Total pages in book: 12
Estimated words: 11309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 57(@200wpm)___ 45(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 57(@200wpm)___ 45(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
When I get inside, my mouth drops. There’s a live Christmas tree set up and decorated in my room. I walk around it in amazement. I tell myself I need to unpack, and I set the suitcase on the bed, take out a few things, and start to put them away, but the view of the ranch is just too tempting. I take my bag of toiletries to the adjoining bathroom, and then I go straight to the window to look out at the sprawling ranch. I’m so caught up in the beauty of it, I barely see the man standing at the entrance of the barn with his head tilted up looking at me. When my gaze lands on him and I realize it’s Cash Wyatt, I gasp and immediately draw back from the window. He’s not supposed to be here. I don’t dare look out the window again; instead, I move around the room gathering the things I just unpacked. He wasn’t supposed to be here…
2
CASH
When I looked up into the window of the guestroom and saw Daisy looking out, it felt as if everything inside me calmed. The last few years have been hell, but tonight, it’s all going to change. When Daisy spots me, I see the shock on her face. Fuck, she thought I was out of town. I’m on the move before I can think twice about it. The door slams as I walk into the house, and I cringe knowing that Daisy probably heard it. I go up the steps two at a time and take a deep breath before pushing open the door of the guest room. She must have heard me coming because her head is down, and she’s standing stiffly with her back to me.
She picks up something from the bed and stuffs it into her suitcase. “Where the hell do you think you’re going? You should be unpacking… not packing.”
She shakes her head, still not looking at me. “I’m sorry, Cash. I didn’t know you’d be here. I’m going to go.”
I step into the room and shut the door behind me. If possible, she tenses even more. Her brown hair is in waves down her back, and my eyes travel down her body, taking in the curvy hips and the way her ass looks in those tight jeans. “You’re not going anywhere. You just got here.”
I stop next to her and watch as she grips the material in her hands tightly. I want to reach for her, but I don’t dare. She doesn’t trust me. Not yet. And I can’t really blame her. “Daisy, look at me.”
When she doesn’t, I put a hand to her shoulder, but the way she tenses has me letting go. “Please, baby, look at me.”
She looks pained as she unclenches her eyes. When she finally looks at me, I search her wide eyes. She takes a step to move away from me, but unable to resist any longer, I wrap my hand around her wrist to hold her where she is. “The Christmas party is tonight.”
She seems taken aback. “Party? I didn’t know there was a party tonight. I didn’t bring anything to wear.”
I interrupt her. “You’ll be beautiful in whatever you wear.”
Her mouth drops open, and she closes it before opening it again. When she still doesn’t say anything, I tilt my head to the side. “Say it. What is it?”
She shakes her head side to side and blinks up at me. She doesn’t realize it, but she’s looking at me with her heart in her eyes. She’s looked at me the same way since the first time she saw me. She doesn’t have the experience to hide her reaction to me, and that’s probably one of my favorite things about her.
She crosses her arms over her chest, pulling my hand off her wrist. “I thought you were going to be at some ranching convention or something. That’s what Lucy said.”
I shrug, hating that I asked Lucy to lie to her. “Don’t be mad.”
Her arms tighten around herself. “Don’t be mad? What am I going to be mad about?”
I suck in a breath. “I told Lucy to lie to you. I told her that I wanted you here, but I knew you wouldn’t come if you knew I’d be here.”
She’s shaking her head before I even finish the thought. “She lied to me?” I can see her mind whirling. “But why? You don’t want me here.”
I reach up and brush the hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. “I do want you here.”
She pulls back and looks at my hand as if I’m a strange man touching her instead of the one that I knew she has feelings for. “Why?”
I can’t help it; I laugh. “Why? Because it’s Christmas. Because you’re a part of our family.”