Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
“I am. Shaken up and all the other stuff that comes with being in an accident.” Worry, sadness, scared shitless, trying to figure out what’s my next step, and pissed at myself.
“I’d imagine so. Can’t say I’m surprised. This patch of road seems to see all kinds of accidents. Also can’t say one that’s as bad as this, though.” His voice is a balm to my otherwise quaking insides. I’m still quaking, but not from the accident. It’s because he’s moving closer. Every step he takes, his dog matches, until she drops her head between my legs, and I’m left with the only option of petting the big fluffy white ball of fur. The dog lets out a low whimper. I drop my legs to the ground, and then I’ve got a new friend on top of me.
“Is it that bad?” I look from the cowboy back to the dog, snagging a glance at his ring finger. There isn’t a band or so much as a tan line from one. Still, I’m reluctant to let my thoughts go haywire.
“Sweetheart, you’ll be lucky if they don’t total it out.” The man with no name squats down on his haunches, snagging my attention. His hand comes out, thumb sweeping over my cheek.
“Figures. Everything has been going so well until tonight.” I take a deep breath. There’s no way I can hold back what I’m about to say. My nervous habit is coming out to play no matter how much I tell myself to shut the hell up. Lennon calls it diarrhea of the mouth, and she’s not wrong. “Only I, Clementine Sinclair, also known as Minnie, would get myself into this situation. I drive from Florida on this grand adventure, the first time in my life I set out to do this without anyone, and it's been going great, no, beyond great. It’s been amazing. Not even the weather in Nebraska is as bad as tonight has been. My van is fucked up, totally screwed six ways from Sunday. I’d settled in for the night after I found a small camp that had a sign stating you could overnight park. No problem. I hunkered down, did everything as far as my nighttime routine went, and was almost asleep when someone starts banging on my door.” Clay drops his hand. Losing his touch jars me. Jesus, who am I, what is going on here, and am I the only one feeling this way?
“What do you mean someone was banging on your door?” His voice takes on a rougher tone, like he’s upset for me. Besides Lennie, no one has ever been concerned for me.
“To be fair, the guy knocking was the town sheriff. I didn’t catch his name, though. Anyway, he told to move it along. Even when I tried to tell him I dropped money in the box for overnight parking.” I couldn’t keep arguing with the law, or I’d have surely been put in a pair of nice, shiny bracelets, not of the Tiffany & Co. variety. “Which lead me to here. I found another overnight place to park, this one the good ole sheriff said I could park at. It meant I’d be going up higher in altitude, but what do I freaking know? Usually, it’s the opposite. They’d rather you go down, but he said to come up this way. Of course, as you can see, it’s as dark as midnight out here, and while I drove slower than a turtle, I had to accelerate to round the corner.” A quick breath, and I’m back to explaining what happened. “I’m driving, right?”
“That’s usually what happens when you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle.” He nods, and a small grin tips his lips. Well, he’s certainly right about that. My rambling tends to not make a lick of sense, but whatever.
“Well, yeah. Anyway, I’m driving, and snow came tumbling down the side of the mountain. I tried to go around it, thinking it’s better than being taken out by a big ball of white fluff. You know, kind of like this dog. Yours, I take it?” I wait before I continue my long-winded conversation.
“Nala is mine, though she’s never reacted to a stranger like she has tonight. Thinkin’ maybe she prefers you over me. Can’t say that I blame her.” His words slide through me. My body trembles at the deep husky timbre, sending delicious shivers through me and making me want to leap into his arms. Who is this person I’ve become? Never in my life would I consider falling with just one look, yet here I am, doing exactly that. Maybe it’s his eyes that suck me in or the way his presence is commanding my attention, or it could even be that this man isn’t pissed at me for waking him up in the middle of the night for a pseudo rescue.