Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
"Oh, she's so cute," Cassia whispers, staring in awe.
"You want to keep her, don't you?" I ask, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her up against me from behind. She melts into me, letting me hold her.
"Maybe," she whispers, making me smile.
"What would you name her?" I ask, curious as hell.
She thinks about it a minute. "Is she Hamburger's?"
"Probably."
"Patty," she says immediately. "I'd name her Patty."
Fuck, I love her.
"What are you looking at over there?" I ask, watching Cassia with a grin on my lips. She's cuddled up in the corner of the couch with her phone. She keeps peeking over at me when she thinks I'm not looking and giggling.
"Farmers Only," she says without missing a beat.
I growl a warning, setting my laptop aside. "You're itching for another lesson, aren't you?"
"I'm just kidding!" she cries. "It's just my reader group, I promise!"
"Show me."
"What? No way." She clutches her phone to her chest, her eyes wide with horror. "Women only, cowboy. You're not allowed to see what happens in my reader group. It's against the rules."
"You are itching for another lesson."
"I'm serious," she says. "I don't let men in my reader group. They're gross to the women and that makes me mad. I don't like it when people make my readers uncomfortable."
"You think I'd make them uncomfortable?"
She eyes me up and down, looking at me incredulously. "Um, hello? Have you met you? You're hot and bossy, and you say whatever you want to say. You probably wouldn't mean to make them uncomfortable, but we can't talk about sex things if you're in there."
Well, shit. Now I really want in that fucking group to see what sex things she's talking about with her female readers. If it's other men, I will be spanking her pretty little ass. And then fucking her until she forgets other men even exist.
"Tell you what," I drawl, closing the lid of my laptop and placing it carefully on the coffee table. "You come over here and show me some of these sex things, and I'll think about letting you keep me out of this group of yours."
"Fine," she says, her eyes heating. "But I need five minutes to finish this post."
"Two."
"Three."
"One."
"Two! Two minutes!" she cries, making a show of going back to her phone.
I chuckle, shaking my head. And then I watch her, fascinated by every shift of emotion across her face. She's so expressive. For the first time since Cleary moved out, this house feels alive again. It's not silent and cold, but warm and bright, full of laughter. That's all Cassia. She's a breath of fresh air…a goddamn revelation.
"Holy crap!" she squeaks, sitting upright.
"What?"
"Someone just posted pictures of my friend, Mina, and Palmer—the football guy—in the hot tub at the resort," she blurts, her eyes wide. "I have to let her know. She's going to freak out."
"The football guy? You mean Palmer Mitchell?"
"Yeah, him," she says, tapping out a text. "Poor Mina. She is not going to like this at all."
"I take it this is new for her?"
Her cellphone lights up in her hand before she can respond. She swipes to answer before it even makes a sound. "Mina, where are you?" She listens to whatever her friend says, her expression tense. "There are photos. Don't freak out. I'm at the ranch with this crazy cowboy and just saw them online."
"Crazy cowboy?" I mutter, narrowing my eyes at her. She's definitely itching for another lesson.
She ignores me, naturally. I'm not even mad though. She's focused on her friend, worry evident in her expression. Fuck, she's the sweetest little thing. I think she'd crawl through hell for her friends if they asked it of her. It kills me to know no one has been taking care of her the same way. I'm guessing she hasn't even told me half of what her mother put her through…still puts her through. I doubt she's told her friends the whole truth either.
"You, sweetie," she says to her friend, her voice soft and full of concern. "I wanted to tell you before you saw them yourself."
How anyone can look at this incredible woman and see anything less than perfection is beyond me. She's been in my life for a matter of weeks, and she's already the best part of it. If her mother doesn't appreciate her for the treasure she is, I will. I'll worship at her feet, remind her every fucking day that she's exactly who she needs to be.
"You and Palmer in the hot tub," she says and then pauses to listen. "I just texted you the link." She listens again, frowning. "I still can't get out because of the storm yesterday, but I'll hike the whole way back if you need me, okay?"
My brows rise toward my hairline. Hell no. She isn't hiking anywhere. I don't know how long she was in the woods before she wandered onto my property yesterday, but she won't be venturing back out into them anytime soon. Much longer out there, and I'm not entirely sure she would have survived. My pretty baby was not built for the outdoors. She was soaked and injured before Hamburger's mean ass ever got to her. If she needs to go, I'll be taking her. She can comfort her friend, and I'll wait patiently in her room. Until I've got my ring on her finger, she won't be leaving my sight.