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)
“Shit,” Way said with a nervous laugh. “Pizza needs to go in.”
He moved to open the oven door, but a split second before he bent over, I saw the tented front of his pajama pants.
And despite all the rationalizations I’d made just a few minutes earlier, I thanked god this tiny house only had one bed.
THIRTEEN
WAYLON
Silas was scrambling my senses. Being around him made my brain feel impaired, like maybe I’d taken one too many of those pain pills I’d gotten after being thrown from my horse during a storm back in high school.
He was all-consuming, and I could hardly think when he was around.
“Go sit over there.” I pointed to my small kitchen table.
Silas did as I’d asked, but he shot me a knowing grin while he was at it. “Am I getting in your way?”
“Yes.” In all the ways.
“Tell me more about your siblings,” he said, as if it was obvious I needed a safe topic.
I was grateful for the reprieve. While my body wanted nothing more than another naked orgasm session with the man, my heart and brain were sending out desperate alerts to slow the hell down.
“I told you ZuZu—her real name’s Susan—has a pottery studio in town. She’s actually pretty good, but she’s having to learn the business side, too, which is slow going. Then there’s Sheridan, who you met. Her husband Bo’s a good guy. He’s the chef at the cafe. Then there’s my brother, Wynn. He’s kind of quiet. Actually, he’s a musician, too. Plays the piano. I thought he was going to do something with his music, but after our dad died, he really struggled. Ended up joining the army. He’s stationed in Alaska right now.”
I busied myself with pulling plates down and yanking off paper towels to use as napkins. Silas continued to ask me questions about my family, and I explained that my mom had taken off a year after my dad’s death.
“She couldn’t handle it. Honestly, she’d wanted out of Majestic for a long time, so I don’t blame her for leaving.”
“Even though she’s not here to help on the ranch?”
“Mom was never much help with ranch work, other than cooking meals and stuff. She’s petite like ZuZu. But where ZuZu is strong and determined, my mom is more… I don’t know. Delicate?” I shrugged. “She just never took to being a rancher’s wife. Or to Majestic, really.”
“She’s not from here, then?”
“No. They met in Texas when my dad was down there buying some stock. She grew up on a ranch but hated it, couldn’t wait to leave and go somewhere else. Unfortunately, she fell in love with a rancher.” I realized this was all way too much information. “Anyway, Mom lives in North Carolina now, and she seems happy enough.”
Silas eyed me like he knew there was more to the story there. Thankfully, he didn’t ask. “What did you want to be when you grew up? A rancher like your dad?”
I laughed. “No. I wanted to be a lawyer. I was halfway through my undergrad degree down in Laramie when Dad died.” I leaned over to check on the pizza. “Dropped out to move home and run the ranch.”
Silas was quiet while I pulled out the hot pan and set it on the stove, and I quickly realized he’d been doing some mental math.
“So, wait. If your dad died eight years ago, and your mom moved away a year after that… how old is ZuZu? I thought you said she was the youngest.”
“Twenty. She was twelve when he died. She didn’t want to leave the ranch, so she stayed when Mom left.”
“So she left you to finish raising her?” Silas’s voice didn’t carry judgment or pity, but I felt myself getting prickly anyway.
“Me and Sheridan, yeah. And it turned out fine. ZuZu’s great. You’ll like her.”
I moved the pizza to a cutting board and began attacking it with the rotary cutter. Silas stood up and moved behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle and holding me tightly in a reverse hug.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was low but sincere enough to make my throat fill with emotion.
I closed my eyes and savored the comfort, but only for a moment.
“Nothing to be sorry about, Silas. That’s just the way life goes sometimes. Someone had to step up and handle it, so I did.” I pulled away to finish getting our dinner on plates so we could eat. “Besides, I had help. Even though Aunt Blake was busy with her family and the cafe, I knew I could call her if I needed to. And Aunt Winona’s the one who taught ZuZu about pottery—she lives in California and is one of those free-spirit types, but she visits at least once a year. Then there’s Aunt Mutt, who has a cattle ranch east of here with her wife. They come help with roundup sometimes when we need extra hands.”