Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Her forehead creases. “I’m pregnant.”
I laugh. “I know. We already went over that.”
She shakes her head. “No, it’s a bad idea. I’ll find something. Don’t worry about me, Elliott.” She holds up my shirt that she’s still holding. “And I’ll clean your shirt and get it back to you. I promise.”
Not wanting to leave her, I hold my hand out. “You have a phone?”
She pulls it out of her purse and holds it up. I take it and punch in my name and phone number. “Call me if you change your mind… or if you need anything.”
She looks as if she’s on the verge of tears again. “Thank you. And I really mean that. You’ve been nicer to me… well, you’ve been nicer to me than anyone has in a long time, so thank you for that.”
She turns to walk away, but I can’t just let her leave. “Camille,” I call out.
She looks at me with her front door wide open. “Yeah?”
“You deserve it. You deserve to be treated right. I just want you to know that.”
Her face lights up, and she tilts her head as she’s looking at me. “Thank you, Elliott.”
She shuts the door, and I let out a big breath. I know she’s hurting right now, but I have no choice but to give her some space. A day… two tops. And then I’m coming for her.
CHAPTER 2
CAMILLE
My independent “I can do it on my own” attitude lasted two days. After putting in applications all over town and finally a sweet waitress finally let me know why I had such a hard time finding a job, I knew I had to do something. I guess the knowledge that I’m pregnant has gotten around.
I stare at the phone number I now have memorized. Besides job hunting, I’ve been thinking about Elliott Barnett. I probably shouldn’t be thinking of him at all, but I haven’t been able to help it. I wasn’t lying when I told him that he was nicer to me than anyone has been in a long time. But there’s more to it than just that. For months, Elliott has been coming into the Feed Haven. I had just begun to convince myself that I was over men and that I was better off on my own when the handsome rancher started coming into the store every day. I wasn’t in any kind of position to be attracted to or flirt with anyone, but he was hard to resist.
But all that’s history. If I take this job, he’s going to be my boss, and I can’t screw this up. My future—and my baby’s future—depends on me to keep it all on the up and up no matter how attracted I am to the man.
Nerves are settling in my stomach, but I know what I have to do. I hit the call button and hold the phone up to my ear.
When I hear his deep voice come over the line, my heart starts to race. “Hello, Mr. uh, Elliott.”
“Camille,” he says, and I pull the phone back and look at it in surprise. He knows it’s me. Before I can respond, he says, “Are you there? You okay?”
I can’t stop the smile that forms on my face. Even on the phone, Elliott makes me feel cared for. “Yeah, I’m here and I’m okay.”
I can hear him let out a big breath of relief. “Good, that’s good. Have you thought about my offer? It still stands, you know.”
“About that…” I start, but before I can get the complete sentence out, he interrupts me.
“When can you start?”
I blurt out a laugh. “Look, before I take the job, we need to talk.”
He doesn’t seem fazed. “How fast can you be packed and ready?”
I start to pace across my small living room. “Packed? Why would I pack?”
“Because the job includes room and board, that’s why. Ranchers keep odd hours, and it makes sense that you’d be here.”
I try to remember if he mentioned any of this the other day, but I don’t remember. “Seriously, Elliott. We need to talk first.”
I can hear what sounds like keys jiggling and then a screen door slam. “Start packing. I’m on my way.”
I look around at the worn furniture and almost bare room. I’ve never been embarrassed about where I come from, but I am a little uneasy about having Elliott Barnett, the richest rancher in town, come here. “I can meet you in town. Where do you want to meet?”
“I’m on my way,” he says before I hear a click.
I pull away and stare at the phone. Did he just hang up on me?
I know the ranch is only ten minutes from here, so I walk outside to pace until he gets here.
I try to play out everything I’m going to say, and I think I’m ready by the time I see Elliott’s big black truck pulling in the driveway. He barely gets parked and he’s out of the truck and walking toward me. I lose my train of thought as I watch him. He has on a tight pair of Wranglers, a black T-shirt that seems to cling to his muscled chest, and a brown hat that’s pulled low on his brow.