Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
“And the fairies came and waved their dust over her poor little car and made it all better.”
When she paused, I thought it was simply to take a much needed breath as she’d been jabbering practically nonstop since we’d hit the outskirts of town. Only when she pointed and said, “See!” did I glance back at the road.
No, not the road, the side of the road. It took another second for what I was seeing to become clear. When we’d left this scene this morning, her pink Mini Cooper had been buried in a mess of barbed wire, splintered wood, displaced earth, not to mention a bush as large as some trees. Now, however, it sat on the shoulder as if it hadn’t been in an accident at all. Hell, even the tire that had been flat was now as firm as the other three. How in the hell…
Cluck, cluck, cluck.
The same party-line that spread gossip like wildfire also spread the word of someone in need. Whether it be a pet sitter to tend to animals while someone went out of town, a request for advice in how to fix a broken pipe, or a shoulder to cry on when someone lost a loved one, the citizens of our community came through. In fact, I had no doubt there were casseroles coming. Despite thinking Livvy’s question was answered the moment I’d shut down Susanne’s attempt to finagle her way into Livvy’s life, I was no longer sure she wouldn’t make good on her promise of “Mama’s famous chicken and dumplings”. If so, Livvy would discover yet another misassumption on Susanne’s part as I’d never once described that dish as delicious. The chicken had always been bland and the dumplings were doughy, each one probably weighing as much as Livvy did. Still, I was rather proud to live in a town where people cared for one another.
I flipped the signal on to make the turn onto the road that led to the ranch.
“Wait, shouldn’t we get my car?”
I shot Livvy a look. “And exactly who is going to drive it home? Certainly not a Little girl who was specifically instructed by a doctor not to put any weight on her ankle.” I made the turn and once off the main road, allowed the truck to roll to a stop. “Then again, if you’re that anxious to take a tumble across my lap—”
Instead of instantly jumping in and telling me to keep driving, she gave me a smile that had my dick taking notice. Evidently, my pixie noticed as well as she giggled.
“As tempting as that dare is, I think it’s probably best you just keep driving. We wouldn’t want to take away the fairies’ fun now would we?”
“Heaven forbid we do that,” I said with a grin of my own that had her doing a bit of squirming herself.
Once I turned the last corner and began to climb the rise, she strained to sit forward. I was about to instruct her to sit back when I realized that there were tears rolling down her face.
“Hey, what’s wrong!”
“It’s your house!”
“My house?” I looked from her to the house half-fearing it would be engulfed in flames or perhaps had been taken away by another freak tornado. Instead, all I saw was the white farmhouse with its wraparound porch. I swiveled to look at her again only to have her burst into sobs. What the holy hell!
“Luther!” she screamed so loudly I was pretty sure my ears would be ringing for at least an hour. “Lincoln, it’s Luther! See!”
I chuckled. “Yes, pixie, I see.” I gave up on any pretext of trying to curtail her enthusiasm. Especially when Luther vaulted over the porch railing and had her door open before I’d come to a complete stop.
“Hi!” she yelled and laughed as Luther swiftly unbuckled her seatbelt and dragged her from the truck.
I opened my mouth to remind him she was hurt, but I might as well have been attempting to yell into a typhoon. He had her cradled in his arms, bridal-style, as he twirled her in circles while she laughed and cried and tried to speak all at the same time. Once I was sure he wasn’t going to drop her, I climbed out of the truck and just watched.
There was an aura encircling the pair that had them glowing. It filled me with a feeling so intense I almost went to my knees. So this is what love felt like. My brother and my girl, my life, twirling like the Tasmanian devil. It was the most incredible sight I’d ever seen. Right up until the moment I saw the tip of Luther’s boot slip beneath a root of the huge oak tree shading the front lawn.
I’d never moved so fast in my life nor been as terrified as I was in the time it took me to get to them. I had Livvy in my arms even before she could understand she’d been falling.