Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Turning away, I stood. “I can make us some sandwiches, if you’re hungry.”
The kitten stood up, stretched, and jumped off the sofa.
Smiling at the kitten, Caden asked, “Where does she think she’s going?”
His eyes lit up when he smiled, and it was something I wished he would do more often. I hated that his ex had broken his heart so thoroughly. It was locked behind multiple doors; there was no doubt about that.
“I think she heard ‘hungry.’”
He shook his head and pulled out his phone. “I’ll help you, I’m just going to call Bryce Meyers.”
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Deputy sheriff. He’ll know how the roads are and if they’re clearing them yet. The guys have been plowing the roads on the ranch, and they’re almost all passable now.”
The idea of leaving this little make-believe world we’d created made my stomach feel heavy with dread. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to fall for Caden, but the more time I spent with him, the more I felt myself falling. He’d been honest with me from the beginning, so I needed to start mentally preparing myself for this to come to an abrupt end.
“Will they have cleared the roads this far from town already?” I asked.
Caden shrugged. “That’s the question.”
He tapped on the phone a few times, then put it to his ear. I decided to just head into the kitchen and let him find out about the roads. There wasn’t anything I could do if they were cleared or not.
The kitten meowed at my feet, and I scooped her up. I buried my face into the soft fur and whispered, “I’ll miss you most of all.”
The kitten meowed at me.
“You don’t believe that either, huh?”
Once in the kitchen, I put the kitten down. “I already texted Emeline to see if she had an extra litterbox for you, baby.” The kitten began playing with something on the floor. “Let me see if I can find you anything in here to eat.”
I searched Caden’s pantry and found cans of chicken. I took a few out, deciding chicken salad sounded good; plus, I could give some to the cat.
By the time Caden got to the kitchen, I had everything out and was dicing up celery.
“Chicken salad?” he asked, moving behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned back against his hard body and closed my eyes. It would be so easy to get used to having his arms around me. To feel his lips on my neck, making me feel all kinds of pleasure.
I squeezed my eyes tightly and pushed away those thoughts.
“I hope that’s okay? I gave some chicken to the kitten.”
He looked down at the little one, who was now bathing herself.
“Sounds good to me. What do you need me to do?”
“Get the mayo out? I need half a cup.”
When he let go of me, I instantly missed his warmth. I started to dice up the red onion while blinking my eyes rapidly to keep the tears at bay yet again.
“My mother puts chicken broth in her chicken salad,” Caden said, handing me a wet washcloth. “She also peels the onion under cold water to keep from tearing up.”
I raised my brows. “Really?” I took the washcloth and placed it against my face. The cool cloth felt refreshing. I set it down and looked back at Caden. “Chicken broth? That sounds good. Do you know how much she puts in?”
“I think a couple of tablespoons. I have some, let me grab it.”
We worked in comfortable silence as I mixed the chicken and Caden cut slices from a fresh loaf of sourdough.
“Chips?” he asked, as he held up a bag.
“Sure,” I said, as I cut up a few strawberries that I found in the fridge. We took our sandwiches and headed back to the living room, where Caden and I sat on the sofa. We ate and talked about River Falls. He asked about my parents retiring here and me following them.
“The idea of not seeing my mother and father very often wasn’t something I was looking forward to. I’d always wanted to open my own store, and after visiting River Falls, well, I knew I had to do it here. I instantly fell in love with the town.”
“You don’t mind it not being a big city?” he asked.
“Not at all. I was so tired of living in Denver. Of course, my mother warned me that in a small town like River Falls, the gossip would be rampant.” I laughed as I thought about it. “I have to admit the first time I saw my name in the paper, I let out a little scream of delight. It was all about the store opening, and just a small piece about me as well, since I was the owner. But it was fun to see it.”