Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” she says.
“Don’t need to thank me for making sure you get respect when respect is due, Blue.”
“Blue?” Haines’s lips twitch. “That’s cute.”
Everyone listens as Wheeler explains our decision to be together and to keep the baby. Frannie continues to cry, but Haines wraps her in a side hug and rubs her back. Preston keeps drinking, but really, who cares? He’s a lost cause. We’re never going to be close to him. Like father, like son.
To Tim’s credit, he sits until Wheeler is done talking.
“Good for you,” Haines says quietly. He raises his class. “Congrats, y’all. Duke, I gotta tell you, my sister—she’s different since she’s been with you. I mean that in a good way. She’s truly come into her own. You let her be herself, and she’s finally stepping into who she was always meant to be.”
“Oh yeah?” Wheeler laughs, even as she dabs at her eyes with her napkin. “Who’s that?”
“A badass, bighearted human who works hard and loves harder and isn’t afraid to go after what she loves.” He tilts his glass toward her. “You inspire me every day, Wheeler.”
Frannie nods. “You inspire all of us, honey.”
I wonder if she means Wheeler inspired her to leave a miserable man. Whatever the case, I couldn’t agree more.
I give Wheeler a nudge. “You inspired me too. And now look. We’re living the dream. Multiple dreams, all at once.”
“You’ve made so many of my dreams come true, baby.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “Thank you.”
I’m crying.
Wheeler is crying.
Tim appears to be blinking back tears. I’m honestly shocked that I may have finally gotten through to him.
Whatever the case, everyone gives Wheeler a hug as they’re leaving a little while later.
Preston and Tim refrain from giving me hugs, but Preston does shake my hand.
“She seems happy,” he says. Then he trots down the stairs.
Tim keeps his hands in his pockets. “Don’t forget us back in Dallas.”
“We won’t,” Wheeler replies.
It’s not congratulations! or I’m so happy for you. But it is better than fuck off. And maybe, for now anyway, that’s a win.
Wheeler and I watch her family drive away.
“I hope they don’t get lost in the dark on their way back to the New House,” she murmurs against my shoulder.
“I got Cash lookin’ out for them.”
“Of course you do.” She lets out a breath and burrows farther into my side. “Thank God that’s over. It went just as badly as I thought it would. But also…better somehow?”
Chuckling, I curl an arm around her shoulders. “The right people are gonna be happy for us. The wrong ones—”
“We ditch the wrong ones. Even if the wrong ones are—were—family.”
I look down at her. “You really do know what you want.”
“I do now.” She hooks a finger into my shirt. “I want you, baby.”
I let her have me, all night long.
CHAPTER 34
Pickle Tickle
Wheeler
I glance out the window at the knock on the door. My heart does a backflip when I see that it’s Mom.
Peeling myself off the couch is no small feat, especially after the emotional roller coaster of the past twenty-four hours. I woke up feeling sore inside my rib cage, like I’d just run a marathon in cold weather.
But it was a good sore. Like the weight that was bearing down on my heart and lungs is no longer there, and my body’s adjusting to the new lightness.
I push myself up to my feet and head for the door.
“Hey, Mom.”
She smiles when she sees me. Her eyes are bloodshot, her face pale.
My stomach drops. She didn’t sleep.
“Hey, honey. I’m sorry to just show up like this, but I—I had to talk to you in person. Do you have a minute?”
I motion her inside. “Of course I do. You want some coffee? Duke always has a pot going.”
“I’d love some, thanks.”
I pour her a mug, and we settle on the couch.
“Duke in the bathroom?” she asks.
I nod. “Man takes more showers than anyone I’ve ever met. Not like I mind.”
“I imagine those cowboys get filthy.”
“They do. They work hard. He was up cowboying at five.”
“His work has paid off. This place is spectacular.”
Smiling, I let my head fall back on the cushion. “I love it here.”
“Have you thought about what it’s going to be like?” I can tell Mom is choosing her words carefully. “Raising a baby on a cattle ranch? Probably gets lonely. There’s a lot of distance between you and, well, everyone else.”
“Might be, at least at first. But Duke’s family is super close, literally and figuratively—”
“I’ve noticed.” Now she’s smiling. “I like that. A lot.”
“And they all help each other out. It annoys him sometimes how far up his butt they are, but I think it shows they care.” I grab her hand. “I’ve got a solid support system here, Mom.”
She nods, then sets her mug on the coffee table. “I’ll be honest, Wheeler. I was surprised when you said you were keeping the baby.”