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)
“Wait right here. Let me go get Pogo settled, and then I’ll be back in. Are you okay until I get back?”
I nodded. “You don’t need help?”
He laughed. “No, you get warm.”
Not wanting to admit to Tanner how heavenly the heated house felt, I simply nodded.
After Tanner left and my body warmed up, I slowly stood and put weight on my ankle. It hurt, but I was pretty positive it wasn’t broken. I took off my hat, scarf, gloves, and jacket, and then took the log house in. I was still shivering, but it was starting to settle down a bit more as I got warmer.
Before me was a giant, freestanding stone fireplace. Above the massive stone mantel was a family portrait of the Shaws. I smiled at the sight of the four brothers, much younger in the photo. Maybe high-school age. All handsome and all of them with blue eyes except for Beck. His green eyes nearly jumped out at you, they were so green. Stella and Ty Senior stood in the back, and I felt my smile grow across my face. Those boys for sure got their looks from their daddy. And Stella, my goodness was she beautiful.
I turned and stared out the large wall of windows that overlooked the frozen lake. I slowly shook my head and sat down on the sofa. “Wow.” It was the only word that seemed to come to mind as I stared at the view. The storm was moving in, and it was getting darker out, but I still had a clear view of everything. Including the snow that was now falling on the other side of the lake. It was coming our way.
I turned and focused on getting the boot off of my sore ankle. When I finally got it and my sock off, I grimaced. It was very swollen and now bruised. I let out a frustrated sigh. I was so angry with myself for taking Rosie out. I had been itching to ride, but I should have heeded Jimmy’s warning.
Dropping back against the sofa, I stared at the ceiling and started to go over the plans I had for my own little ranch. A smile spread across my face as I thought about all the things I couldn’t wait to do. It would never be as amazing as this house was with its view, at least from the little I’d seen of it, but it would be all mine.
When I heard the front door open, I lifted my head and saw Tanner. He shook off some snow. “It’s snowing on this side of the lake now?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s coming down pretty good. I’m so glad I found you when I did.”
I chewed nervously on my lip. “I’m so sorry, Tanner. It was stupid of me to go for a ride, but I honestly didn’t think the storm would move in until later this afternoon.”
Tanner hung up his coat and scarf, and dropped his gloves onto a table by the front door. He walked over and grabbed all my stuff to hang it up as well. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I’m kind of glad you got yourself lost in the woods.”
With a grin, I asked, “Why?”
With his hands motioning around him, he replied, “Look where we are. Alone.”
My cheeks grew hot.
“Let me take a look at that ankle,” he said. He walked over and crouched down in front of me, gently touching around my foot. “It’s swollen, but I think you’re right. If you had broken it, it would look and feel a lot worse. Trust me, I know.”
I let out a soft laugh. Tanner gently massaged my foot, which caused me to let out a soft moan of pleasure. Even with the tenderness in my ankle, it felt so good to have his warm hands on me. The feeling left me a bit breathless. A warmth rushed through my veins, instantly making my body heat and the pain in my ankle fade to a dull throb. A new throb between my legs was taking precedent.
He took off my other boot and sock and massaged that foot as well, only this time more aggressively since it wasn’t injured. “You’ve had an adventure, haven’t you? What happened with Rosie?” Tanner asked.
My eyes had closed, but at the mention of the horse, I opened them again. “She didn’t make it back to the barn?”
“Oh, she did. She was in a fit; that’s when we really panicked because you weren’t with her.”
A crackling sound came from behind Tanner. His father’s voice said, “Tanner?”
Tanner reached behind and grabbed a walkie-talkie from his back pocket. “We’re in the house, Dad. I got Pogo in the barn with some hay. He’s got a blanket on and I was able to fill up the water for the trough. It’s pretty toasty in the barn, so I don’t think the water will freeze, but I’ll keep an eye on it. Timberlynn and I are in the house. I’m looking at her ankle, then I’ll get us settled. Looks like we’ll be staying here through the storm.”