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)
I’m pretty sure I can pick her out with my eyes closed. But they aren’t closed now. They’re on her perfect ass as she turns and laughs at something Sammy says to her. The boy has it bad for her, and she has no fucking idea. She’s wearing a T-shirt that has Mustang Creek Ranch at the side and her riding boots. Her hair is moving side to side as she laughs. She must sense me looking at her because her eyes find mine, and she smiles at me. “Morning,” she greets me.
“Don’t you have work to do?” I bark at her instead of saying good morning back. The smile fades from her face.
“Wait, do I not work here?” She folds her arms over her chest, and the hem of her shirt rises, and I see the smooth skin of her stomach. “Charlie!” she shouts over her shoulder to Charlie, who is standing at one of the stalls with a coffee cup in his hand, “do I get paid to be here?” He looks at her and then looks at me. “Could have sworn I got a paycheck from you last week.”
Sammy slowly walks away from her, not ready for my wrath, but Lilah is Lilah, and she’ll never let me have the last word. “I mean, if I’m not an employee, I wish someone would tell me so I can sit home and eat donuts all day long,” she huffs and then turns on her boot. “Also, there is paperwork on your desk that has to be looked at.”
She storms out of the barn, and Charlie just looks at me. “What was all that?”
“She’s always in here”—I run my hand through my hair—“and she’s flirting and shit.”
“Is that what has your panties in a twist this morning?” He tries to hide the smirk with the cup of coffee.
“Fuck off,” I snap, walking over to the kitchen and making another cup of coffee. I can feel him looking at me. “What?” I say, not turning to talk to him.
“She’ll be fine,” he assures me, and I close my eyes, “and you need to go and say sorry to Lilah.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I balk at him. “I was just asking a question!”
“Is that the hill you’re going to die on?” he asks. When I turn around, I see him leaning against the wall with his feet in front of him crossed.
“Damn fucking straight,” I retort. “Now, if you will excuse me, I—unlike all of you guys hanging around doing nothing—have a lot of work to do, and I can’t stand around gossiping with you all day.”
“One of these days, it’s going to come back and bite you in the ass. She’s not going to be here to take your shit, and then what?” The sip of coffee I take in my mouth tastes bitter.
Already starting the day in a bad mood does nothing for me. The rest of the day is just as bad. When I go and give Lilah the papers she wanted, she ignores me, pretending I’m not here. “Great,” I mumble when I leave her, and when it’s almost time for Lucy to finish school, I rush out and make it to her school with a minute to spare.
I stand by the fence, looking at the door, and she comes out by herself. Her eyes roam over everyone, and I can see the sheer panic in her face when she doesn’t see me. “Lucy!” I shout her name and can see the relief wash over her face when she sees me.
I walk around a couple of people to meet her at the entrance. “Hey,” I say when she’s close enough, “did you have a good day?”
She doesn’t answer me. Instead, she gives me a shrug and a nod. “Well, the good news is tomorrow will be even better.”
She walks beside me with her head down as we make it to the truck. Getting into the truck, I look back at her. “Just for today, we’ll head on home, and I can get started on dinner, but next time, we’ll have to go to the barn for a couple of hours to make sure everything is done.” She buckles her seat belt and looks out the window as we make it home without saying a word to me. “I have to make sure everything is okay in the barn near the house,” I say when we get home, and she follows me toward the barn. I find no one there, which is normal since everyone takes off at four. The other barn is the only one that has people coming in and working the evening shift. This barn is where we store a couple of horses, but it’s more of our personal horses. I make sure they all have water and food before turning and walking out.