Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Her eyes widen in surprise.
With a score of inner voices telling me no, I silence them. I go for it.
My lips go to hers, and it’s electric. She melts into me, my hand going through her hair, her body leaning into me.
She’s mine.
But should she be?
6
DOLLY
I’m overwhelmed at first, but this is what I want. I grab him by the head and pull him closer. His lips are better than they have any right to be, and I’m amazed a simple kiss can feel this good.
It’s not as if I have a lot of things to compare it to, anyway.
Then, as good as it is... it just stops.
Angus pulls back and away from me, his gaze breaking from mine. He pulls himself up, standing tall, still looking away from me. “I gotta get back. I really need to focus on those books. My dad certainly isn’t going to do them.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Why such a sudden stop? Wasn’t it as good for him as it was for me? My head’s spinning as I stand back up. Maybe to him I’m just a pretty face. A beauty queen from a small town, who has a decent enough voice. He’s a smart guy. Maybe he wants more than just some country bumpkin. I have plans for my life, sure. But right this minute, what else do I really have going for me?
Thoughts of my inadequacy flood my head as we head back to the Rowdy Ranch. I put up a good front, but really? I’m not much. We stable the horses, Angus silent the whole time. He heads to his room, back to focusing on the books, leaving me all alone.
So I do the only thing I know to do. I get to work. I’m grateful for the Rowdys taking me in. I’m Annie’s best friend, but that doesn’t make me blood, and I know how rough things have been financially for the ranch. I don’t have a car to go get a job in Home, and it’s not like Burly is bursting with employment opportunities given how small it is. So I do my work here. I cooked, and now I clean.
With a mop and a bucket, I make sure the floors are gleaming. Every counter is shiny, every dish is spotless. Crockett says he can’t afford a personal chef, or a maid for that matter, but I guess he has one anyway. I do it all without complaint, because I’m grateful. I do want more out of life, of course, but I guess I’m not sure what exactly that will be.
I know now that I want Angus, but if Angus doesn’t want me, what can I say?
As I trim some flowers and put them into vases, the phone rings. I answer it, mentally adding secretary to my list of minor duties around the Rowdy Ranch. “Hello?”
“Dolly? Dolly, listen, are you still staying with the Rowdys?” My mother. I tense up. I’m still a bit sour from her abandoning me just because I was legally an adult so she could.
“Yes, Mom. They’re taking good care of me.”
“Listen, we need help making rent out here in Seattle. It’s time you left that little podunk town, Dolly. You can’t be mooching off the Rowdys forever. It’s time you take some responsibility in your life.”
“Huh? What? What’s going on, Mom? Why do you suddenly need me?”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Craig got laid off. And the rents in the city are really expensive. We need help, dear. There’s plenty of jobs out here. Come on, you can’t be in that dead-end town forever. It’s time to move on with your life.”
I grit my teeth. “Sounds like it’s a problem for you and you alone, Mom.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want me to come out to Seattle just to help you? What about last year when you told me I was on my own? You didn’t want me to come to Seattle then. You didn’t want me to get in between you and your boy toy.”
“Dolly, don’t you take that tone with me, young lady. I’m your mother, you should do what I say.”
“Oh, you’re playing that card after ditching me? Is that what you’re going to do, Mom?”
“This is different, Dolly. You need to...”
“Don’t you tell me what I need to do. I’ll decide what I need to do, Mom. You should have thought about this first before telling me I was on my own.” I slam the receiver down onto the phone, my teeth grinding.
I turn around and see that my yelling through the phone has attracted an audience. Angus. Angus is there, looking on, wide-eyed and shocked about what he sees. “Uh... my mother and I, uh... we don’t get along.”
“You don’t say.”
“I... I...” I don’t know what to say. A little part of me feels guilty, like I should do what she said. At least then I would be properly supporting myself, even if I had to support her and her deadbeat boyfriend too. Instead of leeching off such a kind and sweet family.