Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“What are you doing here? We don’t start morning chores for an hour.”
“You won’t be with her again,” he repeats. His voice is hard and mean, just like it always is. “The fact that you’ve been fucking around with a Wild is not acceptable.”
“Dad—”
“Shut the fuck up,” he snaps as he stands to his full height. He might be getting older, but he’s still fit from ranch work, and he’s tall. “Whatever the fuck you’ve been playing at is over. You won’t see that whore again.”
Hot blood rushes through my head. I want to fucking kill him.
“I’m an adult,” I remind him through clenched teeth. “There’s not much you can do about it.”
“Oh, no?” Now that sick, evil grin slides over his face, and I know I’m fucked. “If you don’t stop seeing that cunt, I’ll kill Charlie.”
My heart stutters. My mind spins. Jesus Christ, he can’t be serious.
“I know she’s your favorite. There are a lot of places to hide a body on this ranch. Animals will take care of it for me. Girls get taken all the time.”
“You’re insane.”
“I’m not fucking with you,” he says, losing the smile. “No son of mine is going to so much as sniff at a Wild. You keep it up, and I’ll kill everything you love, starting with that sister of yours. And then I’ll kill that little Wild bitch.”
Terror claws at my throat.
“Charlie’s your daughter.”
“Who the fuck cares?”
He smirks, walks down the stairs to the truck that I didn’t notice when I pulled up, and drives away.
When he’s out of sight, my knees give out, and I lower to the top step of the porch, covering my face with my hands.
He would do it, too. He’s not bluffing.
Goddamn it.
CHAPTER ONE
MILLIE
“How many grandmas do you have?” I press my phone to my ear and scowl as I lean my hip against the counter and absently wipe a rag over it. “Because this is the sixth one that’s died in the past six months, Shelly.”
“Uh, well—”
“And don’t forget that we live in the same small town, and I’ve known your family longer than you have.”
“Millie—”
I roll my eyes, listening as the sixteen-year-old stammers through a bunch of excuses. Shelly is notorious for calling out, whether it’s because she claims to be sick or because a mythical grandmother has sadly crossed to the other side.
I’d have fired her sooner, but I’m short-staffed.
Looks like I’m even more shorthanded now than before.
“Shelly,” I interrupt her tirade about why she needs to spend more time with her boyfriend. “I’m too busy to do this with you. I get it. You’re not coming in tomorrow.”
My one and only day off.
“But,” I continue, “you won’t be coming in at all. This is the last straw for me. Good luck to you.”
I hang up and sigh. I am not giving up my day off tomorrow. And since I no longer have the second staff member for the day, I’ll have to close down the shop.
It’s not my favorite solution, but damn it, I’m fucking exhausted. Not to mention, I have plans for the whole day that I can’t shift.
“You okay, boss?”
I turn to Candy, the one employee that I can count on for literally anything, and sigh.
“Shelly’s done. Which means I need to close down tomorrow.”
“Cool, I can use the day off,” she says with a smile. “But it sucks for you. I have a couple of friends who are moving to town and might need jobs.”
“A couple of friends?” I ask her. Candy’s in her mid-twenties and has worked here since she was in high school. She’s a total ski bum in the winter and a sun goddess in the summer.
“Yeah, they want to be here for the summer, and they’re coming early.”
“But that means they probably won’t be here long term.”
“Maybe they’ll love working for you as much as I do, and they’ll never want to leave.” Candy bats her eyelashes at me, making me laugh. “At the very least, it’ll get us through the summer rush.”
“You have a point.” I push my hand through my hair, remembering that I need to put it up in a ponytail. “Okay, have them come see me. They’ll need references.”
“No problem.” Candy turns to take a customer’s order.
“I’ll be right back. I have to grab more medium cups.”
Hurrying to the stockroom, I make a detour to pull a scrunchie out of my purse and throw my hair up into a high pony, then I grab some sleeves of cups before returning to the dining room, smiling at Beckett Blackwell, who happens to be placing an order right now.
“Hey, Beck,” I say with a smile as I stow the cups away. “How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain,” he says with that easygoing smile. Of all the Blackwell brothers, Beckett is the most laid-back. He’s just a big ol’ sexy-as-all-get-out teddy bear. “How are you, Mill?”