Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Absolutely not.” I shake my head. “There is not one thing I think is good about my family, and by my family I mean the whole circus, meeting your family.” I walk toward her as I bend down and kiss her lips. “When did you think I thought this was a good idea?” I then kiss her bare shoulder as she just looks at me in the mirror. “I think I even shook my head while you were talking about this at Christmastime.” From the time we had the showdown with her family, we’ve never been apart, well, except for when I’ve been on the road.
“I was drunk,” she huffs at me, “and nervous about meeting everyone. How was I supposed to know that Matthew senior would have called my grandfather? They were talking about the huge family vacation. Do you think it dawned on me that he would get so excited about our family reunion, he would think it was a good idea to be included?” I can’t help but laugh at her as she glares at me.
“I told you those two together was not a good idea, and then you throw in my uncle Max and it’s a recipe for disaster.” I put my hands on her hips, standing behind her. “You had to have known. Fuck, everyone now owns a horse. I can’t even picture them riding a horse. My father sent me a horse’s picture the other day, asking me if it was a good breed. It’s like Autotrader but for horses.”
The doorbell rings and we both look at each other. I kiss her once more on the neck before walking out and to the front door. The top half of the door is all glass, something we are going to have to change for the next time. Yesterday, I walked out in my boxers and her cousin was looking into the window. Today, it’s my father’s turn. “It’s my father,” I say over my shoulder toward the bedroom area.
I unlock the door, something apparently they don’t do here because, well, they know everyone, and besides, who is going to break into your house? “Hi,” I greet when I open the door and my father steps in, hugging me with one hand before kissing my head, just like he did when I was a kid.
“Hey,” he replies, looking around, “is the coast clear?”
“She’s in the bedroom.” My voice is low as I look to make sure she isn’t nearby. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is set up,” he confirms and then smiles over my shoulder. “Hi,” he says, and I look over to see Sofia walking into the room. She comes over and gives my dad a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“You ready?” he asks, and she nods her head.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” she grumbles as she grabs her phone and puts it in her pocket. We walk out into the glorious sunny day, her hand slipping into mine. “This is going to be so much fun,” she says sarcastically and even my father laughs.
“Where is Zoe?” Sofia asks.
“She was with your mother and aunts this morning. They were showing the girls how to bake something, but then I think I heard there was some sweet tea involved.” He shrugs. “So no one eat those cookies.”
We all laugh as I open the back door of the truck for Sofia to get into it. I step in and kiss her before I close the door and hop into the front passenger side. My foot moves up and down with nerves, today is a big day in more ways than I can put into words. When we are close to her grandparents’ farm, I spot what seems to be over a hundred cars. “Holy shit,” Sofia squeaks from the back. I glance at what she is looking at and see that my uncles Matthew and Max are riding horses with Casey and Reed. “Why aren’t they using a saddle?” she asks and my father laughs.
“It’s not manly enough.” My father looks back at her. “When your father got on the horse by grabbing onto its mane, well, Matthew tried and almost kicked himself in the face. Max fell on his ass. It took over ten minutes to finally get on the horse.”
My father stops the car next to the four men and I press the button to open the window. “Hey,” I say, giving them the chin up. “What are you doing?”
“We’re barebacking,” Max states, and I cringe.
“Never say that again.” I shake my head.
“You know, your balls are going to be in your throat.” My father leans over me to tell them.
“We are fine,” Matthew says, wincing, “go away.”
My father pulls over and parks the truck. I get out and look over to see the four of them trotting somewhere in the distance, and I wonder if they have everything set. “What’s wrong with you?” Sofia asks as she comes over to stand next to me. I look at her. “You look like you are going to throw up and then someone is going to kick you in the balls.”