Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
As they entered, the inside smelled fresh and clean, and as always, he was hit with so many fun and fond memories of spending time here. While Georgia took in the open floor plan that included a decent sized living room, an updated kitchen, and a dining table, he set their luggage down and gave her a quick rundown of the history of the place.
“My parents purchased the cabin when me and my siblings were young kids, and we came up here at least three times a year. Spring, summer, and fall,” he told her…up until his sister had been diagnosed with cancer, and everything had changed in their family. Once Whitney passed away, it hadn’t been the same, and then he and his brothers had all gone off to college, one by one.
“My parents still come up here occasionally,” he said after clearing the gruff emotions from his throat. “But now that my brothers and I are all grown, the place really is too small for all of us to be here at the same time, though I do come up here on occasion. Like when I just need to relax and decompress.”
“I can see why.” She ran her fingers along the books lined up on a shelf near the fireplace—thrillers and mysteries and spy novels for his father, and the romance books his mother enjoyed. “The place is very cozy.”
“Let me show you around,” he said, taking her hand and guiding her toward the back of the cabin. “It’s small and only two bedrooms, so the tour shouldn’t take long,” he added with a grin.
They came to the main bedroom first, complete with a king-sized bed and adjoining bathroom, then he pointed out the single bathroom that he and his siblings had to share and fight over. He switched on the light to the second bedroom, revealing the same double twin bunk beds that had been there since his youth, which had accommodated him, his brothers, and Whitney.
“My parents really should convert this into a guest room,” he said in a wry tone. “But my mother insists that she needs beds for her grandkids to stay here someday.”
Georgia laughed and stepped inside, taking in the quilts on the bed and then gravitating toward the framed photos on the dresser. “She sounds hopeful.”
He braced his shoulder against the door frame, watching her examine the snapshots of him and his siblings in this mountain element. “Well, Beck is at least fulfilling that dream of hers.”
She glanced at him with a teasing grin. “Aren’t you going to contribute to the cause?”
“Not anytime soon,” he replied, hating that little punch in the gut that felt a whole lot like regret, but knew he had to keep his reply honest. “Being partner keeps me insanely busy with little time to give to a relationship, let alone get married and have a family that I can’t be there for.”
She nodded, as if understanding, but he didn’t miss the disappointment in her eyes as she returned to the pictures. He felt like a jerk for being so blunt, but as much as he wanted Georgia, he’d learned a valuable lesson with Angie, that it wasn’t fair to any woman to make promises he wasn’t sure he could keep at this point in his life, when his career was literally in the fast lane. The last thing he wanted to do was lead Georgia to believe he was capable of or ready for a long-term commitment.
Georgia picked up a framed picture of him and his siblings standing next to their father, all of them with cheesy grins on their faces as they each held up their own trout they’d caught. His mother had taken the photo right before Tripp had shoved Beck into the river behind them, taunting their youngest brother that he was going to feed him to the fish, which had totally freaked Beck out and made him scream like a girl and run out of the water.
Fun times. The memory made him smile.
“You have a sister?” Georgia asked of the young girl in the photo. She glanced his way and tipped her head curiously as she set the frame back down.
“Had a sister, yes,” he corrected her. “That’s Whitney, Tripp’s twin. She died of leukemia at the age of sixteen.”
Georgia gasped in shock. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly, her eyes filled with genuine sympathy. “That must have been incredibly difficult for your entire family.”
“It was. We miss her a lot,” he said, realizing Georgia was one of the few women in his life that knew that part of his past now, information he’d wanted to share with her.
His sister’s passing wasn’t a topic of conversation he had with the random females he hooked up with, but Georgia was already starting to feel like more than just a casual weekend fling, despite knowing that’s all it really could be with her.