Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“That’s great, Way. Really.” She bit her lip.
“But?” I prompted.
“But marriage? Legal marriage? To a man you knew for a single day? It’s reckless. Do you even know if you like the same things, want the same things out of life? Where are you going to live when his job is back East? I know you said he was a successful corporate… something… but do you know that for sure? He’s driving a subcompact rental, his jeans look older than you are, and you put him in a position where he could take half your assets when you get divorced. Think of the ranch, Way.”
Part of me was amused—of course I was thinking of the ranch. I didn’t need Foster or Sheridan to remind me to think of it because I lived, breathed, and slept it every day. Another part of me was not amused for that very same reason. I also took exception to the when we got divorced bit… which was probably unfair since I knew better than anyone that this marriage had an expiration date.
I smiled and kept my patience. “He’s not going to take the ranch, Sheridan. He has plenty of money. He really is a corporate strategy consultant. In Vegas, he was wearing a killer suit and staying in a high-end hotel on the Strip. You can check out his LinkedIn profile for yourself.” Silas could have concocted years of fake comments and entries from other well-known corporate executives, but that seemed a bit of a long game to con someone out of an eighth of a debt-ridden horse ranch. “And we’ve already agreed to draw up a postnup to protect our assets. Which was Silas’s idea.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, well… that’s good, at least.”
“And as to the rest… I don’t know yet. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it was a little reckless.” It was. It surely was. “But I promise none of it will come back on you or ZuZu or Wynn, okay? I won’t let the family down.”
“I know you won’t. I just… I want you to be happy, Way.”
“Well, I am.” I thought for a second about my crazy schedule, my pathetic bank balance, and the expiration date she’d just reminded me of, then added, “Mostly.”
“Good.” She leaned forward and patted my hand, then sat back with a grin. “I admit, it’s kinda cute to see him wearing your shirt.”
I blinked at her. “My… shirt?” I’d noticed, too, that the old flannel Silas wore looked like one I’d donated weeks ago. It wasn’t—couldn’t be—the same one, but I didn’t correct her. It was probably a happy-husband thing to share clothes like that… at least, if the secret, possessive thrill I got from the idea of him wearing something of mine was anything to go by.
“And did you notice the back of his neck got red when Janice Godfrey said she’d caught y’all kissing in the alley? So cute. Then he grabbed your hand and kissed your knuckles one by one. I thought Stella’s eyes were going to pop out of her head.” She sighed. “And she was there with the PTA moms. They were all swooning. And him with your hat? Jesus, Way. I guess that means it has to be serious, doesn’t it?”
Silas hadn’t worn my hat… that I knew of, anyway. He’d simply held it.
Held it against me while we’d danced.
And while we’d kissed.
Held it the whole way from Vegas to give it back to me.
I sucked in a shaky breath and jumped to my feet. “I should probably go, ah…” I jerked a thumb in the direction of the barn. “…get my chores done while Silas is occupied.”
“Sure.” Sheridan stood. “By the way, I called ZuZu right after you left the cafe, so she knows.”
“Shoot.” Suddenly, I remembered I hadn’t thought to warn my little sister about any of this. “What’d she say?”
“She didn’t seem surprised. She said she always thought you had a crush on Lake McNair and that when he and Jackson got together, you went into a deep depression.”
While Lake McNair was a good-looking man, I’d never had a crush on him or thought of him in that way at all. If anything, I thought his husband was hotter. “Didn’t he and Jackson get together right around when Dad died?”
“Oh.” Sheridan looked startled. “Yes. God. Well, ZuZu had it half-right.”
It was nice to share a laugh.
She moved past me to the canvas bag she’d left on the porch floor. “Almost forgot. I stopped by Pete’s and picked up a take-and-bake pizza for you. Decided I didn’t feel like cooking after all. Hope that’s okay.”
“Course it is. Thanks.”
She opened the bag to show me a big pizza and six-pack of beer. I also recognized a large cardboard to-go box from the Love Muffin.
“Toffee bars, fresh this morning. You can have those for dessert. And there’s also coffee cake for the morning.”