Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I’m not gonna be miserable.” If he could wound, so could I. I refused to let him think of me here, pining away, although that was what was likely to happen. “That’s what I keep trying to say. My whole life is here. Everything that makes me happy other than you.”
“Fine. Be happy without me.” He stomped to the truck and fetched the jug of water we used to extinguish any fires. “I don’t wanna camp anymore.” He splashed water on the blaze, a loud crackle and sizzle of steam echoing through the night. “I want you happy, Colt. I do. I just don’t wanna see it.”
The fire died quickly as Maverick stirred it around, moistening all the ashes. I felt like those last pieces of firewood, damp, useless, charred husks.
“Then get gone, Mav.” That was all I was good for now, sending my best friend away. If he couldn’t be here with me, couldn’t even find it in him to visit, then what difference did it matter when he left? Now, later in the summer, or in the fall…any time would hurt like hell. “Find your happy. Make your dreams come true.”
Now
“Bravery ain’t about being unafraid; it’s about saddling up anyway.”
~ sign in the Lovelorn Bunkhouse
Chapter 15
Maverick
Now
“What precisely is happening here?” Faith wandered downstairs a little after noon in a black satin robe. Her bleary eyes widened as she took in the parlor, or rather the lack of parlor—most of the furniture and all the ancient paintings had been removed. I was in the process of taping off the room for painting.
“I’m redoing the parlor.” I shrugged like this was no big deal, rather than a personal mission to tackle the past, wrestle it to the ground.
“Are you seriously that bored?” Faith shook her head, leaning against the banister and not venturing farther into the work zone.
“That tired of living in a museum. Redoing your old room for Hannah was fun.” I’d spent the last few years delegating most of the hands-on labor in my projects, especially after the TV show started. Working on the ranch house was a nice way to flex my rusty skills. Hannah had been assisting me until Kat messaged that she could use a helper at the barn. Probably for the best since Faith didn’t look particularly ready to parent. “I’m going to tackle the other rooms in the house, one by one, bring them into the current century, make it more palatable to buyers.”
I added the part about buyers thinking Faith would like that as she had a singular focus on selling, but she frowned.
“Any buyer will likely raze the ranch house and start fresh with something befitting an estate of this size, not a hodgepodge of design styles dating back a hundred years.” Faith gestured at the house around us. “But feel free to knock yourself out in the meantime.”
I didn’t care for the pinch in my chest at the thought of this house being demolished. It had strong bones. The right buyer could do a lot with it. The pinch became a dull burn as Faith made a beeline to the dining room liquor cabinet.
“Is that your breakfast?” I asked. I’d run with Hollywood types. I knew full well that drinking could start with brunch and continue onwards, but since we’d been back at the ranch, Faith seemed determined to punish her liver—and the rest of us—for her fate.
“Maverick.” She gave me a chilly glare. The older sister who had driven me into town so many times that summer before high school to see Colt, the one who’d arranged for birthday and graduation presents, the one who’d tried hard to soften the impact of our father’s indifference seemed long gone, replaced by a stranger with a familiar indifference and talent for dismissal. “It’s a lunch cocktail, not a red flag.”
“You should get out,” I urged. Fixing whatever ailed Faith wasn’t within my power, but perhaps I could distract her. “Go into town, maybe to the salon.”
“I’m not trusting anyone in Lovelorn with my hair.” She sighed dramatically like she hadn’t spent years doing exactly that. “And what’s with you getting all comfortable here? Redecorating? Signing up for that trail ride with Hannah? Hanging around with Colt Jennings again?”
“His kid is friends with Hannah, and he’s the sheriff.” My voice came out testier than I’d intended. I hadn’t seen Colt beyond a few moments when dropping off or picking up the girls, but I was counting down to the trail ride. Something seemed to have shifted the night I’d made pizza, and I wanted to explore further, get to know who Colt was now, not simply remember who he’d been to me. “Our paths are going to cross.”
“That all that’s crossing?” Faith gave me a pointed look before cackling. I’d never confirmed anything for her, but she’d been one of the few people to guess I had a crush on Colt in high school. She’d been nicer about it then, though, softly hinting and later breezily accepting my coming out. “Too soon for that joke?”