Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
“Hey!” Asher says, offended.
I can’t help but laugh. “It’s different, trust me.”
Asher is looking between my mom, my dad, and me.
No one is more surprised than me when Asher comes over toward me and wraps his arm around my waist. He tucks me into his side and clears his throat. “Actually, Mr. and Mrs.—I mean Rachel—Weston, there’s something that Madelyn and I would like to tell you.”
He takes a deep breath, and all I can do is hold mine in. What is he about to do?
I don’t have to wait long. “Madelyn and I are dating.”
“Dating?” my dad asks.
I look up at Asher as he nods his head. “Yes. We thought this would be a good way to get to know each other. It’s new…”
His voice trails off, and my mom puts her hand to her chest. “Oh my!”
She’s looking between Asher and me, and my dad puts his hands on his hips. “It’s new… and what? You bring my daughter here to shack up with you?”
“No, Dad. I have my own room, and we’re not shacking up. Like Asher said, this is all new.”
I look up at Asher, and he smiles at me. I have a gazillion questions, but I smile back at him even though the whole time I’m wondering if he has any idea what he just did.
My mom shrills, “Oh my baby.”
She pulls me from Asher and hugs me before passing me off to my dad.
I put my hands together. “Now, Mom, like we said… it’s new. Don’t get too excited.”
My mom points at herself. “Too excited? Me? I can play it cool, Madelyn.”
I shake my head because my mom has no chill at all. “How about you and Dad tour the orchards and some of the golf cart paths, and then when you get back, we can have an early dinner.” Shit, here I am just offering up Asher’s golf cart. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
He brings me back to his side and kisses me on my forehead. “Of course you know that’s okay. Why don’t you go inside and get your hand cleaned up while I get your mom and dad set up?”
Alarmed, I look at him. There’s no way I’m leaving them alone with him. “I can go with you guys.”
He pulls my hand up. “You need to clean your hand.”
My mom comes to look. “What happened?”
I start to stutter because how do I say that Asher was fucking me and I cut it on the bark of a tree?
“She hurt it on a tree.” He kisses my hand and then nods at me, letting me know that it’s okay. “We’ll be fine.” He turns to my mom and dad. “What do you say? You guys want to go for a ride?”
They both agree, and I stand here and watch as Asher and my mom and dad walk out to the bunkhouse.
I run inside, take a quick shower, and am sitting at the counter in the kitchen with the first aid kit open when Asher walks back in. I just shake my head at the way he’s smiling. “Smile now, but you have no idea what you’ve done, Asher Wild.”
He just keeps walking toward me. “I know, I know. You’ve already warned me, Madelyn.”
He stops and hovers over my hand. “Here, let me.”
I watch him as he inspects my hand. “You’re awfully worried about that. You know it’s just a scratch, right? I’m fine.”
“Don’t move,” he tells me and then goes over to the sink to wash his hands. When he’s done, he dries them off and then walks back over to me to continue taking care of my hand. “It kills me that I did this to you.”
I start to laugh. “I don’t regret it. It felt pretty good to me.”
“Fuck,” he says and rolls his eyes. “I’ve gone from ‘really good’ to ‘pretty good.’ I obviously need to work on my delivery or something.”
I lean in and whisper against his lips, “You rocked my world.” I meant the kiss to be light and teasing, but I’m learning that any time I kiss Asher, there’s nothing light about it. When he pulls away, he’s shaking his head. “I need to get cleaned up and fix dinner before your parents get back.”
Reluctantly, I nod my head. “Go shower and I’ll start dinner.”
He puts his hands on my stool. “Nope, you need to rest that hand. You can sit here and talk to me while I cook.”
He kisses me one last time, and then he takes off to shower. As I watch him go, I’m overwhelmed with how right this all feels.
CHAPTER 14
ASHER
I’m standing on the porch with my arm around Madelyn. We’re both waving as her mom and dad pull out of the driveway. We stand just like this until their headlights disappear down the road.