Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
I swallowed hard. No man had ever spoken like that around me, and it filled my chilled body with warmth. If I let my guard down, I was positive this man would sneak in and climb over all the walls I had in place. Walls that protected me from ever being hurt or used again.
Turning away from him, I focused on the lake in the distance. My heart raced in my chest as I realized I wanted to let Tanner in. And that scared me. “The lake looks beautiful.”
“Yeah, next to where we’re standing, the lake is actually my favorite spot on the ranch. There’s a log cabin there that I like to spend time at. It’s a great fishing spot.”
I smiled. “I bet it is. And I bet it’s cold.”
He laughed. “Most of the year it’s pretty cold, yes.”
“Thank you for showing me this,” I said, turning to face him once more. He was still looking out over the ranch with an expression of utter peace on his face. What must it feel like to have that sort of contentment? I had grown up in a beautiful home, had the best of everything money could buy, yet I doubt I ever had that expression that Tanner wore on his face right then. The happiness he felt from looking at this ranch was so evident. I could practically feel the love for this place ebbing off of him. I suddenly had the urge to know more about Tanner Shaw.
“Do you miss it when you’re gone?”
He didn’t look at me as he answered. “Yes, but I was happy doing what I did. Not until recently did I realize how much this place means to me. I loved being on the road, roping, winning money.” He glanced down at me and gave me a sexy smirk.
I rolled my eyes but laughed. “Why are you talking in the past tense? Are you giving it up?”
He looked away, but before he did, I saw the conflict in his eyes. “The last few months I’ve been missing this place so much. I feel an emptiness inside of me, and I don’t know what it is.”
I knew that feeling.
“Do you think it’s because your brothers are both working the ranch with your daddy? That you maybe feel like you’re missing out?”
He lifted a brow. “Are you trying to crawl into my head and figure shit out?”
I lifted my shoulder in a half shrug. “Maybe. You’re a mystery to me, Tanner Shaw. The things I heard about you aren’t making much sense now.”
Both brows rose in a questioning look. “Tell me what you heard.”
I looked up, pretending to be in deep thought. “Let’s see. You love being on the rodeo circuit and have no desire to settle down. You love women even more, and you’ve never had a serious girlfriend and most likely never will. And you like to sleep around. A lot.”
His head jerked back slightly. “Wow. It appears you had some rather spotty intelligence. Who was it, Nelly at the local five and dime?”
With a grin, I answered him. “No, I believe her name was Lindsey.”
Tanner’s smile dropped instantly. “You talked to Lindsey about me? When?”
The coldness in his voice wasn’t hard to miss. “Um, it was the day after the wedding. I was at a little coffee shop on Main Street, and she approached Kaylee to offer her congratulations. When Kaylee introduced me, she seemed very keen on joining us.”
Something that looked like anger moved across his face, but he quickly let it fade away. “Is that so? Did she bring me up, or did you?”
I gave him a quizzical look. “Um, I believe Lindsey brought you up after Kaylee mentioned how we danced a few times. She was teasing me about it.”
He rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath.
My stomach felt slightly ill as I asked a question I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know. “Is something going on between the two of you?”
Tanner let out a sarcastic laugh. “No. Not at all. Lindsey Johnson is…how do I put this so I don’t sound like an asshole?”
“How about the simple truth,” I said as I followed Tanner over to a large rock. He sat on it, and I did the same. Our bodies weren’t touching, but the feel of heat between us was noticeable, at least it was for me.
“Okay, the truth it is, then. Lindsey was a fuck buddy of mine.”
My eyes went wide at his blunt words. I knew something was going on with how Lindsey acted when Kaylee briefly mentioned Tanner, but I honestly thought it was just a crush or something.
“She’s the girl I used to call when I needed a date to an industry function and didn’t want to have to deal with someone thinking I liked them more than I did.” He cleared his throat, looking down. “She’s the person I called when I wanted to hook up with someone.”