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)
“Mad at you?” He pushed the trays away and pulled her into his lap. “None of this is your fault, sweetheart. This is all on him.”
“I know but we were starting over with a clean slate, and we were going to communicate more and not hide stuff. And I didn’t-didn’t…” She stammered to a stop, realizing that her vision had gone blurry with tears.
“You didn’t what?”
“I-I didn’t want to keep it from you, but I felt like you would have stepped in.”
Carter barked a laugh. “Oh, you could bet on that, Ally. I would have gone down in person for that one. No one is going to spread rumors like that about my wife, just to save his own ass.”
“See!” she blurted. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.” He was quiet, letting long seconds pass as she worried about upsetting him. Finally, she had to say something. “I love it that you’re protective, and as my Daddy you’re supposed to be. I know. It’s just that I would never have felt right about whatever happened next, if it wasn’t my decision.”
“I get it.” His arms tightened around her. “We obviously still need to work on our communication; luckily we have another week here for that.”
She frowned. “Wait. I thought we had two weeks left?”
He shrugged and offered her a grin. “We do, but I booked the third week separate. It’s not part of their couple’s program. No work, just fun and rest. I figured you’d need it before going back to work.”
“Oh.” Actually, that sounded really great. They could ride and swim and enjoy the food, without having to rake stalls and shovel horse crap. Definitely a win. “You could have led with that when you were trying to convince me to do this.”
Allegra shook her head and forced herself back to the point. “Anyway, about the going back to work thing … I, um, may have quit this morning.” Of course that meant explaining about the emails and then getting out the laptop to show him.
In the end he gave her a tight hug. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You handled it perfectly and I … maybe I should have let you handle it in the first place.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and then finally shook her head. “Honestly … I probably would have just kept going along with his bullshit. It wasn’t until we got here that I was able to get my head right. So, thank you for helping me.”
“I just couldn’t stand to see you sinking. And, I’d say I won’t step in again, but if you hadn’t already quit, I’d probably be on the phone with my lawyers right now. Not just for you either, Ally, but for all the other people he’s going to lure into the same trap. You have to stop people like that when you can.”
“Is it weird that I love you being protective, but I’m also glad that I handled the final decision on my own?” It felt like there was a conflict there.
“No, not weird. But in the future, maybe you can tell me the problem, but also ask for time to handle it yourself? If I know that you’re able to actively work on an issue I think it’s going to be easier for me to sit back and wait.”
“Yes, Daddy. I can do that.” Well, she’d try.
“We really are getting better at the communication thing.” He kissed her forehead.
She laughed and tipped her head back so his next kiss could find her lips instead. After some silent communication, and a lot of squirming, they found a way to fill the rest of their free morning.
Chapter Thirteen
The next week went by slowly, and with lots of aches and pains. There were still new things to learn, new bonding activities to succeed—or fail—at. There was a never-ending list of chores to be done, but mixed in with all the work was also a lot of fun.
He made friends, a couple among the other guests, but mostly among the men who worked the ranch. He understood their lives, but working with them reminded him of the best times of his past. He couldn’t help feeling a little envy.
Ally had made friends too, mostly among the women who’d shared her bunkhouse. As the week wound down, she started collecting contact information. “We’re talking about doing a girls’ trip. Like a reunion in Vegas or something,” she explained.
She seemed so happy about it that all he could do was smile, though he knew that once people were back home most of them would probably vanish. It was just the way of vacation friendships. But if a few stuck around, that would probably be enough for her. The world was smaller these days, and it was easy to keep in touch from a distance, if you wanted to.