Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90315 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“We’re taking the ATV.” I point to the four-wheeler sitting next to the garage. “Hop on.”
“Would you take this if I wasn’t here?”
“No, I’d walk.”
“Then let’s walk.”
“Get on, Rebel.”
“Why have you started calling me that?”
I always called her that in my head, but I could never say it out loud.
“Because you’re stubborn as fuck and you don’t do what you’re told. Let’s go.”
I get on, and she slides on behind me, and I immediately regret my life choices. Because for the second time in one day, Lena has her front pressed to me, and she rests her cheek in the center of my back.
It’s intimate.
It’s too fucking much.
So I hop off and grip her by the hips, scooting her forward.
“This is the gas,” I tell her. “This is the brake. It’s easy to steer, and you don’t have to shift gears. I’ll meet you there.”
“I can—”
“Go.” I take off at a jog, not glancing back to see if she’s going to drive the stupid thing. If she gets off and goes inside, I don’t care. I’ll tell Willow that Lena was tired or not feeling well.
But the engine revs, and a few seconds later, she comes inching up next to me.
She doesn’t pull away from me, keeping pace as I run faster than she ever could, stretching my muscles and lungs, finally getting a good workout in for the day, even if it is a short half a mile.
When we reach the farmhouse, I cut the engine on the four-wheeler, and Lena hops off, frowning at me.
“Were you trying to make me feel like shit?”
“About what?”
“About how fast I can’t run. Jesus, who are you, Captain America?”
I can’t help but laugh at that, and Lena’s face softens as she laughs with me, breaking the tension between us.
“I can’t do that with you,” she says, shaking her head sadly. “Not even once I get used to the altitude.”
“I have longer legs than you.”
“Yeah, and you must take your Flintstones vitamins too.”
Lips twitching, I gesture for her to climb the stairs to the front door. “I take two a day.”
“I knew it.”
I open the door and find Willow already walking our way.
She’s not smiling.
Fuck, this could be bad.
“Hello, I’m—” Lena begins, but Willow cuts her off.
“Lena,” Willow finishes for her. She actually takes Lena’s offered hand, which surprises me. But she must squeeze it hard, because Lena gives her hand a little shake after Willow lets go, and looks up at me with wide eyes.
Fuck.
Ryker walks up behind Willow, his face grim, and he shakes his head. Aiden’s watching with a blank face from the living room.
“You have a lovely home,” Lena says. I can tell that she’s nervous, and I wish Wills would smile and put Lena at ease, the way I know she normally would.
But she doesn’t.
No smile. No warm welcome.
Fuck.
“Would you like something to drink?” Willow asks and turns to lead us all to the kitchen.
“Oh, I’d love some water, thanks.”
“Gid?” she asks and finally smiles at me.
“I’m okay.”
With a nod, Willow pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and offers it to Lena, who takes it but doesn’t open it right away. She sets it on the island and shifts on her feet.
“You can have a seat,” I tell her, gesturing to the stool, but she shakes her head and stays standing. Her whole body is tense. She doesn’t want to be here.
And based on the lack of welcome from the woman I consider my sister, I can’t blame her.
“What do you think of the ranch so far, Lena?” Ryker asks, cutting through the tension in the room.
“It’s so beautiful,” Lena says with a smile. “The mountains take my breath away. That and the altitude. I’m adjusting to that. I had no idea that Gideon had a place in Montana, let alone a gorgeous ranch like this—”
“Why would you know that?” Willow asks, and I see anger in her cheeks.
Shit.
“Trouble—”
“Why would you think that you’d know anything about him? All you ever were was a pain in his ass, making him work harder than he needed to, pulling him away from his family.”
“Wills—”
“You’re the little girl who hurt my guy,” Willow continues, and Lena’s entire body stiffens, her face goes white, and I step in front of her, blocking her from Willow’s wrath. Lena’s hands bunch into the back of my T-shirt, and then she pulls back.
“No.” My voice is granite. “You won’t speak to her like that, baby girl.”
“She’s in my house, and I’ll—”
I hear footsteps, the front door opens and then closes behind me, the engine of the four-wheeler starts, and I look out the window to see Lena headed back to my place, the wind whipping through her dark hair.
“You’re out of fucking line,” I say to Willow. “Don’t ever do that again.”
I turn to follow Lena, but Willow grabs my arm.