Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Squealing, she grabbed at his hand. “You got me, Mr. Cody!”
Emotion gripped him, the words a coarse, ragged grumble. “Nah, Maddie. Think you got me.”
Country music played from the speakers and dust flew behind Cody’s truck as he barreled down the dirt road that led to Hutchins Ranch. We’d already traveled more than forty minutes, winding through the forest as we’d left Hendrickson and made it into Time River, before we’d hit a straight two-lane road that had taken us across flat plains where the vegetation had become sparse.
The blue sky wide open above us.
We’d made the right off the main road and onto a long dirt drive, and we climbed a high hill.
Once we hit its peak, a valley opened below. The mountains that hugged Time River rose up high in the distance, and at its base we could see the river that snaked through.
The landscape was breathtaking. Awe-inspiring in its beauty.
A staggering ranch was sprawled out between, tucked in the safety of the valley. Trees grew up on the fringes and green, grassy fields stretched on for miles. A ton of buildings, barns and stables and cabins, were situated in every direction.
At the far end was an enormous house that rose out of a copse of trees, its pitched roof stretching toward the heavens.
“Wow.” I didn’t even realize the admiration had slipped between my lips.
Cody chuckled from where he drove.
I looked that way, and my breath was stolen all over again.
He wore his cap, jeans and a tee, a tattooed arm stretched out where he held onto the steering wheel.
He tossed a grin my way. “Caleb’s the richest man in Time River. Even richer than your dad.”
He wagged his brows with his pestering, and I tried to process that Cody had brought my father up at all. The disquiet I’d been carrying flared.
“You probably shouldn’t go around telling my father that,” I played along anyway, not sure where this conversation was going. Besides, my father might have been a shrewd businessman, but he honestly wasn’t all that proud. I doubted he cared all that much about who was making more money than him.
But what he did care about was me.
The easiness in Cody’s demeanor dampened. “I’m not sure there’s a whole lot I’m going to be telling your father, Hailey.”
I bit down on my bottom lip.
There it was.
That speck of misgiving that lingered from our past.
I knew how my father had felt about Cody.
I could still hear his warnings that he’d given me back then, and it wasn’t like he’d stopped implying them once I’d returned. As if I were a child who wasn’t smart enough to make her own choices.
I gripped my phone on my lap like it could erase the messages I’d ignored from him that had started coming in mid-morning.
Dad
We need to talk.
Dad
Where are you?
Dad
Don’t act like a child, Hailey. I know you’re getting my messages.
We’d had an argument when he’d stopped in to see me at the stables the day after Cody had been attacked. He’d looked me point-blank and told me to stay away from him. He had told me I was being foolish and any daughter of his would open her eyes.
Hurt had slashed through my insides, and I’d told him he didn’t have a say, and if he was going to toss demands around like he had the right to disparage Cody and disrespect me? Then he could stay away.
The thing was, I had been foolish for years, and he hadn’t had the first clue.
My voice turned earnest. A promise. “There isn’t a thing you need to explain to him.”
Reaching across the seats, Cody threaded his fingers through mine and gave them a slight squeeze. “Nah, neither of us need to explain ourselves.”
Then Cody wavered, his teeth working at the middle of his bottom lip, his hand tightening on mine like he was the one who needed to cling to me. He kept his voice low, trying to protect innocent ears. “But you should know I got into a bit of trouble when I was working for your father. There’s a reason he hates me.”
I felt myself pale, the vague warnings he kept giving me rising to the forefront. “What kind of trouble?”
Cody looked to the rearview mirror, at my daughter who was watching out the windows.
I got it.
His reluctance.
I squeezed his hand back. “It doesn’t matter, Cody. That was a long time ago, and this is now.”
Could I claim that? Make it true? Stand in it for every obstacle and barrier that worked to keep us separated?
The promise I had made?
This guilt?
Give in and let go?
Is that what Cody wanted? Is that what we were headed for?
I inhaled around the disorder, putting it aside. “I need to figure out this other situation, anyway, then we can deal with my father.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Relief coated Cody’s tone.