Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Nothing is going to happen to her on this ranch. You know we’ll protect her.”
I sighed. “It’s a big ranch, Billy. What if we can’t? What if I can’t?”
He remained silent for a few moments. “You and I both know you’re not going to let anything happen to her. I know you want to make up for Emily, but Mallory isn’t her.”
“I know that. Trust me.”
“Right. Well, anyway, I was calling to tell you that Chad’s here. He’s at the main barn with Bubba. Don’t worry, we haven’t said a thing to him. He asked where you’d gone, and I just told him it was a personal trip, and you didn’t tell me where.”
“What?” I asked, pulling on my boots. “Chad is here right now?”
“Yeah, he just showed up earlier and wanted to know if you were still coming back today. I told him you were out on the ranch taking care of some things, since you’d only just gotten home, and I knew you wouldn’t want him stopping by. Did you even tell him you were coming back today?”
I cursed. “I sent him a text saying I was on my way home, that I would call him later. What is he doing here?” I asked, more to myself than to Billy. “He called two days ago to say he needed to talk to me about something he and Krista wanted to ask about the baby.”
“Well, if he’s here, he clearly wants to talk to you bad.”
“I’ll give him a call now. Thanks.”“Sure thing.”
Hanging up the phone with Billy, I called my brother.
“Hey, sorry to just show up, but I’m heading out of town and wanted to speak with you.”
Frowning, I replied, “No worries. I’m at the house if you want to head this way.”
I was going to have to talk to Mallory about Chad coming over.
“Bubba has Piper, want me to bring her with me since I’m heading that way.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I said, “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
“Great, I’ll say goodbye to the guys and be up that way soon.”
Quickly hanging up, I went back into my room, only to find my bed empty. The shower was going, and I cursed my brother for his rotten timing. I would have given anything to slip into the warm water with Mallory.
I lightly tapped on the open bathroom door. “Hey, you.”
She turned and gave me a beautiful smile. My shower was clear glass, so I could see her, and my body instantly reacted.
“Hey. Want to join me?”
I groaned. “As much as I would love that, I can’t. My brother is on his way here to talk to me about something.”
“Okay.” She instantly looked worried. “Should we tell him about me?”
Drawing in a deep breath, I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Not yet. We’re not close, and I have no idea what he’s going to ask me. Let’s just keep him in the dark for a bit longer. Is that okay?”
She opened the shower door, giving me an even better view of her body. “He’s your brother, Liam. Only you can know for sure if we can trust him. If you don’t want to tell him, I’m okay with that.”
I nodded. “Let me see what he wants. With Chad, it could be anything.”
“Okay. I’ll just hang out in your room and read a book.”
“Thank you. I’ll make you a snack really quick before he gets here.”
“Okay. This water feels heavenly, by the way.” She winked, and I slowly shook my head.
“Minx.”
After leaving Mallory, I grabbed our suitcases and put them both in my bedroom closet. There was no way I was going to let her sleep upstairs anymore. Not with the change in our relationship.
I quickly made a plate of snacks for Mallory and placed it on the bed. “I put your food on the bed!” I called to her in the bathroom.
“Thank you!”
I heard Chad’s truck driving up, so I headed out of the bedroom, shut the door, and made my way to the front porch. Chad parked, turned off his truck, and got out. Piper dashed out of the truck and made her way over to me, barking like crazy the entire time.
Dropping down to greet her, I laughed when she licked all over my face. “I haven’t been gone that long, girl.”
Chad walked over and smiled. “She clearly missed you.”
I stood and reached for his outstretched hand. “She misses me if I’m gone for an hour.”
Motioning for my brother to go before me into the house, I asked, “What’s going on that you need to talk to me so urgently?”
Making his way into the kitchen, Chad glanced at me over his shoulder. “Do you have any beer?”
Nodding, I said, “Yeah, let me grab you one.”
He tilted his head as he regarded me. “You seem different. Happy.”