Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Blayze stood. “Tommy was right. Girls can make a man go crazy.”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at him. He shook his head, gave a half shrug, and then walked back toward the kitchen.
After a moment or two, I found myself laughing.
“That was some good advice you gave him.”
I stood and faced Lincoln, who had come into the room at some point. “Wow. I don’t know how you do it.”
She smiled. “Some days neither do I. You’re really good with him, Timberlynn. Thank you for thinking of him and talking to him. It means a lot to me and Brock.”
“I just hope I didn’t confuse him more. Maybe I should have kept it simple and told him that girls do, in fact, have cooties.”
She rolled her eyes. “He has Shaw blood running through him, so that would never work.”
We both laughed and headed back into the dining room. About that time, Dirk showed up for breakfast, and the moment he caught sight of Ty’s shirt, I saw something I thought I would never see.
He looked at Kaylee, smiled, and let a single tear slip free.
Maybe there was hope for that man yet.
Chapter Twenty-One
TANNER
The day after Christmas, I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee, smiling as I watched my mother stir blueberry muffin mix. My father sat reading the paper like he did every morning. Last night, after all the excitement had died down, I announced that I was retiring from roping. Everyone in the family was supportive of my decision, as I knew they would be, but I could especially see it in my folks’ eyes. They were happy to have all of their sons back home, that was clear to see.
“It’s a beautiful morning,” I said before I took a sip of my coffee.
My mother beamed at me. “The best morning ever!”
“I’ll agree with your mother,” Dad said. “I think this has been one hell of a good Christmas.”
He glanced over the paper and gave me a smile. I returned it, then pushed off the counter. “I’m off to do some chores.”
As I walked out of the kitchen, I heard my father sigh in delight. “Yes, indeed, one hell of a good Christmas.”
After shooting the shit with Jimmy and finishing my coffee, I walked into the barn and came to a stop at the sight in front of me. Dirk was standing there in a yoga pose.
“Okay, what the fuck has happened to you, dude?” I asked, making him jump. “First you cried yesterday, and now you’re doing yoga? Who the hell are you lately?”
“You dickhead, you scared the piss out of me. And for the one-millionth time, I didn’t cry. Something was in my eye at that particular moment!”
“You cried. We all saw it.”
He sighed, then rolled his eyes. “Fine. It was a tear of happiness for Kaylee. You know how she’s like a sister to me. It was for her. And I quickly wiped it away.”
“There was more than one…it…and you didn’t wipe it quickly enough,” I mumbled.
“What are you even doing here this early?” Dirk asked as he balanced once again in a one-legged stance.
“Um, ranching. It’s like downward dog, but it’s called feed the horses,” I replied. As I walked by him, I barely touched his shoulder with the tip of my finger, causing him to go off balance again.
He put his other foot down and quickly recovered.
“What are you doing yoga in the barn for? Why didn’t you do it up in your room? You know if Brock and Tanner see you doing this, you’ll never live it down.”
He huffed. “Please, Brock is the one who told me how good it would be for my balance on the bull.”
I stopped walking and turned to faced him. “Brock does yoga?”
“Did. Past tense. I doubt he does it now.”
With a smile, I secretly contemplated how this little tidbit of info would benefit me. I also tried to figure out how I could gather any evidence of my older brother doing yoga.
“It’d be good for you as well.”
“I don’t ride bulls, Dirk, remember?”
He chuckled, and then switched his pose. “You still need good balance for roping. I can show you a few moves if you want.”
I reached for the feed bucket and answered him over my shoulder. “Hard pass, but thanks for the offer.”
“Your loss. It could improve your time.”
Once I got a few buckets filled with feed, I made my way back out into the stall area. We only had a few horses who were stalled, a mare who was pregnant, a stallion who was healing from a crazy jump over a fence, and foal who had lost her mother during childbirth and was now with a surrogate. “That’s not something I need to worry about anymore,” I stated as I opened the first stall door and poured the grain into the feeding dish.