Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 30762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
"My aunt met her wife when they were in college. They were the ones who took me in after my parents died. I know it's a lot to take in, Jolene, but—"
Jolene put her hand over my mouth and then she was sliding off the chair and straddling my lap. "I do want to hear about your aunt and her wife and growing up with them, Zander, I promise I do. But I really, really need you to say that second part again. Because right now my brain is trying to tell me I imagined it and that I'm the only one who's fallen this hard, this fast."
Her declaration had my heart swelling. I kissed the palm of her hand to remind her she was still covering my mouth with it. As soon as she removed her hand, I kissed her deeply. "I love you, my Joli. I love you."
She let out a little half sob and then said, "I love you too, Zander." She wrapped her arms around me and added, "So I get to tell everyone you're my boyfriend now, right?" I could feel her smiling against my neck.
"Only if I don't beat you to it," I responded. And as far as I was concerned, boyfriend was a very, very temporary title. If I had my way, I'd bypass fiancé altogether and go straight to husband sooner rather than later.
Much, much sooner.
Epilogue
Zander
Three weeks later
The hushed whispers around us got my attention, but for once it didn't seem like we were the subject of all the muted conversations. We were standing near the pony rides where Cameron was taking his turn on a little spotted horse ironically named Cowboy. Jolene was pressed up against my side, so I softly said, "Look, honey, I think we’re losing our celebrity status."
Obviously, we hadn't actually been celebrities when people had discovered that Jolene Doyle was dating a supposed thug from the city. Thug was what an older lady had called me at the library when I’d gone to pick up Jolene and her son a week earlier. I suspected terms like criminal and troublemaker were also used to describe me, though they were based on nothing more than my looks and the car I drove.
From the moment Jolene and I had walked hand-in-hand down Main Street after I'd met her at the diner where she waited tables, people had turned their heads to watch us pass. It’d made Jolene uncomfortable at first, but she’d gotten past that in a big way because when the old lady had called me a thug, my sweet, kind, innocent little Joli had gone off on the woman.
I suspected that I'd only been part of the reason Jolene had kind of lost it. I had a feeling that Jolene was winding herself up for the fight Jackson would face if he did, in fact, decide to come out to the residents of Eden. It turned out that my girl had a bigger backbone than any of the people in town had ever expected. While they still looked at us when we walked by, no one had dared to call me any names since that day when the crotchety old woman had faced the whirlwind of anger that was my Joli.
My relationship with Jolene had progressed quickly, and while we weren't officially living together, I spent every night at her house. Cameron had accepted my presence without too much discussion, especially after I'd plied him with questions about his father whom he absolutely idolized and wanted to be just like. Jackson had played a big role in helping Cameron understand that I wasn't replacing Jackson as his father. He’d explained to his son that what we were doing was becoming a bigger, better family. My respect and admiration for Jackson had grown with each passing day because his devotion to his son and to Jolene was obvious.
It had taken a few days for Jolene to find the courage to confront Jackson. I hadn't gone with her to the ranch, but I’d heard about the exchange that night. Jackson had denied his sexuality at first, but when Jolene had told him that she didn't care and that she only wanted him to be happy, he'd broken down and had admitted it was true. Jolene had cried in my arms as she'd talked about how Jackson had fallen apart.
It wasn't something I could even fathom—the idea of not having anyone to lean on. Jackson had gone his entire life hiding something that was such a big part of who he was. And his guilt for using Jolene like he had was endless. Even after Jolene had said she’d forgiven him, it was clear he wasn't ready to forgive himself. Jolene hadn't asked Jackson about his feelings for Travis, but we’d both noticed every time the pair was over for dinner or to pick up Cameron for whatever outing they were going on that nothing had changed. The very straight-acting Travis was still completely oblivious, and Jackson suffered in silence.