Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
To the party it was. If Adler wanted me, then me he’d get. I put on my nicest shirt, gave myself one last pep talk, and headed into a gathering that was already in full swing. A large cake sat in the center of the island while a nearby table was heaped with food. A row of drink coolers sat in front of the table with all sorts of fancy-pants sparkling waters and sodas.
I ignored all the offerings and mumbled a birthday greeting to Maverick while my eyes scanned the room for Adler. For once, he wasn’t at the center of the party. Maverick roamed between the kitchen and front hall while Colt, Faith, and the girls took up the couch. Various relatives of Colt’s, ranch hands, and local friends were scattered throughout the lower level of the house.
Right when I was about to give up and ask Maverick where Adler was, I spied him sitting in the padded window seat of the family room, a seldom-used area off to the side of the entertainment center that looked out on the back porch and the acres of ranch land beyond.
“Hey.” I stood in front of Adler. We were off to a smashing start, but words weren’t my strong suit.
“The food table is that way.” He gestured behind me at the kitchen. I ignored him and sat anyway. Adler released a frustrated noise. Hell if I knew what to say to make this right. However, I’d always been one to believe actions spoke louder than words.
Not letting myself overthink, I grabbed his hand, held it tightly.
“What are you doing?” Adler didn’t pull away, but he did give me a quizzical stare complete with exaggerated head tilt.
“Trying.” I gritted out the word. “Like you said earlier.”
“Oh.” Adler gave a slow blink before glancing down at our linked hands. “Your hand is shaking.” He pursed his lips. “You don’t have to—”
“Yeah, I do.” I kept my gaze trained on his face, not at a point where I could look around and see who might have noticed us, yet not about to change course now. “I’ve got fourteen unwatched Jeopardy episodes, two depressed dogs, and a hole in my carpet from pacing. I miss you. That’s what I should have said earlier. I miss you, and I saw that rescue horse posting and thought of you, but every damn thing makes me think of you.”
“Wow. Gray.” Expression softening, Adler squeezed my hand. “That’s quite a speech.”
“I thought maybe if I gave you the horse that I could watch you enjoy it from a distance, and that would be enough. But you won’t even give it one of your goofy-ass names. And you say you want me, not the horse. So here I am. I’m done fighting.” I slumped into the window seat, wrung out by all the words I’d managed to string together.
“Good.” A grin spread across Adler’s face. He reached his free hand toward me, then dropped it. “I really want to kiss you right now, but that might be a step too far, given how pale you currently are.”
That sounded like a fine idea to me, one I wasn’t going to waste time ruminating over. Instead, I leaned in and gave him a fast, hard kiss. Not our longest by any means, but it got the job done.
“Well.” Voice all dazed, Adler swallowed hard. “Okay then.”
“Figured I might as well cowboy up.” I shrugged as if my heart wasn’t nearly pounding out of my chest. “My dad gave a shit ton of bad advice, but the first time I signed up to rodeo, five minutes before go time, I told him I was scared. He said to do it anyway because if I waited until I wasn’t scared, I’d miss my chance.”
“If it helps, I’m scared too,” Adler whispered.
“You?” I scoffed. Adler was nothing if not fearless. He’d tackled everything from skinny dipping to riding to difficult chores with his patented brand of reckless enthusiasm. In fact, his full-speed-ahead mode was one of the things I liked most about him. “Of what? You already know how to relationship. Date. Whatever. I don’t even know the right verb.”
“Your faith in me is admirable.” Adler gave a nervous chuckle. “But I’m as new to this as you are. I’ve never made a serious relationship work. I’m a lot. I try not to be, but I am. I’m dramatic. I have to work hard to not be messy. I’m chronically impulsive. I tend to leap without looking.”
“I’m not worried about any of that.” I waved my free hand, internally cursing the world that had told Adler he was too much of anything. He wasn’t. He was the perfect Adler and perfect for me. “I scrape horseshit for a living. Your mess doesn’t scare me. You leaping got us this far. And got me two dogs.”