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)
But she couldn’t cry here at the table. There would be questions, and she couldn’t answer them.
I’m crying because I’m falling in love with your sons, and I can’t be with them because I’m wanted for murder and someday they’re going to do a true crime show about it and you’ll see my face and be so shocked.
You’ll be ashamed to even know me.
But I didn’t do it. I didn’t.
She couldn’t say any of those things so she choked the emotion down, shoving it as deep as she could. “Thanks. I’m looking forward to going to Austin, though I hope Christa doesn’t need me.”
“You deserve time off,” Grim insisted.
“When was the last time you didn’t work?” Josh asked. “You get off work and go looking for more work.”
“Well, today counts. I wasn’t allowed to work today,” she pointed out.
Abby smiled as though she understood what it meant to deal with bossy men. “I think Christa can do without you for a few days. If she needs someone to fill in, I still have my old uniform.”
Sam winked her way. “Damn straight you do, baby, and you still look good in it.”
Olivia groaned. “Pops, no. Don’t. I’m trying to eat.”
Sam simply upped the wattage on that smile of his. “Daughter, how do you think you got here?”
“Oh, we are not going there.” Josh’s head was shaking. “Momma, what have you been reading lately? I noticed Nic likes to read.”
It was news to her. “You did?”
He nodded her way. “You had a couple of paperbacks in your room. Momma and Livie are big readers, though you should understand they pretty much only read one thing.”
“Not true,” Liv said, a hand on her chest as though to say what me? “I read a lot of things. I read suspense.”
“Where the detective solves a murder as he’s railing the heroine,” Grim explained.
“I read fantasy.” Abby seemed to pick up on her daughter’s vibe.
“Where a bunch of fairies rail the heroine,” Josh added.
“Oh, I recently read a science fiction where the heroine’s spaceship lands in a prison colony,” Liv said with a grin. “And she totally gets railed hard. But I mean they were unjustly imprisoned.”
“So what we’re saying is we read a lot of super spicy romance,” Abby explained. “And the boys make fun of us, but we don’t care.”
“That’s what I read, and I’m pretty sure I read the prison colony one.” Nic felt infinitely more relaxed talking about books. “Have you ever read the Texas Temptress series?”
Both women got very excited.
“Every single one,” Abby declared.
“Which is weird because they’re written by my sister,” Josh said with a grimace. “And those are some hardcore books. From what I’ve heard.”
Nicole ignored him, looking to Abby because this was world-shaking information. “Your daughter is an author? Your daughter wrote Dallas Delights?”
“And that is how our sister became more interesting to our girlfriend than we are.” Grim sighed.
“Hush, son,” Abby said. “The women are speaking now.”
But she said it with a grin on her face.
And for the first time in forever, Nic felt like she belonged.
Chapter Ten
“Are you sure you don’t need another set of hands?” Nic asked as Josh pulled the truck up in front of the motel.
“I have no idea how long it’s going to take, baby.” Grim slid out of the back seat.
He’d insisted she take the front when they’d gotten called out on another bovine emergency. This time Grim had to drive about forty minutes out of town to deal with more of whatever bug seemed to be hitting the cattle population of Willow Fork and its surrounding area.
“But I wish you would stay at our place.” Josh had made his preferences clear.
Nic was sure if he’d had time he would have argued further, but Grim insisted on getting out to the Settleman’s ranch as soon as possible. Apparently time was of the essence. “All my stuff is here, and I have to go to the mechanic’s shop tomorrow morning anyway. I’ve been fine at this motel for weeks.”
“You could be more fine at our place,” Josh insisted. “You can grab your things and we’ll drive Grim out and then I’ll take you home.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him. It would be hours and hours on the road when he should be helping his brother. “I have to work tomorrow if I’m going to go to Austin with you this weekend. Leaving Christa down a server for the weekend isn’t a great look for me. So I better not be late to the shifts I’m actually working. Or do we want to cancel the Austin trip?”
Josh frowned her way, his eyes narrowing. “Oh, we’re going to Austin.”
That sounded like a threat, but it was one she didn’t take too seriously. Josh didn’t like having his seemed-reasonable-to-him advice rejected. He would get over it.