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)
Way rode Helios to the edge of the paddock closest to me. “I’m surprised Lake didn’t tell you to pick up some stall-mucking boots while you were there. I’ve got a pair in the tack room if you want to try them.”
“He tried. I thought three pairs of boots might be excessive.”
“Then stop stepping in shit, cowboy,” he teased. “Or I’ll have to toss you in the shower as soon as we get home.”
The heat in his eyes sucked the breath out of my lungs. I locked eyes with him and tried to give as much as he gave. When he shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, I knew I’d succeeded.
I blinked up at him as innocently as I could. “Need me to grab you some of that Nut Butter, sweetheart?”
He crooked his finger at me, so I walked closer until I stood on the other side of the fence from Helios’s rounded belly. “Closer,” he murmured, grabbing the front of my shirt and hauling me up until I stepped onto a rung of the fence to keep my shirt from ripping.
Then, he leaned down and kissed me hard on the mouth. The familiarity of his kiss made my stomach flip. I reached an arm around his waist to keep from falling off the fence and took advantage of my position to keep kissing him as long as he’d let me.
It wasn’t until a wolf whistle split the air that I pulled back and sucked in a breath.
“Throw a bucket of water on ’em, Taz,” Foster called. “Visitors come a callin’.”
I glanced over and recognized Dev standing by Foster’s shoulder, alongside Sheridan and ZuZu, who looked eager to welcome my friend now that they knew he’d come to help with roundup.
“Hey,” I called, hopping down from the fence and striding over to greet him with a hug. “Good to see you, man. Thanks for coming.”
It was so strange seeing someone from my real life standing here on the ranch. His curly, dark hair looked like it had been pushed back by nervous fingers raking through it, and his hazel eyes squinted in the bright sun as he checked out the horseflesh in the paddock.
He was already wearing jeans and well-worn boots, and if I knew him—which I did—he was itching to get in the saddle.
“Let me introduce you,” I said before making sure he’d met Foster and Way’s sisters before Way walked over to shake his hand and offer him a wide smile.
It was strange introducing one of my closest friends to my accidental husband. “Way, this is Devon McKay. Dev, Waylon Fletcher.”
“Thank you so much for agreeing to help,” Way said, sizing Dev up. “Silas said you’re an experienced rider?”
Dev nodded. “Grew up around horses. Mine’s on the way, but it’ll take him a couple days to get here in the trailer. Silas said you needed help sooner than I could make the drive.”
Way looked impressed but guilty, too. “I should have made sure you knew you didn’t need to bring your own mount. We have plenty of horses you can pick from.”
Dev finally cracked a small smile. “I figured. But I’m partial to Trigger, and he’d like a chance to stretch his legs out here. Been holed up all winter in a polo stable with only the ring to ride in.” He glanced between me and Way. “That is… if you’re okay with it. I don’t mean to impose.”
I let Way reassure him. “No, no. Of course it’s no trouble. We’ve got plenty of room for him, as you can see. Come on in, and let me show you some of the horses. We’ve also got a bunk room—”
Sheridan interrupted. “No need. ZuZu and I cleaned out the apartment upstairs and got it ready for him. Come see.”
I glanced at Way, surprised by the news there was a bunk room, much less an apartment over the barn. This area was out of sight of the main house, so I could have easily slept here instead of invading his personal space at the tiny house.
Foster must have read my mind because after the ladies and Way took Dev off, he lowered his voice and said, “Place has been in a shambles since the last foreman left a decade ago. The girls started fixing it up for ZuZu to move into, but she’s mostly been staying in town lately.” He lifted an eyebrow. “With Natana.”
“I know the two of them are friends,” I said, unsure of what his point was.
He inhaled evenly. “Friends. Right. Seems a lot of that going around lately. Anyway, I’ve gotta be getting back. Tell Way I found a drone and got Lake and Jackson to agree to run it up the river this weekend. Eden stopped by to talk to me about it earlier this morning. Also, my mother wanted me to remind you both of the cookout next week. She said to make sure you knew it was a command performance so, and I quote, Waylon doesn’t try to weasel his way out of it again.”