Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I pull up outside the house and am greeted by my baby. And by baby, I mean a two-hundred-pound calf I named Sidney.
“Hello, my gorgeous boy,” I coo when I get out of the car.
Whit appears on the porch. “You’d make a terrible farmer, you know that? I told you not to name him.”
“I told you not to introduce me.” When I found out what they do with the male calves, I might have guilted Whit into letting me keep Sidney. Apparently, when dairy cows give birth to boys, they ship them off and turn them into veal.
“Don’t worry,” I murmur to Sidney. “I won’t let anyone eat you.”
“You’re banned from going anywhere near the pregnant cows forever,” Whit says. “We can’t afford to fill our yard with bulls.”
“I’m okay with that. If I pretend the whole slaughtering thing doesn’t exist, I can save Sidney and still enjoy a nice steak when we go out.”
Whit shakes his head. “You are seriously fucked-up.”
I bound up the steps to the porch and grin at him. “It’s why you love me.”
“You do know Sidney is going to grow up to be a thousand pounds, right? At least.”
“So, I should stop letting him come inside the house?”
Whit’s face falls. “You didn’t …”
“Just once. It was so cute.”
“Rainn,” Whit whines.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining. I named him after a Penguin. For you.”
He gives me a pointed look.
I change the subject. “Why are you home? Shouldn’t you be out there killing baby cows?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to get here. How’d the interview go?”
I smile so hard I can’t contain it. “I got it.”
Whit throws his arms around me. “I knew you would. Congratulations!”
“It’s going to be crazy over the summer, because that’s when they have the most kids there. Since a lot of their coaching staff are college students, they’re looking for someone full-time to help coach on weekends and breaks and before and after school during the semester. If I impress them this summer, the job’s all mine.”
“You’re going to be great at it.”
For the first time in a long time, I actually believe in myself, and I think I’ll be great at it too. Spending a year helping Coach with the Moo U team made me realize Whit was right. I can still have hockey in my life.
When I made a difference on that team and could see my students growing and developing, none of the bitter jealousy I expected was there.
An accomplishment I’d never felt as a player settled over me because it wasn’t only about me. It wasn’t about scoring a goal or showing off. It was about helping someone else.
“You were right, you know,” I say.
Dimples appear on my boyfriend’s gorgeous face. “Was I? About what?”
“I was heartbroken.”
Whit’s big hand cups my face. “I know.” He touches his lips to mine, but it’s too soft and too chaste for my liking. “Come inside and tell me about the job.”
He takes my hand and leads me inside to the amazing kitchen with marble counters and top-of-the-line cooktop and oven.
He turns the coffee machine on and gestures for me to sit at the table.
I watch him move about his space effortlessly. He settled in so fast here, and it feels like a home. My apartment is small and impersonal, which I never used to have a problem with. But now it feels empty when Whit’s not there.
I’m not sure if I associate this place with being home because it’s so nice, or because of Whit, but either way, I want to make it official.
“You know, Maybury isn’t too far from here,” I hedge.
“I know. It’s why I’m excited. You can use the excuse to stay over more.”
I lick my lips and swallow hard. “About that …”
Whit pours two cups and slides a coffee over to me while he takes his seat. “Oh, were you thinking of getting a place closer? An hour commute from Burlington would suck.”
“I do want a place closer than my apartment.”
He totally misses my hint. “I can help you look.”
“I’ve already found the perfect place.”
Adorable Whit is adorable. His confusion line deepens on his forehead.
“It’s a house. Newly built.”
“How much is it a month?”
I grunt. Now I’m getting the feeling he doesn’t want me to move in here. Is it really that much of a stretch? I’m here whenever I can be.
“I’ll have to ask the sexy landlord.”
“Sexy—wait, you want to move in here?”
“Why do you sound so surprised? I thought we were heading in that direction, but maybe I’m wrong.”
Whit grabs my hand on top of the table. “No, no, no. Not at all wrong. Shit, I’ve wanted you to move in since the house was completed, but I know how annoying it is to drive to Burlington every day for school, so I didn’t want to ask. Well, that, and I figured moving in might be too much like making plans for you. I am surprised, but not because I don’t want it. I do. I really, really do.”