Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
They fall hard and fast, but is Fox keeping Tabitha a secret for a reason?
He is keeping his family from her, and worse…
When the truth is revealed, will it be too late?
This is wild, fertile land, where the men are ready to whisk their women to bed.
No hook-ups or one-night stands.
Here in the Evergreen Mountains, the men are fiercely loyal.
Here, love lasts a lifetime.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
ONE
fox
“You gotta know that you’re dressed far too nice for the occasion, Fox.” Bear is sitting on the edge of his truck’s tailgate, a bottle of soda pop in hand, half-drank. “Your jeans don’t even have any holes in them.”
I let out a long sigh. For a rural farmers market? Yeah, I stood out like a sore thumb. I’m clean and pristine, a button up denim shirt, a fresh haircut and fresher face. I usually keep a bit of stubble, but my father insisted I keep up appearances for one of the recent meetings.
I’m the heir to the throne after all.
Even if I don’t want to be.
This is compared to ol Bear, who’s clothing looks like he’s been wearing it for years, even though it’s all very well taken care of. You can see the wear and tear of everything, and the dirt that’s dug into his boots.
“What are you even coming here for? I usually don’t see you coming to the farmer’s markets,” Bear says. “Got an itch for that super fresh produce?”
I laugh. “Not so much, no. I’m sure I’ll get some, but I’m mainly here to pick up some huckleberry jam my mother picked up when coming through here once. Says she hasn’t been able to pick up anything else like it and has been jonesing for it pretty hard.”
Bear slaps me on the back. “Well, take in the sights and sounds. People are going to take you for a city slicker, but they’re still nice enough.”
“I did grow up here, Bear. You don’t have to treat me like an alien.”
“Just saying. Not everyone’s going to remember you. Few will. Probably give you the same shit I gave you.”
“That’s so reassuring, Bear. Really.”
I grew up right alongside Bear. Hunter and Hawk too. We were our own little clique coming up, inseparable best buds. Then my Dad gets some money in, and we immediately moved away for a few years. I missed most of high school with them, but then my old man came back to Evergreen Valley for business, and started digging his claws deep into the area.
Just this time, our family’s net worth is about a thousand times higher than it was before.
Money shouldn’t change much about you, but I can’t help feeling like I’ve drifted away from my old friends. I adore them deeply and still think of them as brothers, but I have doubts if they feel the same way.
Bear and I head into the market. People all around us are hawking their produce. Apples are the most common crop, and lots of the farmers have their own takes on them. There’s lots of potatoes and carrots too, huge ones that I contemplate getting since my mother loves making a fine beef stew out of the freshest ingredients.
I find the lady selling the jam and pick up several jars, and she carefully sets them in a cloth bag to carry them around in too. That’s nice of her, it would have been awkward to carry around a half dozen jam jars in my arms as I went along for the rest of my trip.
The smell of various foodstuffs fill the air too. I smell what are sure to be some damn good french fries, some gyros, plenty of hot dogs, which I’m sure are made from sausages made from their own pigs, cows, and chickens. It’s a jarring shift from the city, and I have to say, I missed it a great deal.
Bear’s got two hot dogs and a cone full of curly fries on hand, like we’re at a damn carnival. Can’t say I blame him with how good they look, and when I look at him, he shrugs my way. “What? This is for Char too. She’ll love this.”
I smirk and shake my head. “Should get it to her while it's still hot then.”
“She’s with Savvy and her other friends, they have a booth with their arts and crafts stuff.”
We go to another end of the farmer’s market. This place is filled with people selling everything that isn’t meant to be eaten. Lots of woven quilts, finely made sweaters and shirts. Hunter sells some of his own carpentry work here sometimes, even though most of what he makes is just for himself and family. Past old Grandma Diana’s blankets, we finally reach the recent spouses of both Hunter and Bear.
“May I tempt you with a gourmet, artisan, home cooked organic hot dog, babe?” he asks, presenting one of the franks to his wife.
“Can... can hot dogs be organic?” She says, accepting his gift.
“Hell if I know. But if it’s from around here, it’s way better than anything you’re going to get at a grocery store.”
As charming as the scene is, my attention is swiftly snapped away by something far more interesting.
She’s working on sprucing up one of the displays of what I’m sure is her own work, given she has a very similar necklace to the one she’s selling around her neck. Her hair, long wild curls, is the color of sun-kissed honey, it swaying as she moves her head, letting those hazel eyes of hers meet mine, and letting me see the hints of gold and green within them, the green akin to the leaves of forest, bathed in sunlight.