Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“I like mysteries and ghost stories. I’m reading a book about a wizard now, though. It’s like modern Merlin, and it’s so good,” she gushed.
“Wow. That’s cool. Geez, you can do it all. Sports, cooking, reading…”
“I know karate too,” Chase bragged, jumping up to deliver a sideways kick to an imaginary foe.
“Badass.” I immediately winced. “Sh-shoot! Sorry.”
The kids snickered gleefully. “Language!”
Cooper nudged my shin under the table and winked. I felt my cheeks heat as I returned the nudge, stretching my leg to maintain contact. He didn’t pull away. And the warmth of his clandestine touch made me feel gooey inside.
“Do you have a dog?” Ivy asked over a dessert of ice cream with the choice of chocolate sauce or berries. Much to the kids’ amazement, I’d chosen both the sauce and the berries.
“He already told me he doesn’t,” Chase reported. “You’re not home enough, right?”
“Right,” I confirmed, spooning up a bite that was sure to give me brain-freeze. “What about you guys?”
Chase and Ivy swiveled to stare at their dad on cue. Their timing was so in tune, I had to laugh.
Cooper raised a brow at them and leveled me with a put-upon glare. “You literally walked into that trap.”
“Uh-oh. Sore subject, eh?”
“No, but—”
“Dad says no one is home during the day, and that’s why we can’t get one,” Chase said around a mouthful of ice cream.
Ivy took the proverbial baton and continued, “Mom says they’re a big responsibility, and she’d end up doing all the work. We try telling her that we’ll feed it and walk it—”
“And even pick up poop,” Chase interrupted.
“But no…” Ivy’s long blond hair fell across her forehead like a curtain. “Dad loves dogs more than Mom anyway, so we’re trying to talk him into adopting a rescue.”
I eyed their extremely hunky dad, my lips pursed in amusement. “How’s that going?”
“Terrible.”
“Not good,” Chase concurred.
Cooper sighed heavily, lifting his spoon to his mouth, then hovering it above his bowl. “Someday, we will.”
“Sunday? I think he said Sunday!” Ivy teased.
“Woohoo! Yes!” Chase punched a triumphant fist in the air.
Cooper snickered at their antics. “What am I gonna do with these knuckleheads?”
I just smiled.
I was too dazzled with all this wholesome sweetness. A good meal in a warm homey atmosphere with a loving family, and friendly conversation. I was grateful Cooper had shared this most important piece of his life with me. I felt honored to be included.
CHAPTER 14
SILAS
My first full week in Wood Hollow passed in an easy rhythm. I jogged along the footpaths by the lake and sometimes veered up the hill into town to grab a latte or something to eat at the diner. I ran into a lot of the same folks and learned a little something new on each visit.
For example, Rise and Grind was the first “chain” business in the Four Forest area and was owned by an Elmwood native and his hockey-star husband. Log Cabin Diner was the oldest restaurant in Wood Hollow, built in 1894, and had in fact, been the only one until Mike and Sam’s Pizza opened in the fifties. Oh…and the mill dated back to the mid-1800s. The loggers from that era lived in crudely made cabins subsidized by the mill while their families lived in Elmwood and Fallbrook. None of them would have been able to afford Pinecrest.
“Snotty dickwads,” Beau the burly logger huffed, wiping foam from his mustache as he stole a peek at Davey behind the counter at the coffee shop. “Pinecrest sucks. I’d never go that way if I didn’t have to.”
“Beau’s mom married the mayor. Poor guy has to suffer through porterhouse steak and lobster dinner once a week with the fam,” his buddy, Lyle teased. “Must be rough.”
Beau’s growl was fierce as fuck, but Lyle just laughed and connected a few more dots for me. Mandy, the clerk at the market, had dated Beau in high school and had eventually married Lyle’s brother, Casey, whose family-owned Fox’s Drug Store. No one was sure why she wasn’t working for them, and Mandy wouldn’t say. They thought it might have been because old Mr. Fox was notoriously stingy and didn’t pay well.
I had no idea who half of these people were, but I was fascinated by the tough-looking dudes spilling town secrets like a posse of old church ladies. They introduced me to fellow loggers, like Niall and Micah, and Ted and Colin. One of them always seemed to know the special at the diner or Dex’s donut of the day. If they didn’t, Davey did.
“Clancy let me sample the chicken parmesan she’s serving for lunch. Top marks. Highly recommend!”
I was charmed by the cadence of small-town life, and pleased to have been included to some degree. I knew my NFL celebrity status probably had something to do with their generosity, but I didn’t mind. It was better than the calculated overeager attentions of Hollywood hopefuls who approached every new introduction as if it were a potential business meeting.