Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Not to mention, I probably deserve it.
“Catch you around,” Ethan says. “Maybe at a family dinner or something.”
His laughter echoes inside the vault as he walks away and that’s just not something I can see in the future.
Me sitting at the family dinner table in the Blackburns’ home.
But I can see me begging Kat to give this a shot and that’s where I need to start.
CHAPTER 24
Kat
The last rays of sun paint the sky in a riot of oranges and pinks, casting long, dramatic shadows across the sprawling fields of Blackburn Farms. The air is cool, a welcome relief given how hard I’ve worked today. Rather than give lessons, I worked the horses, which included several lunge sessions as well as rides. I even had a quick spin on Shadow around the outdoor paddock. He got a little frisky, gave me some buck, but nothing that even came close to knocking me off.
Now all is quiet. The horses are fed, the last of the staff have gone home for the night, and the final thing I’ve got to do is shut and lock the massive rolling doors on the east end of the facility.
The south wall of the barn has pop-out windows that are open a few inches and through them I hear the crunch of gravel just outside, indicating a vehicle is pulling up. Most likely Ethan on his way from the yearling barn to try to entice me into coming to dinner but I’m not feeling like it. I’ll politely decline, he’ll tell me to get my head out of my ass, and we’ll devolve into a yelling match.
Last night I was so mad at him because he was trying to extol Gabe’s virtues and I didn’t want to hear any of it. Twice now I’ve wasted my time on that fool. So yeah… last night I most definitely didn’t go up to the main house for dinner and instead went home, showered, uncorked a bottle of wine and called my twin, Abby, to vent to her.
She’s a good sister so she patiently listened with lots of supportive and affirming words, and when I’d run out of steam after two glasses of wine, she told me I needed to work things out with Gabe.
I called her a traitor and hung up on her, but later sent her an apology text. Her reply was as dry as the wine. I’m sure it was the alcohol talking.
I don’t veer toward the office to intercept Ethan. He can just wait in there for me. I continue my journey through the freshly dragged dirt, thanks to a few trips around the arena with the rake attachment on the back of the UTV. That’s usually done first thing in the morning by one of the stable hands but I don’t mind doing it. I mean… who doesn’t love zipping around on a UTV? I might have cut some doughnuts down at the free end where I do lunge lessons, but it was all good because I smoothed it out after.
I pull both doors closed and flip out the lights at the end of the barn. One of the horses nickers and another launches a kick at his stall door. I smile, loving the sounds of my life.
Turning to head to the office and gearing up to battle it out with Ethan, I come to a dead halt when I see Gabe standing there. He came into the barn area through the office door and his presence charges the air, thickens it with things unsaid and feelings unsorted. He stops a respectable distance away, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans, his posture rigid, as if bracing for a storm.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him, although secretly… I suppress a chill from how beautiful he looks. His hair is windblown and while he can rock a suit, I prefer him in denim.
“Can we talk?”
“Sorry,” I reply as I head toward the office, which means I’ll have to walk by him. “I’m late for family dinner.”
His hand shoots out, latches onto my wrist. “Five minutes, Hell Kat.”
I don’t let him goad me. Instead, I glance down at his hand but he doesn’t remove it. When my eyes meet his, I pointedly remind him, “You weren’t interested in talking last week when I came to your house.”
“You weren’t there to talk,” he counters with a wicked grin. “You were there to seduce me.”
I jerk my arm away from him. “Maybe, but I wanted to talk after.”
“I’m here to talk now,” he replies softly and with such yearning, my heart squeezes. Just that easy, he knocks the wind out of my sails. The angry banter and bitter jabs that would prevent any meaningful discussion don’t seem appealing right now.