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)
“How many people are coming?” Kaylee asked.
My mother handed me a bowl, marshmallow fluff, and cream cheese. “You know what to do with this. And do not eat it, Tanner!” my mother demanded.
I gave her a salute and winked at Timberlynn, who blushed. I was quickly falling madly, head over heels in love with Timberlynn, and a part of me wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
“Timberlynn, Kaylee can finish up the wraps. Can you start on cutting up the fruit for the tray?”
“Certainly.” Like a dutiful young apprentice, Timberlynn took the containers of fruit and started to cut and arrange them onto a tray.
“Let’s see, pretty much everyone we invited will be here. This year we kept the list on the smaller side.”
Dirk walked into the kitchen and everyone looked over at him.
“Hey, Dirk. We haven’t seen you in a few days,” Kaylee said as she tilted her head for him to kiss her on the cheek. Timberlynn turned and smiled.
“Hi, Dirk.”
He winked at Timberlynn, and I sent him a dirty look, which he pretended not to notice.
“Good afternoon, Timberlynn. Kaylee, Stella.” He finally looked my way and nodded. “Tanner.”
“Dirk. Where have you been?” Kaylee asked.
He grinned as he reached for a grape and popped it into his mouth. “Been stuck at home and just enjoying the silence. I forgot how nice it was to just be alone for a few days.” He looked around. “Where is everyone?”
Mom answered. “Brock, Ty, and their daddy are out driving the fence. With all the high winds, they wanted to make sure no trees fell down.”
Dirk caught my eye again. “Why didn’t you go?”
“I met up with Chance earlier to go over the press release announcing that we’re both stepping down from roping.”
His brow raised. “No shit?”
I smiled. “No shit.”
The feel of Timberlynn’s gaze made me look over to her. She looked unsure, so I smiled and gave her my own wink. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and something deep in my chest grew warm.
“I bet you’re happy as a clam, Stella,” Dirk stated.
“To have all my boys home? You better believe it. Now we just need you to come on back home, and everything will be perfect.”
Dirk nearly choked on the piece of kiwi he had tossed into his mouth. “You’re going to be waiting a long time on me, Stella.”
She grinned, but I knew what that grin meant. It was the one that said she knew something no one else did. Dirk’s brows pulled in slightly. He had seen it as well. “What’s on the smaller side?” Dirk asked as he focused on my mother.
“What?” she asked, confused.
“When I walked in, you said something was on the smaller side.”
She shook her head and laughed slightly. “Oh, the guest list for the New Year’s Eve party tonight. Now, I want to make sure you’ve made plans to stay here this evening, Dirk. No drinking and then heading back home.”
He saluted and gave my mother the smile that I was positive had landed him in a woman’s bed a dozen times or more. “I’ve already made arrangements to stay the night at Brock and Lincoln’s place. No need to worry about me, Mama Shaw.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Who all is going to be here tonight?” Kaylee asked.
My mother started naming names, most of them were friends she and my father had known for years. A few relatives and some folks who lived on ranches around us. “The Edens will be here as well.”
Dirk froze as he was reaching across Timberlynn to grab another piece of fruit. He looked stunned. “The Edens?”
I watched with curiosity, and so did Kaylee. The only person who hadn’t caught Dirk’s pause was Timberlynn. She was still cutting up the fruit and arranging them on the platter.
“Yes, their farm is right next to your folks’ ranch, isn’t it?” my mother casually asked. She knew damn well it was.
“What’s the difference between a farm and a ranch?” Kaylee asked, totally not seeing what was going on. “I never really thought about it before when y’all mention a farm versus a ranch.”
My mother shrugged. “Well, on a farm they focus more on the soil for growing crops. A ranch, like ours, is land where livestock is raised. On the Eden’s farm, they grow crops such a strawberries, corn, wheat. They also have dairy cows, but not many. They also grow pumpkins and let folks in town come in and pick their own right from the fields. I get all my eggs from them when I shop at Pete’s Grocery in town.”
“They have blueberries too. Their strawberry and blueberry crops are you-pick-it, and they have folks come to the farm and pick the berries. That allows them to sell other stuff while they’re there. Like tomatoes and other veggies,” I added.
My mother smiled. “Yes, as a matter of fact, those strawberries came from their greenhouse. They grow them all year long.”