Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
How did he even find her?
And where did we go…
From here.
Twenty-Two
Hazel
“Thank you so much, Ledger.”
We were almost back home.
Shit! Stop thinking this is your home, Hazel.
I watched him from afar without him noticing as he drove back to his ranch. We didn’t talk much until that point. I was too shocked, and I couldn’t form words. I needed time to think, and still, I didn’t know what to focus my attention on the most. Question after question tore through my mind at rapid speed.
Where do I keep her after I move back to New York? What did this mean? Why did he do it?
And the most persistent one.
Are you still in love with him?
He kissed my hand.
“How did you find her?”
“It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure, but I was able to track her down for you.”
“I can’t believe you did that for me.”
“I’m one of a kind, sugar.”
“I need to take care of some things for the ranch.” He nodded to his house as he pulled into the garage. “You go in without me. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay.”
I went inside and walked through his house, but I took it all in for the first time. From his furniture to all the photos on the walls. I couldn’t believe how many pictures I was in, which made me realize how much I was still in his life even when I wasn’t. He had me there in the only way he could, through the memories of our childhood.
There I was in New York, desperately trying to forget him while he was on his ranch in Wyoming, desperately trying to keep me in his life as if he never kicked me out of it.
The irony was not lost on me.
I was pitifully keeping my feelings in check. However, it was becoming harder every second. His ranch was starting to feel like my home.
He was starting to feel like my home.
This house wasn’t mine.
He wasn’t mine.
The side of him he was openly showing me, I didn’t think he had it in him. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I’d witness a man more in love with his daughter than he was. Now that we knew it was a girl, he talked about her all the time. He was such a doting father, and she wasn’t even born yet.
I couldn’t ignore that.
I couldn’t ignore him.
His family was just as consumed and excited with our baby girl as we were. I thought about that evening when we told them about her name at his dad’s house. Everyone was there, including Chance.
“We’d like to introduce to you to”—Ledger rubbed my belly—“Hallie Beckham.”
Haven burst into tears while his dad's eyes rimmed with them.
Jace pulled him into a tight hug first. “I can’t think of a better name for her, man. Mom would be so happy. She’d be so fucking proud of you.”
I wiped away a few tears of my own.
Chance embraced him next. “That’s a damn good name if I’ve ever heard one.”
His father was the last to hug him, and the moment he wrapped his arms around his neck, he broke down, crying into his son’s chest. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever witnessed, and I thanked my lucky stars that our baby girl would be born into this loving family.
Right then and there, I knew this might not have been planned, but Hallie wasn’t a mistake or an accident…
She was a blessing.
For all of us in similar ways.
It was the first time since his mom passed away that I felt her there with us. Her presence filled the room as if she were standing there, alive and present. It was the craziest sensation, and by the expressions on everyone’s faces, they felt it too.
Ledger’s family stopped by at least a couple of times a week, and I was getting used to being part of their closeness. Our baby girl would be so loved, and despite the way we hooked up, I couldn’t imagine a better family for her to be born in.
At least I did something right by her.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen after I moved back to New York and how much it would impact their relationship with her. I wanted her to have her family near, and I considered buying my own place and maybe splitting my time in both states. Now that I had my horse, I was pushed in that direction.
I can’t stay here with Ledger, can I?
I had my own private plane, so I could easily make it work. It was only a three-hour plane ride. We weren’t that far from each other, or it was what I kept telling myself. As the delivery date neared, I feared for the future. I didn’t want to fuck this up.
Especially for her.
Despite the fact that he gave me pleasure whenever I wanted, we hadn’t had sex. Not that I didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t. He said what he was doing to me was enough for him. Although, he always jumped in the shower after, and I was aware of what he was doing in there. The thought alone would turn me on all over again.