Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
8
Cassie
My little talk with his brother went very well. Just as I’d expected actually and by the time I got home I was feeling loads better. Only thing left to do was come up with a plan. By the time I was done with him he wouldn’t know what hit him. Poor thing!
I knew a little more now than I did earlier, but I got the feeling that there was still a lot I was missing. I learned that he’d been living in the cabin for the past two years after building it himself. That he was a retired marine, which wasn’t very surprising, well except for the retired part.
It was obvious from the way he’d handled himself the night before that he was a military man. But he seemed a bit young to be retired if you ask me. “Oh hi dear. Where’s all your shopping? Do you need Smithy to run out to the car…?”
“Huh?” I looked at mom askance not understanding. Then I remembered my earlier lie and it was all I could do not to turn beet red and give myself away. “Oh-uh, there wasn’t anything I liked really. Plus I didn’t really feel like it after all.”
She nodded understandingly which only made me feel ten times worst for lying to her. She went on talking about something that her and my dad, were going to be doing later but I tuned her out. I’m pretty sure that whatever she was saying I’d already heard more than once.
Besides, I had more important things on my mind. Like how I was going to talk my way into one Braden Scott’s good graces. One second I was up to the challenge, and the next I’d remember his gruff coarseness and my belly would tremble with slight nausea.
But each time I waver, that feeling rears its head. Still, that wasn’t enough to get me anywhere with him, so instead of listening to mom prattle, I escaped into my room and put my mind to work.
In the end I didn’t need to. After a restless night spent trying to convince myself once again that it wasn’t me that he hated in between trying to come up with ideas for my approach, it took one phone call the next morning to get me what I wanted.
“Of course sheriff, I’ll be more than willing to help. I can’t think of a better way to repay him.” I’m getting way too good at this lying stuff, but it was for a good cause so no harm.
I hung up the phone feeling much better. I felt just a tad bit guilty for misleading the sheriff who still thought I was only doing this out of kindness and a need to repay a good deed. He had no way of knowing that I’d become obsessed with his brother.
Now to share the news with mom and dad. As grateful as they were for his help in saving me I’m sure they wouldn’t be too pleased about me cleaning his house. I know, I’ll tell them he was ill and I was going to play nurse.
Why that thought should give me a sweet tingle in my tummy is anyone’s guess. They’ve been coming more and more often now, usually anytime I think of him.
…“So you see, it’ll only be for a few days and it’s the perfect way to repay the debt I owe him.” This was the final part of my argument to convince my parents that it was a good idea to let me go out to Braden’s cabin.
At twenty-three I no longer need their approval, but after knowing them all my life I know how this works. The fact that I’m twenty-three and my dad came to pick me up from university while having my car transported should tell anyone what kind of relationship we have.
In their eyes no matter how old I get I’m still always going to be their little girl. So it was for that reason that I was going this far to convince them, to get their blessing.
Surprisingly they weren’t as opposed as I’d first expected. Well mom had a little more trouble accepting than dad, but in the end he convinced her that it was okay for me to go nurse my rescuer back to health.
In reality what I was doing was filling in for his housekeeper who had fallen ill and who was the only one he had taking care of him according to his brother the sheriff.
I’m not the world’s best cleaner seeing as I’d grown up with a housekeeper myself, but those years away at university had taught me how to take care of the basics at least.
And so it was that that Monday morning bright and early, after a night spent tossing and turning with nerves, I found myself pulling into his driveway again.