Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I shyly smiled, coaxing, “Wow, you’ve grown up since the last time I saw you.”
There were six siblings in the Beckham household. Haven was the youngest, the only girl, and twenty years younger than her eldest brother, Jace. Ledger was the third son, and he’d eventually inherit the ranch. Out of all of them, he was always the most passionate about ranch life.
The walk.
The talk.
The attitude.
Ledger Beckham was a cowboy through and through.
I was the first to break the silence, asking, “Is Ledger around? I need to talk to him.”
She nodded. “Come in.”
“I can just wait out here.”
“Hazel, it’s fine. You can come in.”
I reluctantly gave in, swallowing the perpetual lump in my throat as I crossed the threshold and shut the door behind me.
Everything happened so fast but so slow at the same time. One minute, I’m standing at their front door, and the next, I’m in front of a very pissed-off Ledger Beckham.
Not that I could blame him with how I left things between us, but the asshole deserved it.
In true form, he wore his black cowboy hat and boots with a plaid orange-and-black flannel shirt. The three cross tattoos on his neck were on full display, along with the ones on his hands and arms. His black beard was longer than I remembered, but his bright green eyes glared at me.
He was as handsome and rugged as ever.
Fuck him.
With a sudden harsh tone, he bit, “Why are you here, Hazel? What else do you need from our ranch that you haven’t already tried to take?”
The audacity. I had nothing to do with that.
In one breath, I replied, “We need to talk.”
He shrugged. “Whatever you need to say, you can do it in front of my family.”
My hands fisted at my sides. “Fine!” I exclaimed, pissed at his cocky bullshit demeanor as if he could intimidate me. “Have it your way,” I added, never once holding back as I snapped…
“I’m pregnant with your baby!”
One
Hazel
Then: Eleven Years Ago
The first time I realized I was in love with my twin brother’s best friend Ledger, I was nine years old. During recess, the class bully set his eyes on me and pushed me off the monkey bars.
Except I didn’t need anyone to protect me. I was raised on a ranch with a brother I had to keep up with. I was tough, but sometimes it felt like I went from being a tomboy and dressing in his clothes to a girly girl who only wore dresses and heels overnight. I became obsessed with fashion, particularly designing my own.
After I fell to the ground, I was about to jump up and give that bully one hell of a fight. However, before I could, Ledger was right in his face, body checking his chest, completely squaring up to him. Let’s just say, from that moment forward, I was never picked on by anyone again.
Since we were all the same age and in the same grade, I often hung out with my brother and his friends. Chance and I were always close, and the truth was, he would forever be my best friend. People always said that twins shared a special connection formed in the womb.
In the case of Chance and I, it was true. We had a deep bond that most people didn’t understand. Sometimes we knew what each other was thinking without saying a word. Other times, we finished one another sentences. We even had our own language when we were kids, driving our parents insane, simply making it more amusing for us to continue to provoke them.
Chance was only two minutes older than me, and he never let me forget it. If Ledger hadn’t protected me that day, it would have been my brother. This led me back to just one of the many reasons I could never show or tell Ledger how I felt about him. Chance would shit a brick if his best friend ever laid eyes on me with anything other than sisterly affection.
I kept my feelings a secret from everyone except my journal. It was the only thing I had to sincerely express myself about my desire to feel Ledger’s lips on mine. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I dated a few guys over the years, but none of them held a torch to my brother’s best friend.
Writing my emotions on paper without worrying about Chance finding out was the only escape I had in a situation I had no control over. Because of that, I kept my distance from Ledger, never allowing him to get too close to me.
Of course, we were friends. I’d known him since I was four years old. There wasn’t much I hadn’t seen regarding our childhood and growing up together.
I was there when he had his first kiss with Maggie Cinabello at her thirteenth birthday party. They played Seven Minutes in Heaven, and according to everyone, Ledger also rounded second base that night.