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)
“Maybe I’ll show up. I’m not sure if my folks have anything planned.” I purposely looked over to Timberlynn, then back to Lindsey. Her eyes followed mine. Timberlynn stood there, a beautiful smile on her face as she spoke with a sales associate. It felt like my heart may have jumped slightly when she laughed at something that the associate said.
Lindsey frowned. “Is there something going on there, Tanner? You seemed to be into her at Ty’s wedding, and now she’s back in town for what?”
“Christmas with her cousin Kaylee. Plus, she’s thinking of moving here.”
“Moving here!” Lindsey nearly shouted. I glanced at Timberlynn to see her still talking to the sales associate, so she hadn’t heard Lindsey…hopefully. Or maybe she was pretending not to hear.
“Yes. It’s a free country, and people are allowed to move to Montana.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t like it. There’s something off about her.”
I looked once more at the only stunningly beautiful woman in the whole damn store. She turned her head and caught me staring at her. I watched as she recognized Lindsey, a slight frown forming between her brows. When she looked back at me, she smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. I returned it, adding a wink that made her cheeks go slightly pink as she shook her head and turned to look at something on a shelf.
“Holy shit. You can’t be serious,” Lindsey hissed.
I kept my gaze on Timberlynn a moment longer before I focused back on Lindsey and sighed.
She let out a forced, uninterested laugh. “You like her, Tanner? Tell me this is just a fling.”
I glared at Lindsey, though she was too busy giving Timberlynn the evil eye to notice. “We’re friends, Lindsey, so I would appreciate it if you kept your thoughts to yourself.”
“Friends? What kind of friends? The same kind of friends that we are?”
“There is no longer a ‘we’, and there never will be.” I tipped my head to her. “It was good seeing you, but I’ve got to get back over to Timberlynn. We’re shopping for my mama.”
That made Lindsey’s nose flare. “She’s helping you shop for your mama?”
I decided to ignore her question and cut the conversation off. “Good seeing you, Lindsey.”
When I turned and walked away, I swore the heat from Lindsey’s angry gaze pierced right through me, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the smile on Timberlynn’s face as I walked up to her.
Four hours and one-and-a-half bottles of wine later, Timberlynn and I were sitting in the middle of her bedroom laughing and attempting to wrap the many presents we had bought. I honestly couldn’t remember when I had enjoyed myself so much. I glanced around the room and saw wrapped presents scattered across the floor around us in a rainbow of green, red, gold, and silver. We could have used the living room, but my folks had some friends over, and they were all watching a documentary on TV. It gave me the perfect excuse to spend more alone time with Timberlynn.
“Oh, man,” I said, popping a French fry into my mouth, then leaning back on the floor. My mother had brought up some hamburgers and fries for us since we were elbow deep in presents. Timberlynn had not only bought gifts for my parents, but she bought stuff for the kids, Kaylee, Lincoln, and even Brock and Ty. The Christmas shopping bug had hit her for sure.
“What’s wrong, did wrapping presents wear you out?” she asked.
“Hell yes. I think you bought enough gifts for the next two years’ worth of Christmases.”
She chuckled. “I did not. And the third gift to your parents is for letting me stay here. It’s kind of them to host me.”
“My folks love having people here. The more the merrier. Especially my mother. She loves to have company, even better if they’re female. All those years she was outnumbered by males and all.”
Timberlynn grinned, then took a sip of her wine and stared at me before she spoke again. “You never did answer me earlier.”
“About what?”
“Your dreams. If you want to work on the ranch.”
I sat back up and looked into her eyes. “Yes, it’s always been the long-term goal of mine. It’s in my blood, in my heart. I’m not sure when that long-term goal is going to start.”
Her brows rose. “Sooner rather than later?”
“If you had asked me a few months back, I’d have said later. My ropin’ partner, Chance, is giving me the vibe that he’s ready to quit. He met a girl last year and fell in love. He was ready to walk away from his career for her. She had other plans, though.”
Timberlynn raised a brow in question.
“She ran off with some hotshot guy from New York City.”
“Ouch. I’m sure that took a hit to his pride.”