Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
2
HARPER
“Harper, if you look at that man any harder, your eyes are going to fall out of your head. Behave yourself,” Mom chastises me as we head out of Saint Alban’s. I can’t stop giggling to myself about how hunky the new priest is.
“I’m on my best behavior, swear,” I tell her, raising two fingers to my eyebrow.
She swats my hand with another admonishment coming. “Don’t swear in front of the church. What did Father Hudgens say to you?”
“That I should go see him for confession,” I tell her jokingly.
My mom, Honour Haven, is one of the most upstanding citizens of Conklin County but also the mother of a trio of brutes. They’re only brutes when you piss them off or hit on their wives. I’m the baby and the angel, so I take a bit of pleasure in devilish humor. Mom, on the other hand, does not.
“Confession is good for the soul, but there are no confession booths, Harper. What are you up to?”
“Nothing, Mom. I swe—I promise. Father Hudgens wanted me to figure out some ways to encourage more youth participation.”
She smiles widely. “That’s a great idea. Don’t you have a project for class or something you were talking to Daddy about?”
“Dad said I could pick his brain about some of the family businesses, but my project for this business management class is picking an actual company, seeing their current operations, and recommending ideas for growth. The church isn’t actually a company, is it?”
She’s adjusting her seatbelt like it can get any tighter as I drive her home. The way she white knuckles the armrest on the door makes me shake my head because I’m an amazing driver. All my brothers say so.
“I think it’s a non-profit, but I’m not sure of the specific classification. Perhaps when you go for your confession, you can ask Father Hudgens for help.”
That brings a smile to my face. Every time that sexy priest blinks an eyelash in my direction, it makes my body tremble with an insatiable urge for him to touch me. I don’t even know where I want him to touch me, but I just know it has to be him.
After dropping my mother home, I make my way across town to Heaven’s Haven. My brother, Hudson, needs me at the ranch. I never got the opportunity to grow up with my brothers out here. By the time I came around, my parents had already given the place to Hudson, and I was the baby raised in their smaller home where I’m spoiled rotten. I’m not complaining because my life is simple until it comes to dating.
The thing about having three brothers nearly 20 years older than me is that it feels like I have four fathers. They all want a say in who gets to date me, and I don’t have any interest in their opinions.
I take that back. I appreciate their opinions because I know they all just want to see me happy and safe. However, they’re so intense about protecting me that I steer clear of anyone I’d need to introduce to the Haven boys.
However, the lack of experience in my dating life doesn’t make me so naïve to ignore the rumors about my brothers. No guy my age wants to stand against the Havens just to take me out to some fast-food joint or a movie.
The lengths Haven men go through to protect their women is evidence of their duty to keep me out of harm's way. From facing armed stalkers to taking down a petty crook looking to strong-arm my sister-in-law’s landlord, my brothers will move mountains to protect the people they love. I’m on the list of women the Haven men protect with their lives.
When I pull into the ranch’s driveway, the picturesque backdrop of Mount Kenwood, about 20 miles outside of Conklin, makes the ranch one of the most beautiful pieces of property around.
Hudson and his wife, Heather, run the place. The upgrades they’re making include pathways large enough for ATVs and golf carts to navigate from the main house to the cabins in other parcels of the land. Construction has the landscape in disarray, with mounds of dirt and gravel scattered across various pastures.
After parking my Jeep, I head inside the main house to hear grunts and sounds of people struggling, echoing from somewhere near the back of the first floor. My heart races for a minute, thinking the worst. What if someone he fought off for her has come back to get their revenge?
Then, I remember my brother and sister-in-law having an odd connection with each other. They literally like to wrestle. I stop by the door just in case they’re doing something else and call out.
“I’m here, River. Unhand my sister.”
To my surprise, Heather is dragging my brother Hudson—a.k.a. River to those close to him—in a headlock to the front of the house. What used to be the living room and dining room is now a guest receiving area with a large desk center to the front entryway. The living room is still the same except now, they use it as a community space.