Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
My head clears as she beelines toward the field and runs to the tree line before turning and running back. Zigzagging back and forth, I free my mind of everything, but the minute I stop, I can’t help the pull of looking at the house. I shake my head, telling myself I should leave it alone. After putting Juliet back in her stall and adding some water, I see Hector coming in with a pail of grain for the horses. “Morning.” I smile at him as I head out of the barn and toward my car. At the same time, I see the front door open, and Lucy steps out first, wearing a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt. On her feet are boots, unlike the running shoes she wore yesterday when she arrived. Emmett steps out after her as he closes the door behind him.
I stop looking at them as I pull out of the parking lot and head toward work. Pulling in at the same time as them, I pretend I didn’t just watch them like a creepy stalker when I get out of my own truck with my water bottle and my lunch box. “Good morning, guys,” I greet them more chipper than I should, borderline fake. “How is everyone doing?” I look at Lucy, who doesn’t say anything before Emmett speaks.
“Morning,” he says, and for the first time since the beginning, it comes out a touch softer than the grunt I usually get.
“Are you joining us at work, Lucy?” I ask, and she doesn’t answer me. Instead, she just nods.
“Do you want to come and help me say hello to the horses?” I ask, then look at Emmett. “If your dad says it’s okay.” Your dad, even the words feel foreign in my mouth. It was no secret that Emmett was a player. I mean, it’s not like he flaunted it in your face, but you knew he got around. The whispers about it always leaked in from the bar to the work area. He also never said a word when they would ask him about the girl he left with the night before. Each and every single time, it felt like a dagger in my heart. I became used to the pain until I saw his daughter. It felt like someone took the knife out of my heart, and it was like it was a plug, and as soon as it was out, the pain poured out of the wound.
“Do you want to go with Lilah?” he asks Lucy, who nods at him, and he looks at me. “I’ll be at my desk,” he says. “Come find me when you’re done.”
“Sounds good,” I reply, then look back down at Lucy. “Are you ready?” I ask, and she nods. I turn to walk to the kitchen to store my lunch. “Okay.” I clap my hands together. “Let’s go wake up the horses.”
We walk toward the barn and stop when I see Sammy. “Hey, Sammy,” I call to him, making sure Lucy is right beside me.
“Hey, Lilah, you didn’t come and get your ride in today,” he notes, and I shake my head.
“I went to ride Juliet,” I tell him, “but I’ll see about going out with Rosy today on my lunch break.” He nods at me before he rushes out to the other barn.
“Okay, let’s start here,” I state, looking at the horse in the last stall. “Do you remember what I told you yesterday?” I ask, and she nods. “Of course you do. You’re a smart girl.” I wink at her, and she smiles at me. I put my hand in the stall and she does the same as me. “We’ll let him smell us and then go in and say good morning,” I say of the horse that was a bit testy yesterday. He walks up to us and is not sure if he’s going to like us or not. “Sometimes it takes him a bit of time to decide whether he’s going to like us or not,” I say, and she looks at me and then at the horse.
“So how old are you, Lucy?” I ask, wondering if she’s going to talk to me. I wait a couple of seconds, and when she doesn’t answer me, I smile big at her. “Are you fifteen?” She laughs now. “Okay, is it higher?” I tease her, and she shakes her head. I move my head side to side, thinking of what to say. “Okay, four?” She shakes her head. “Maybe five?”
“No,” she says in the most angelic voice I’ve ever heard, “I’m eight.”
“That was my next guess.” I try not to be in shock that she actually spoke to me. Instead of bombarding her with more questions, I stop talking for a bit. It isn’t awkward since the horse comes and tries to lick our hands, making her pull her hand out and wipe it on the back of her jeans. “Let’s go to the next one.” I pull my hand out as we walk over to the next stall.