Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
There was a buzzing sound to his right. His cell. With a sigh, he reached over and grabbed it. It was a text. From his sister.
Momma says you should bring Nicole to Sunday dinner.
He bit back a growl. His parents could be intrusive at times. It was all the love and healthy attachment and crap that most of his other friends didn’t have to deal with. Most parents wouldn’t want to meet the woman their son had shared with his best friend the night before, but not Abigail Barnes-Fleetwood. Nope. She would want to welcome that woman and likely tell her too many stories about how deeply focused he’d been as a child.
It wasn’t his fault he knew who he was and what he wanted. At the age of four.
He quickly typed back.
No. We’re not scaring this one off.
His sister sent back a rolling eyes emoji.
Fine but you tell Momma yourself. And don’t be surprised if Grim gets an emergency call. Pops and Dad have been down in the barn since daybreak. Something’s happening with one of the bred heifers, and they’re trying to take care of it themselves.
Josh groaned and let his head fall back.
His fathers were a menace. Why the hell had they sent Grim through college to become a vet if they didn’t want him to do his job?
He didn’t want to go home right now. They needed time to cuddle her, to take her to breakfast and spend the day with her. He got the feeling she was going to view the night before as some crazy one off despite what he and Grim had told her. The last thing he wanted was for her to retreat after all the progress they’d made.
But he also didn’t want his dads to throw out some piece of their aged anatomy because they were too stubborn to call.
We’ll be there in twenty. Don’t let them hurt themselves.
He rolled out of bed after gently disentangling himself from Nicole. Maybe they could take care of the situation and still spend the afternoon with her. He could go with Grim and if he wasn’t needed, come back and pick her up. He could take her out to the house and show her around.
And fuck her again. Definitely fuck her again. If there was a way to gently ease her into staying with them, he would find it. He wanted her out of this rathole as soon as possible, but she was a skittish thing.
“Grim, we have to go. Pops and Dad are playing vet,” he said quietly, not wanting to disturb her.
Grim’s eyes came open, and he groaned. “Damn it. I was worried about one of the bred heifers. She’s been off her feed for a couple of days.”
Josh dressed quickly and then leaned over. Nicole was in the center of the bed, blankets tucked around her and looking so soft and sweet his heart actually clenched.
Damn, but she might be the one. The real one. They might be ready to really start their lives.
“Hey, baby, I’m taking Grim back to the ranch,” he whispered.
Her lips curled up, but her eyes stayed closed. “Okay.”
“I’m coming back as soon as I can. I’ll take you to breakfast and then we’ll head out to our place.” He smoothed her hair back.
She yawned and turned over. “Sleep.”
“Yeah, baby, you sleep. I’ll be back before you know it.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead before pushing off the bed.
“I don’t want to leave her, but if we’ve got some kind of virus about to go through the herd…” Grim began.
“Then you have work to do, brother.” Josh pulled his boots on. “I’ll stay as long as you need me, but I’d like to come back.”
Grim nodded. “Yeah. I think we should stay close to her for the next couple of days.”
He finished dressing and moved for the door, his voice low. “I do, too. Did you notice she seemed to be having a bad dream earlier?”
Grim closed the door behind them and made sure it locked. “Yeah, she was saying a name. I didn’t catch it.”
“Michael, maybe. She was scared of him.” Josh looked back at the door. “Maybe we should take her with us.”
“Let her sleep. I get the feeling she doesn’t do a lot of it,” Grim said, keys to the truck in hand. “Hopefully we’re panicking for nothing and I won’t need your help. You can come right back and bring her out for Sunday dinner.”
“And let my momma scare the crap out of her?” What was Grim thinking?
“Abby is the best,” Grim countered. “She doesn’t scare anyone.”
“My momma will start planning a wedding by dessert, and she’ll start talking baby names shortly after.”
Grim shrugged as he hauled himself into the driver’s seat. “I don’t have a problem with it.”
Josh sighed and got in. “I don’t think it’s going to be easy. I think we’re going to have to slow play this with her.”