe replied as a smiling woman approached them.
“I’m just givin’ you hell…kinda.” She held out her hand to Holden. “Vicki Covington.”
“Holden Barnett. Nice to meet you, ma’am.” They shook.
“You did real pretty work on Roe’s barn. We have three of them here. Wanted to have some work done to make better use of the space. I also want to have some built-in bookshelves put into the house, but shh, don’t tell my husband about that.”
Roe rolled his eyes. “Like he can say no to you; or like he would if he could.”
“Oh, hush, you,” Vicki replied to her son.
“We can take a look, and you can give me some idea of how you want things,” Holden said. “I’m only here full-time through summer—about six weeks left, give or take—so it depends on how much you want done and if I would have time to finish it or not.”
“I think you can handle it.” She gave Holden a confident smile that reminded him of her son.
“Come on.” Roe nodded.
They walked across the property, saying hi and talking to people as they went. It really was beautiful. It felt like anything was possible in a place like this. When he looked around, he could understand why someone like Roe would want to come back.
Roe and his mom talked and teased each other. They were close, that much was obvious. Holden couldn’t help but watch them, wondering what it would have been like to have that kind of relationship with his own family.
At one point Roe looked over at him, grinned and winked, making warmth spread through Holden’s gut. Jesus, he had to get this shit under control.
They got to the first barn, and Vicki explained what she wanted done. It was similar to Roe’s, with shelving, cabinet space, and the like. They climbed into a golf cart to head to the other two, and he took notes on his phone, making sure he didn’t forget anything. On their way back, Holden saw a group of people in one of the fields doing… “Are they doing yoga with goats?”
“That they are,” Roe replied. “Everyone loves goats.”
Holden didn’t get it, but after movies and now yoga, he saw how true it was.
Roe looked at his mom, who was driving the cart. “I wanna take that new black-and-white baby that’s ready from Licorice’s litter.”
“That’s fine. I didn’t know you wanted more.”
Roe turned to glance over his shoulder at Holden. “I was thinking Marilee might want her…and if not, I’ll keep her. If they need somewhere for her to stay when they move on, she can stay at my place and they can come see her. Thought she and Sean might get a kick out of it, especially after watching her at movies with goats.”
They pulled back up at the house then, but Holden couldn’t find his words. They were stuck in his chest, taking up his airway and making it hard to breathe. Jesus, was there a better man in the world than Monroe Covington?
Roe gave him another small frown, as though wondering if maybe he’d screwed up, but he hadn’t. He really fucking hadn’t. “Thank—” Holden’s words cut out, and he cleared his throat. “Thank you. She’ll love that. I can pay for it.”
Vicki waved her hand. “Nonsense. She’s staying with Roe, and that makes her family. We take care of our own on this farm. That means you too. Roe babbled on enough about you at the last family dinner.”