Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
I laugh. Actually, it’s more like a cackle. The thought of all those wieners totally amuses me. And Luke still has the cans of soup.
But while I find amusement in the story, I’m also … sad. In leaving Luke, this is what I missed. I might have been here to use those cans of soup. I might have been the recipient of something equally bizarre. How fun would that have been.
“I wish I had siblings.”
“Uh, no, you don’t.”
“I do,” I say emphatically. “You have such a bond with your brothers and Kate. Heck, you and Gavin even seem to have a bond with Kennedy. I have a bond with no one. It’s just me out here.”
We stop by the next two stalls. Luke dusts his hands off and looks at me.
“What?” I ask.
“How would you feel about seeing my parents?”
This is not a question I was expecting.
“No pressure,” Luke says. “I know you’re skittish about seeing people right now, and I get it. I respect it. But they won’t tell anyone, and I know they’d love to see you. Mom is gonna be pissed that she didn’t know you were here. She’ll think we stole a reason from her to make a casserole.”
I laugh, the sentiment like a rush of sunshine on my soul.
To see Maggie and Lonnie again would be like curling up in my favorite blanket. I wish I would’ve kept in contact with them over the years. They were a piece of good in my life, and I’m certain they would’ve offered me advice when I needed it the most throughout the years. But it felt too odd, too sad, to stay in touch with them after Luke and I fell apart.
Lonnie wouldn’t have tolerated Tom Waverly, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have allowed me to get engaged to him without a long chat—with both of us. Even if I wasn’t dating Luke anymore, I know he would’ve said something. Maggie, too. It’s too bad that didn’t happen.
And it’s also too bad that I’ve missed so much since I left. Even if I gained a career and a whole life by leaving, I lost, too. Because in my heart, Peachwood Falls—the Marshalls—feels like home.
“You know what, Luke? I want to see them. It would be nice to say hello again.”
“Okay. But I’m not responsible if Mom gets too squirrely on you. You heard her last night. She’s getting uncontrollable in her old age.”
“Don’t you let her hear you say that.”
He hands me a shovel and picks up another one.
“I tell her shit like that sometimes just to wind her up. It’s a good cardio workout.” He winks at me. “Now, let’s get these last four cleaned, refill them with clean bedding, and get out of here.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
We trade a final smile and get busy.
Chapter Thirteen
Laina
I step out of the shower and wrap myself in the fluffiest towel in the cabinet. Then I quickly dry my hair with another one.
Luke told me stories most of the day, just like I requested. The time flew by, and I surprisingly didn’t hate barn work as much as I thought I would. We stopped for a sandwich midafternoon, and then he did paperwork in the barn office while I swept the floors and cleaned the water buckets and feeders.
The silence gave me time to move my body—without a trainer screaming at me—and to unload my mental burdens.
I take in my reflection in the mirror. The rosiness in my cheeks looks nice. Even without concealer, I don’t look like a zombie—a huge surprise. Most importantly, when I look into my eyes, I don’t see a woman worried about how the pieces of her life will fall in line. I see someone who might trust the process and herself to make it work no matter what.
When I open the door, steam billows into the hallway. I step onto the carpet and notice Luke standing at the bottom of the stairs. His hair is wet from the shower he took while I swept off the back porch. I decided to do it since I was filthy anyway.
A pair of sweatpants hangs low on his hips. He’s shirtless—because, of course, he is. His feet are bare, too.
It’s been too long since I’ve had sex. I’m not strong enough for this level of visual temptation.
His chest is wide and dusted with hair, and his shoulders rise to his neck in thick layers of muscle. Lines are etched into his abdomen imperfectly because they were created by hard work, not a gym. His arms are a map of hills and valleys as one muscle runs into the next, and the tattoos on his left shoulder that I’ve only seen in a couple of shirtless videos online are so fucking sexy in person.
My lord.