Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I chuckled at the clip, which was of a bear awkwardly climbing into someone’s backyard hammock. Then I asked, “So, when are you going to see him again?”
Hal shrugged and returned the phone to the pocket of his black cardigan. “I’d like to fly out and visit him this summer, after I graduate. But if I get the internship I’m hoping for, it might be tough to get away.”
I pointed out the obvious. “That’s a long time from now. Can’t he come here?”
“He’s going to try, but it’s even harder for him to get away. The only reason he was able to travel to Las Vegas that weekend was because his cousin was visiting. Someone needs to look after the ranch and all the horses, and chickens, and whatever else lives there.”
“Does that mean he usually looks after an entire ranch on his own?”
“He has part-time help,” Hal said, “but he takes care of most of it himself.”
“It’s such a bummer that you and Ryder can’t be together,” I murmured. “The connection you two had in Las Vegas seemed pretty incredible.”
Hal looked so sad all of a sudden. Since he usually kept his emotions neatly tucked away behind a mask of indifference, that was pretty unexpected. “It was. But his life is in Texas, and mine’s here. That’s just the way it is.”
“But… does it have to be that way?”
“Yeah, it does. He’s not going to abandon the ranch he inherited from his grandparents, and I’m not working this hard to become a fashion designer, just to give it all up and chase a man halfway across the country.”
Vee asked, “Not even if that man turned out to be the love of your life?”
“That’s not possible. We have nothing in common, aside from a desire to fuck each other’s brains out.” Hal stood up and abruptly changed the subject. “I’m going to make myself some tea. Anyone want anything from the kitchen?”
We both said, “No, thanks,” in unison, and once our friend was out of earshot, Vee sighed. “He’s afraid to want this guy. You know Hal’s last boyfriend cheated on him, right?” I nodded, and he said, “I think that pretty much destroyed his trust in men, especially since they were living together and talking about getting married. I don’t know what it’s going to take for him to move past it, but right now it’s way too easy to use the distance between him and Ryder as an excuse to not even try.”
That made me sad, but there wasn’t anything I could say or do to help. Hal didn’t even want to talk about it. When he came back from the kitchen, he distracted us with another subject change.
At least he and Ryder were still in touch, though. As long as that was happening, there was hope.
I got home a little before six that evening, and when I unfastened Dusty’s leash, he took off running to find Bryson. The dog had gotten very attached to him over the past few weeks.
Then again, so had I.
Now that the holidays were over, Bryson was trying to get serious about preparing for his new restaurant. He couldn’t do anything about the location until he got his inheritance, so for now he was focused on developing new recipes.
His plan for that afternoon had been to come up with some winter squash dishes. When I went into the kitchen, it looked like it had been decorated for Halloween with several different types of pumpkins. But they’d been pushed aside, and he’d started making something else entirely.
Bryson was sitting cross-legged on the floor, petting Dusty, and his face lit up when he saw me. “Hi, baby. I’m glad you’re home.”
I bent down to kiss him and said, “Me, too. How’s squashapaloosa going?”
“Badly. I think I hate pumpkins, and squash, and all of that, pretty much across the board.”
“Then why are you forcing yourself to use it?”
“Because I want to offer a seasonal menu, and there’s only so much that’s at its peak this time of year.”
He got to his feet and washed his hands before picking up a dish towel, which he used to pull a sheet tray out of the oven. It held a variety of golden-brown puffed pastry appetizers, and I said, “Those don’t look or smell squashy.”
“Nope, no squash here. I had some ideas for our next Embry dinner.”
After I’d mentioned wanting him to feed me a meal, he’d turned my request into a weekly event. He kept evolving his ideas, and this one was finger foods with a theme, which turned out to be cheese. I was very excited.
“I’ll give Dusty his dinner if you want to go upstairs and change,” he said. “I left a present in your bedroom for you, but obviously wear whatever you want.”
I grabbed him in a hug and buried my face in his chest as I mumbled, “You didn’t have to do all of that.”