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)
Allegra frowned. “Um…”
Carter, of course, knew. “Slipped half hitch.”
“Right. And if you get nervous you can release it by yanking right here,” Pa said, as he pointed. “It’s a good knot for bondage, since it can be released with one hand,” he threw out casually.
Her stomach sank and she could feel her face getting hotter. There was no doubt this time. He was definitely teasing them. A quick glance showed her husband looking anywhere but at Pa.
Ma shook her head and smacked Pa’s arm. “Quit that before they burst into flames.” The way she said it made it clear she also knew about the barn. “We’ll explain the rest when everyone is ready.”
They were both relieved when the older couple moved away to finish making their circuit, and now Ally could see that the couples they had already spoken to had all been tied at the wrists too. “They’re not going to teach us about bondage, are they?” she whispered.
Carter choked and shook his head. “I sure as fuck hope not. I’m not sure what this is.” He squeezed her hand.
It wasn’t bondage.
Ma beamed at everyone as she headed back to the front. “Great! Now that we’re all ready, let me explain how this works. You are tied to your life partner with one rope. Your tied hands are out of commission. What we want you to do, is use your free hands to tie the other rope into a plain old shoelace bow.”
“Without talking,” Pa added.
“Right, you’ll be working together without talking. So, you’ll have to figure out how to communicate with each other in other ways. Marriage is built on communication and it’s not always verbal. You have to be able to understand what your partner needs from you, even when they can’t tell you.” Ma pulled a stopwatch out of her shirt pocket and held it up. “You’ve got five minutes, and the first couple to succeed gets to move into a private cabin a day early.”
That got Ally’s attention. There was only one night left in the bunkhouse anyway, but it still seemed like a pretty big prize. But they weren’t the first couple, or even the second. They squeaked in as the fifth just before time was up. She’d assumed that Carter’s skill with knots and rope in general would give them an advantage, but it didn’t. Or not much of one anyway.
Communicating without words was a serious struggle, which honestly, she should have known would be an issue. Hadn’t their dynamic fallen apart because of a misunderstanding? Hadn’t she struggled to explain what she needed, while he assumed she wanted something totally different? The ropes, presented as a fun couple-building activity, had nevertheless pinpointed a real problem.
She was starting to think that Ma and Pa knew what they were doing.
She was wrapped in her own thoughts as they trudged inside for lunch. It wasn’t the first activity to make her think. While there was a lot of work to do, and a lot of new things to learn about the ranch, occasionally their hosts would slip in these really insightful games. She wasn’t sure how the other couples were receiving them, but for her they’d all been pretty eye-opening.
“You’re a million miles away,” Carter said as he reached for her hand. “Everything okay?”
She poked her fork into her salad with her other hand, moving the lettuce around more than actually eating it. “Yeah.” She tried to shake off her thoughts, turning to him with a slight smile. “When we first got here, I thought it was going to be therapy sessions all day. And then I thought it was just going to be free labor for their ranch. Now…”
“Now?”
“Now, I think I’m glad you signed us up for this. The activities have been helpful at least. The work, well, my hands are never going to be the same after this. I’m going to need an emergency manicure for sure, but I guess I don’t mind the ranch stuff either. And the evening bitch sessions in the bunk with the other girls have been really cathartic too.”
Carter’s eyebrows went up. “Bitch … sessions?”
“Don’t you guys talk over there?”
He shook his head. “Not that much.”
She just blinked. “Huh. Well, we talk about problems we’ve had and what frustrates us. It helps to get the words out to someone who isn’t invested in the relationship. And I think it might help me be able to talk to you better when we get home. If nothing else, venting is great though.”
There was a slight frown tilting his mouth, as if he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about being discussed, but then he shrugged it off. “I’ve been finding this all helpful too. I…” He trailed off and went quiet.
When he didn’t seem inclined to continue, she nudged him. “You what?”