Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Cheese.” I caught the corner of his mouth curve to what looked like a smile.
He continued, “Favorite color?”
“White.” I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat. I had no idea why this conversation was making me so nervous. “I know white isn’t really a color, but I like it.”
Banks just stared at me. Was he thinking? Was he waiting for me to continue? This man was impossible to read. What did I need to say? What did he want?
“My favorite music is anything with an acoustic guitar,” I blurted out. “I love to dance, and I like to run from time to time, especially when I need to think. I love plants and unusual flowers. Roses aren’t my favorite, but the ones outside my window on the lattice are lovely. Let’s see, I adore children but am uncomfortable around teens. I love coffee at all times of the day, since the caffeine doesn’t seem to work on me, or at least not as much as I would like it to.” I paused, really wishing I had a cup right now. “Is that what you meant?”
“It’s a start.” He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “I think we need to get the rules straight from the beginning.”
“Rules?” And just like that, any sign of decency from this man vanished as my reality came rushing back to me.
“You are part of the household now, and you’re responsible for all the womanly duties expected in the past. With Kit’s help, of course. My brothers and I are the men of the house, and we expect to be treated as such. As Jay and Rye explained in the woodshed—”
So much for getting to know one another and letting down my guard. I shouldn’t be shocked by this. I already knew everything I needed. This man was an asshole like the rest of his brothers. “Yes, yes. I know. You all want a combination of cook, maid, and let’s not forget companion.” When his eyebrow quirked, I could feel my face start to heat and was quick to clarify, adding, “For your sister… companion to her.” I walked toward the door I figured had to be the pantry. “Look, I get it. Just so you know, while I love botany and science, and that will be of use to your land and the neglected garden I saw out the window, all that home-and-life-skills stuff was not my best subject in school.” Spying the bag of coffee, I grabbed it and closed the door.
“Yeah, well, there will be a lot of things going on that were never on our daily schedules. This property has been neglected for years. Though the family has employed a local couple as caretakers for the place ever since our parents passed, they just took care of the basics. Rye’s been corresponding with them for the past few weeks so that the house would be clean and stocked. He arranged for a few of the smaller outbuildings like the chicken coop to be repaired and new stock brought in so we won’t starve. But, we still have a great number of repairs to do, and there will be a lot of change. We don’t have all the answers yet, but we need you to let us be in charge of figuring that out. The last thing any of us want is a nagging woman around who wants to argue with everything we say or do. We left that shit behind. Are we clear?”
I nodded. It wasn’t like I had a choice, and there was nothing to be gained by rocking the boat. “I’ll try my best.”
This whole concept intrigued but overwhelmed me, and I really was determined to give it a shot to make things work. Life would be pretty damn miserable for me if I resisted. I wasn’t a fool. Stubborn at times, sure, but I knew it wouldn’t take much for my life to go from Little House on the Prairie to American Horror Story. Grabbing the coffee pot, I put it into the sink. Setting the beans down, I had my hand on the pump handle when his next statement had me pausing.
“So first rule is, that other than right around the cabin, you are not to leave until we feel it’s safe.”
“Safe?” I turned around so I was facing Banks once again. “So sure I’ll try to run away?”
He smirked. “You could try. But you’d fail epically. The nearest town is far, and even if you reached it before we found you, the townspeople would hand you back over to us. The Barrett name is powerful in this area. We own this land. No one would dare cross us, or believe the ravings of the lunatic we would paint you to be. It would get you killed and destroy Kit by making her face a reality both you and I don’t want her to have to know if she doesn’t have to. I can read people pretty well, and I can see you wouldn’t hurt her, especially over something you know would be a stupid attempt you’d never succeed at.”