Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“Oh.” I laugh. “Buckwheat the horse.” I point over my shoulder toward the outside round pen.
“Got ya. I’ll come find you when I’m ready.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
“Anytime.” He winks.
I make my way outside and busy myself with brushing Buckwheat. It’s not really a necessity, but it’s a luxury he doesn’t get often as we’re usually short on staff. I’m going to take some time today to pamper him, just like his previous owner would if she was able to still care for him.
About fifteen minutes later, Tony appears beside me. His shirt is off and tucked into his back pocket and his chest is glistening with sweat. I make a mental note to thank Aubrey for giving me the hottie for the day. “What’s next, boss?” he asks.
I can’t hide my amusement. “Well, we can leave this guy outside a little longer and let him enjoy the sunshine. Let’s go see what the others are working on.”
“Sounds good,” he says, falling in step beside me. “You worked here long?” he asks.
“A little over two years.”
“Cool.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you in to volunteer today?”
“Do you want the honest answer or the one I practiced?” He grins.
“Honest. Always honest.”
He shrugs. “I was hoping to get to meet Chance Bateman. I’m a huge soccer fan.”
“You do know Chance is a coach for the Trojans now, right?”
“Yeah, but I also know his wife runs the place. So I was hoping to run into him.”
“Huh. Well, he’s at practice today. Sometimes he drops in after. I guess you’re just going to have to stick around to find out.”
“Now that I’m here, I might have another motive.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I ask, not bothering to turn to look at him.
“A date.”
I stop and turn to face him. “A date?”
He nods. “I didn’t expect my boss, or mentor or advisor or whatever I’m supposed to call you, would be hot. Maybe I can get a date and an autograph.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Come on, Casanova, let’s see what’s next.” I don’t bother to reply. He’s not my type and I’m hoping he drops it. That’s all I need is to add another man into my life to drive me insane. How is it that my dating life has been null and void the last few months and now all of a sudden, I’m the popular girl?
I tell Tony to wait for me in the lobby while I go in search of Aubrey. I find her in our office. “Hey, we’re done with the barn. Where should we go next? Cats or dogs?”
“Dogs. I have the two teenage girls in with the cats. Not to mention, the dogs are more work. You can use his muscles.”
“He told me he was volunteering with the hopes to meet Chance.” I leave out the part about the date. No need to get that seed planted in her head.
“Aw, I’ll text him and have him stop by after practice.” Her fingers are already flying across her screen. “They have an early day today so it should be around lunchtime.”
“Great. We’re going to get started.” My stomach does a little flip that I could see Landon soon, but then I remember I told him I didn’t need any help. Damn man has got me all over the place with my emotions. “Okay, looks like you and I are going to tackle the dog room as we call it. We have kennels to clean, so we’ll start taking the dogs outside to the outdoor kennel so we can hose it all down.”
“I’m your man.” He winks.
He reminds me a little of Landon, but he’s most definitely not him. He’s too short, his hair way too light, and his eyes, they’re not the ocean blue I’ve come accustomed to. He’s confident though; I’ll give him that.
Two by two, we move the dogs to the outdoor kennel. I don’t rush the process as we play with them, giving them treats. This is yet another luxury we don’t always have. An hour later we’re in the dog room, and Tony is spraying everything down with the water hose while I start behind him with a brush on a long stick and a bucket of soapy water.
“Let me do that,” he says, trying to hand me the hose.
“I’m good. This is something I do on a regular basis.”
“Exactly why you should let me do it.” He tries to take the broom, and I move quickly out of his reach, but lose my footing. He reaches out to catch me, and we both end up falling to the floor. He lands on top of me, but is quick to lift himself, holding his weight on his arms as he stares down at me as the soapy water seeps into my clothes. “Oops.” He grins and I can’t help but smile back at him.