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)
“Old-time football players didn’t wear helmets. Can you believe that?” or “You know a football is called a pigskin sometimes ’cause the earliest balls were made from pig bladders.”
“Eww!”
“Gross! You’re making that up,” Ivy accused, her eyes alight with humor.
“It’s the truth. I swear.” Silas kicked the soccer ball to Chase and changed the subject. “I met the doctor who lives at the end of the street today. Dr. Shandley. He told me his dog hopped into the mailman’s truck this morning and wouldn’t get out. Trixie helped deliver every letter and every package in Wood Hollow today. I say she deserves triple treats.”
Chase chuckled. “Trixie always gets out. She sneaks in our yard sometimes and begs for scraps.”
“She jumped in Dad’s truck once, and he didn’t know she was there till he got to work. Remember, Dad?” Ivy called to me at the grill.
“I do. She followed me around the mill all day. Doc had surgery and couldn’t pick her up right away. I didn’t mind.” I covered the chicken with foil and turned off the gas. “Dinnertime.”
Ivy picked up the ball and skipped to the deck. “That’s why I think if we got a super-sweet dog it wouldn’t be a problem. You could take him to work with you, and Layla and Emily and the guys would help watch him.”
“Here we go again.”
“We can’t help it,” Chase groused, kicking grass from the soles of his shoes and slipping them off on the mat. “Dogs are the best, and Mom won’t get one. She says the yard isn’t big enough, but maybe we’ll get a bigger house. We think she wants to move. Are we having brussels sprouts? Ew.”
I stopped in my tracks, a sick dread in the pit of my stomach. Silas must have noticed I’d gone pale. He grabbed the platter from me, brushing my arm in a subtle show of support. I hadn’t shared anything about Sarah with him. Nothing about our marriage, our divorce, the ups and downs of coparenting, or the cloud of uncertainty looming about her future in the Four Forest area.
Nothing at all.
To be fair, none of those topics ranked in my top ten favorites.
And somehow Silas knew. He suddenly had big opinions about brussels sprouts and a funny story about the time he’d made cauliflower and it had somehow exploded in his oven. The kids were practically crying with laughter. Ivy told him about the cake she’d baked that had dipped in the middle. She’d solved the problem by filling the hole with frosting.
“It was so good,” Ivy bragged. “Chase wants me to make it for his birthday.”
“Yep! With chocolate frosting.” Chase licked his lips greedily.
“No problem. But you have to wait till September,” Ivy singsonged, shifting toward Silas. I met his gaze across the table to catch his reaction at the inevitable question, “When’s your birthday, Silas?”
He blew his cheeks out like a puffer fish and slumped theatrically in his chair. “In a few weeks.”
Ivy gasped in delight. “Really? I’m baking a cake!”
I hid my smirk behind my glass of water and thoroughly enjoyed the ensuing banter about frosting choices, sprinkles, and if fruit or whipped cream were ever good options.
“You set me up,” Silas jokingly accused the next day in front of the coffee shop.
“I did no such thing.” I adjusted the sleeve of one of the lattes on my tray and tipped my chin to greet a couple of loggers who’d walked in.
Ted was the elder statesman in the bunch. The rest were in their twenties and thirties, following their parents and grandparents into the business.
“Yo, Boss. A little early for a lunch break, ain’t it?” Beau teased.
I delivered my best deadpan stare, made a quick round of unnecessary introductions ’cause of course, they all knew who Silas was now. But it was an opportunity to emphasize that he was my neighbor and to put a little distance in my voice.
“Right. I’m timing you now, smartasses,” I grumbled, then nodded in Silas’s direction. “See you around, neighbor.”
“Later.”
I walked away, my face hot with something that felt a lot like shame. And I wasn’t sure why. Silas was as invested in keeping our relationship a secret too. Maybe more so. There was no reason for second-guessing. We both knew the score.
Still. I felt dirty.
“I heard you bumped into our resident football hero,” Layla said, thanking me for her drink.
It had been less than ten minutes since we’d parted ways on Main Street, but this was Wood Hollow, so no…I wasn’t surprised. News traveled fast.
“Yep.” I plucked my drink from the tray and made a beeline for my office.
“Oh, hang on!” Layla motioned me toward her desk. “Two things: Hank called from Denver. He says the big meeting is set for next month. It’s a conference call. He left details in an email and asked me to tell you to check it sooner rather than later. Does that mean what I think it means?”