Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
“Oh God, thank you,” Anise says, holding her friend's hand.
“Yes... thank you,” Dolly echoes, those beautiful brown eyes of hers looking up at me.
The thought that anyone might want to harm her infuriated me. The jealous thought that she could be with anyone else is calling to me as well. I’m falling deeper and deeper in love with this woman by the moment, whether I want to or not.
4
DOLLY
In all my life in these small towns, no man had ever stepped up like that and knocked someone out just to defend my honor.
Angus is the first, and he did it without so much as a second thought. It’s so surprising coming from a man I knew to be rude and off in his own little world, who I thought didn’t care about anyone but himself.
“Do you want to head home? I know that whole mess was a bit of a mood killer,” Red says. He had agreed to be our ride home originally, before Angus volunteered to drive us.
I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to ruin the night for you,” I say, forcing a smile. Annie’s really hopeful about where tonight is going to go, and I don’t want to ruin things for her by ending the night early.
“You don’t look like you’re in any condition to stay here, Dolly,” Annie replies. “Come on, we can go home, don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll take her home,” Angus says, continuing to be uncharacteristic. “You two can stay and keep enjoying yourselves. As long as you bring my sister home in one piece at the end of the night.”
Red cocks an eyebrow, but he nods. “Of course, I’ll take care of her. You take care of Dolly.”
Annie has a warning of her own to shoot back at her brother. “Don’t you do anything stupid, Angus.”
“Why would he?” I snap. “I think he’s proven he’s more trustworthy than a whole lot of guys here.”
Annie smiles. “Then take care of yourself, Dolly.”
The two of us return to Angus’s truck. He’s silent as he pulls back onto the road to Burly, and remains as such during the whole ride. There’s a coldness to him that digs at me, and it’s annoying because I know there’s warmth within him that he won’t let escape.
Even in the silence, though, there’s a comfort to his presence. A reassurance that he’s going to do his damnedest to stop anything else from going wrong tonight.
The truck rolls to a stop in the driveway. The only light comes from the moon, and we sit quietly side by side in the truck.
“Why are you here, anyway?” I ask, finally building up the courage to break the silence.
“This is my home. What makes you ask such a question?”
“Annie says you left because you hate this town, and the people who live in it. That’s why you were always so standoffish and hostile to everyone. And in turn, no one knows how to act around you.”
“You’re assuming things. You don’t know anything about me, Dolly,” he says in a tone that says he’s clearly annoyed at having to repeat himself.
He steps out of the car and walks along, staring at the sky. I’m quick to follow him. “You never talk about yourself. Or express yourself. So all we got are assumptions, Angus. I’m thankful for you stepping in back there, but I’m also confused.”
“Any decent man would have stepped in there, it’s not that big a deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me and that’s what matters.” I cross my arms and join him in stargazing. “What’s your deal? Why did you come back to Burly? People are surprised you’re back at all.”
“I always intended to come back. I didn’t even really want to go, but I did anyway.”
“You’re not here because of your father. He thinks your degree is a load of crap and he knows all you need to learn around here.”
Angus shakes his head. “He would think that. He doesn’t want to admit that there’s more to ranching nowadays than just knowing how to herd cattle. My mother knew there was more, and she handled that part of the operation.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighs. “My mother kept on top of things. How the world is changing. How to make business connections and keep the ranch afloat as the corporations exerted their influence. She knew that my father had no stomach or brain for that, so she handled it. When she was dying, she told me the best thing I could do to help this ranch was to go to college and learn how to run it like it’s 1990 instead of 1890.”
I don’t know what to think of that. I know the Rowdy Ranch began to run into trouble when Meringue passed, and then Angus took off soon after.