Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Her nose is curled up, and there’s indecision clearly on her face. “C’mon, I promise. Nothing’s going to happen that you don’t want to happen.”
She raises her eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound too promising, Carter.”
I shrug. “What, you don’t think you can resist me?” I ask her while wiggling my eyebrows.
She tries not to laugh, but she can’t hold back. Her giggle is soft and sweet sounding. “I can definitely resist you.”
“Okay, so you have nothing to lose.”
She’s going to cave. I can tell by the way she’s looking at me that she wants to. “Come on, Janie. Go riding with me.”
“When?”
“Today.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t today. I have to help here, and then I have singles group and then church tonight.”
“Singles group?”
She nods. “Yeah, it’s a Bible study.”
“For singles?” I unfold my legs, stand up, and move behind her. “Wrap your skirt around your legs, honey. I’m going to push you.”
As soon as I know her skirt is secure, I start to push her. Just tiny nudges to get her going, but it gives me time to think. “I don’t like it.”
She looks at me over her shoulder. “You don’t like what?”
“Well, usually a singles group is something where you go to try to meet someone.”
She faces forward. “We’re studying the Bible.”
“Are there men there too?”
I’m watching the back of her head as she nods. Well shit.
“What time is the Bible study and where’s it at?”
“It’s a large group, so it will be here. At five.”
I put my hands on her waist and stop her. “Okay, well I have to go and do some chores at the ranch if I’m going to make it back in time.”
“Wait, you’re coming? To the group?”
I take a few steps away from her. The way she’s looking up at me with her wide, innocent eyes, I have to. Just looking at her makes me crazy. “Yes and to church after.” I lean in and whisper, “If your daddy wasn’t watching me right now, I’d kiss you, but it looks like I’m going to have to wait. See you in a while, darling.”
I turn and walk away, waving bye to Pastor Blake as I go. I look like a man on a mission, and right now, I am. I need to go so I can get back. I have a feeling that I’m not the only one that’s going to be vying for Janie’s attention tonight.
7
Janie
“I still can’t believe you came,” I tell Carter later that night.
“I told you I was coming. Why can’t you believe it?”
We’re sitting on my front porch, and my dad’s inside the house. I know he’s probably going to ask me what’s going on with Carter as soon as I walk in the door, so I’m happy to put it off for a while longer.
“Uh, I also can’t believe that you told Tommy Cavanaugh to back off.”
He turns in the porch swing so he’s facing me. “Really? He was acting like the two of you were on a date or something.”
I start to laugh because he’s completely wrong. “No he wasn’t. He just asked to be my partner for the group.”
“I don’t share, Janie.” His voice is hard and filled with warning.
Hope flares in my chest. He’s making me want things I know I shouldn’t. Things that I know I’m not going to get from Carter. He’s a fun-time guy. I don’t think he’s the settling down type, and I already know, just in the short time I’ve known him, that he could hurt me. I can already feel myself getting attached. “There’s nothing to share, Carter. It’s not like we’re a thing.”
He threads his fingers through my hair. I showered after the potluck today, and I spent extra time curling my hair before Bible study tonight. I tried to pretend that it wasn’t because I knew I’d be seeing Carter, but I was just lying to myself.
“When are you coming out to the ranch to go riding?”
I shrug. My schedule’s pretty free. At least for now, until I get a job. I went to school and got a business degree, but I still am not sure what I want to do with my life. “I don’t know. I need to apply for jobs tomorrow.”
“What are you wanting to do?”
“You mean for work?”
He nods and rests his hand on my shoulder. It’s hard to think when he’s touching me. “You probably don’t want to know.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “Sure I do.”
“I went to college because it was expected of me.”
He widens his legs, and his thigh presses against mine. “So you have a degree in...”
“Marketing.”
He nods. “Marketing. Okay, so what do you want to do? Tell me, I want to know.”
I hesitate because I know how it’s going to sound, but I also know that I might as well tell him. This way, he can hear it straight from me and we can both go on with our lives. “You’re sure? You really want to know?”