Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
What the shower lacked in privacy, it more than made up for in breathtaking views. In fact, this little house seemed to have killer views from every vantage point, positioned like it was in the wide curve of the river. Aspen trees lined the left-hand side of the shower view, presumably blocking the shower from anyone in the driveway where Way had parked his truck.
I moved back out to my rental car and pulled out my messenger bag and glanced at the small suitcase I’d taken to Vegas. The cottage didn’t really have anywhere for me to store it, so I opened the suitcase and pulled out one clean change of clothes and my toiletry kit, leaving everything else in the car.
Once back in the house, I forced myself to get some work done, which involved taking my laptop and phone back out to the river’s edge to get enough signal to download my email. Since it was a warm, late-spring day, I decided to work outside until I’d gotten the most urgent needs done.
Then, I finally allowed myself to return to the cottage, strip down, and see what it was like to take a shower in full view of the Rocky Mountains and Majestic River while the sun moved down toward the peaks in the distance, turning everything around us warm and gold.
I was about as far away from New York City as I could get, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt like maybe I was okay with that.
ELEVEN
WAYLON
I’d never raced toward afternoon chores with so much single-mindedness before, but I was several hours past needing a break from the absolute mayhem of my day.
And I needed time to think.
After filling troughs and stuffing hay nets for the nearby paddocks, I headed into the barn to muck stalls and check on the handful of horses currently housed inside.
I’d stripped off my outer shirt to save it from getting ruined, and the tank underneath was already covered in hay, dirt, and sweat. The physical work was helping, though. I didn’t feel any clearer mentally, but I felt like the last of the Vegas alcohol had finally finished processing out of my pores.
Foster’s slow clap managed to make it through the music pumping in my headphones and nearly scared the shit out of me.
I yanked out my headphones and glared at him. “Jesus.”
“Amazing job getting out of that marriage, Mayor. Do you offer professional consultations?” His lazy grin was begging to be punched.
“Don’t start.”
“What the hell happened? When I left you, it seemed like everything was under control. Did he insist on going public or something? If so, that was an asshole thing to do.”
“It wasn’t his fault. Things… just happened.” I tossed the rake and pushed the wheelbarrow into the aisle before returning Letty back to her newly cleaned stall.
“According to tea spilling all over town, ‘things’ was that man’s tongue in your throat.”
I hid my hot face in the side of Letty’s thick neck, inhaling the familiar scent of horse and hay. “Yeah. That wasn’t his fault, either,” I muttered.
He let out a surprised sound of amusement. “Mayor Fletcher, you surprise me. You mean to tell me you accidentally kissed the guy again?”
I closed the stall gate and shot him a look. “You saw the man. Can you blame me?”
Foster’s face sported a wide, familiar grin. “You are shocking me right now. It’s like everything I’ve ever known and relied on has been turned topsy-turvy. My straight best friend, the town’s upright example of masculine perfection, has come over to the dark side. Will wonders never cease.”
“It was a mistake,” I admitted. “I shouldn’t have done it. If I’d been able to keep my hands to myself, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now.”
“That’s the part I don’t get. Why not divorce out in the open now that everyone knows—?” He seemed to realize what he’d said. “Oh-ho. I get it. It’s because everyone knows. Because you can’t handle anyone seeing you’re less than perfect.”
His knowing grin got on my last nerve. “Explain to me how I’m supposed to tell the town that I got drunk married to a stranger when they’re counting on me to be the sane, responsible one around here! And I’ve already had this shit from Sheridan today about my recklessness, okay? I don’t need it from you, too.”
Foster hesitated before nodding. “Fine. Then what’s the plan, Way? Because I don’t see how pretending this is some kind of love match makes a whole lotta difference when the end result is the same.”
“I just need to get through roundup and the exhibition race. That’s all. Then we can tell everyone it didn’t work out and go our separate ways.” I swung open the next stall gate and clipped a lead to the mare inside before leading her out.