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)
He closed his eyes.
“And let me reassure you that I’m not feeling neglected. I couldn’t care less if you work from dawn to dusk. I don’t need your company, or for you to rush home and have dinner with me every night. I simply wanted to make sure you’re not uncomfortable in your own damn home.”
Caden slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry I slipped and called you Rachel. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”
“If this is going to work, let’s get one thing straightened out right now. I am not Rachel. Okay? I know how much you love this ranch, and I would never, ever stand in the way of that. You are avoiding me, Caden. Don’t deny it. We both know it’s true. If you’re afraid I’m going to fall madly in love with you and sneak into your bedroom one night to try and seduce you, you’re wrong. You made it perfectly clear where you stand on any kind of relationship. We’re friends who happen to be having a baby together. That’s it. Yes, I’ll admit I have feelings for you, but I do not want, or expect anything from you. At any point, I’m perfectly willing to raise this child on my own.”
He tried to say something, but I kept talking.
“But I don’t prefer to raise them alone. So if this is going to work, you have to stop comparing me to the stupid-ass woman who broke your heart. Newsflash, Caden Wilde: not all fucking women are the same!”
Turning on my heel, I marched out of the kitchen, through the house, and up to my room. I shut the door and leaned against it, closing my eyes and willing myself not to cry.
I was done crying over a man who couldn’t let go of a ghost.
A few minutes later, I heard Caden’s truck start. I walked to the window and watched him pull out and drive off.
I slowly shook my head. If there was one thing Caden Wilde was good at…it was running away.
Caden
I watched as Lilibeth turned and walked away. I waited for a heartbeat before I started to follow her. When I heard her shut the door to her room, I paused on the steps. It wouldn’t do me any good to talk to her now. She was angry, and she had every right to be.
Instead, I turned and headed down the steps, grabbed my coat, and left.
I had every intention of driving into Granby, getting drunk, and getting lost in a meaningless fuck. But when I got to the end of my road, instead of turning left to leave for the city, I went right. I soon found myself parked outside my parents’ house.
I turned off the engine and got out, walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. My father answered only moments later.
“Caden? What are you doing here?”
“Are you guys busy?”
He held the door open and motioned for me to come in. “Never too busy to visit with one of our kids.”
I took off my jacket and hung it up before making my way into the living room. My mother was on the sofa, curled up under a blanket with a book in her hands. She smiled when she saw me and tried to rise.
“Don’t get up, Mom.” Making my way over to her, I kissed her on the cheek.
“What brings you over tonight?” Dad asked.
My mother gave me a knowing smile. “Lilibeth stopped by earlier today to ask if I’d had something to do with Janet not mentioning the pregnancy earlier. I told her I had no part in it.”
I rubbed at the back of my neck. “Yeah, she told me. And I told her about the deal I worked out with Janet.”
Mom closed her eyes, then looked at me. “I assume she was upset.”
“Yes…but not as upset as when I accidentally called her Rachel.”
Dad pulled a face. “Ouch. I don’t imagine that felt good for Lilibeth.”
“You called her Rachel? Caden Flint Wilde…why?”
“She asked if I was avoiding her, and it made me think of Rachel, complaining about how much I worked and how she never got to see me.”
“And are you avoiding her?” Dad asked.
“Truthfully? Yes, I’ve been avoiding her.”
My mother tossed the blanket away and swung her feet off the sofa. “Why are you avoiding her? It sort of defeats the whole reason she moved in so you could be around to experience the pregnancy with her and be there for her.”
I scrubbed my hands down my face and groaned. “I don’t know.”
“You do know, Caden. You just can’t admit it to yourself,” my father retorted.
I dropped my hands to my sides and exhaled a long breath. “She scares me.”
My father laughed, while my mother frowned.
“She. Scares. You?”
Standing, I started to pace. “Yes, Mom! She scares me. Every time I see her, something happens in here,” I said, as I placed a hand over my heart. “Sometimes I’ll walk into a room, and she doesn’t know I’m there, and I’ll just watch her. I can’t take my eyes off of her. I’m drowning in these feelings that I’ve hidden away deep inside, and I don’t know how to release them. To let them come up to the surface.”