Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
He shrugs. “Yeah, if that’s what you want to do.”
“All right, boys, go put on old clothes. I’ll grab the supplies we need.”
They both scamper up the stairs, and I walk over to Dalton. I’m hoping that he’s hiding his true feelings and that once we’re alone he’ll hug me or at least act happy to see me. I get a few feet away from him, and he says. “Your car is ready. I parked it next to the barn.”
“Oh,” I say, surprised. I’m searching his face, but all he’s giving me is a guarded look.
“Yeah, so you’re good for whenever you’re ready to leave.”
Ask me to stay. I swear I’m looking at him so intensely that I’m pleading with him with just a look. He crosses his arms over his chest and just stares at me as if he’s not breaking my heart in two.
My voice cracks as I ask him, “So do you care if I leave tomorrow? I’d like to spend some time with the boys tonight.”
It looks as if he wants to say no. I’m not sure what has happened since I left here three days ago, but something has. He went from touching me at every turn, saying sweet things in my ear, sneaking touches, holding my hand to this. It’s like he can barely stand to look at me.
“Sure, okay.”
I freeze, hearing the indifference in his voice. “I mean, if you’d rather I go now, I can, but I don’t want to let the boys down. I don’t want to just walk out on them.”
“You can stay, Gianna. I’m not going to kick you out and make you drive into the night.”
I smack my lips, holding back what I want to truly say. “Thank you for that. I’m going to go grab the poles out of the barn. Can you ask the boys to meet me on the porch?”
I get to the door and turn to look at him over my shoulder. “If you had called me, I would have come to help with the boys.” He doesn’t say anything, but I have to say my piece. “I hate to think that they wanted me and you wouldn’t call me.”
I turn to leave, and he says something that I can’t quite make out. “What?”
He says it again, louder this time. “I can’t compete with that, Gia.”
“What are you talking about? Compete with what?”
He shakes his head. “I saw your videos. You’re all sunshine and happiness. Your world is all rainbows and good times and laughter. Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been covered in vomit, a broken-down tractor, and diseased bulls.”
I stare at him as if he’s grown two heads. Is that really what he thinks of me? I’m just a good-time girl and when things get rough, I’m going to leave and walk away? I grip the doorknob and tell him through gritted teeth, “If you were watching my videos, you weren’t watching them close enough.”
Before he can say anything, the boys come running down the stairs and stop next to me. I force a smile to my face. “I need to go grab things from the barn. You want to come with me?”
They’re both nodding their heads, and I tell them, “You need to ask your dad.”
I wait for them to do it, knowing I can’t look at him. If I do, I’ll break down and cry, and I’m not going to do it. This will be the last night I have with Ethan and Evan, and I’m going to make sure it’s a night for them to remember.
Their dad says yes, and without a backwards glance, I walk them outside to the barn and listen to them talk and laugh, making sure I soak it all in.
I’m going to miss this place. I’m going to miss Dalton, and I’m going to miss Ethan and Evan.
CHAPTER 18
DALTON
I’m sitting on the back deck, replaying the conversation in my head. Gianna and the boys are back from their fishing expedition. They stayed out late because she wanted to make sure they both caught a fish, and when they came home, they were all smiles. The boys insisted on her helping them get ready for bed, so I’ve been down here, sitting on the back porch since they went upstairs. All I can think about is what Gianna said. If I watched her videos, I didn’t watch them close enough.
I open the app and go to her page. I go to the videos that she posted since she left here and watch the first one.
“I’m here with Hope Ford, and we’re talking about her book, Protective Cowboy. I read this last night, and it is so good. I love that Natalie is a strong woman but King showed her that she didn’t have to do it all by herself. There is nothing like a protective cowboy, and this book was five stars.”