Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
They hold each other tightly as I get out of the truck and then walk up to the house.
“Mrs. Wild.” I tip my hat to her, and she nods back at me as she releases her hold on Millie. Before my girl can speak, I continue. “Mill, I’m going out to the ranch for a while. I have a mare that’s going to foal any day, and I want to check on her. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.”
“Thank you,” Millie says and reaches for my hand to give it a squeeze. “I’ll see you later.”
I return to my truck and look back to see both women going inside. I’m glad that Joy came to see Millie. I could tell that everything that happened yesterday was as devastating for her mom as it was for Millie.
Family politics are the worst on the best days. Add in days that don’t feel great, and it’s way worse.
I hate that my marriage to Millie has her family upside down. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
When I get to my barn, I see that Vance and Levi are at the stall of the mare about to give birth.
“Anything happen yet?” I ask them.
“Nope,” Levi says. “Tim just ran to get us dinner. I think we’ll be out here all night, but we’ll take shifts.”
My guys live in a bunkhouse that I had built for them about five years ago, against my dad’s wishes and with my own money. It didn’t make sense for these bachelors to live in town and commute back and forth.
“I appreciate it.”
“I thought you left for the day,” Vance says.
“I wanted to check in on her. She looked scared this morning.”
“You’re a softie, boss,” Levi says with a big, shit-eating grin.
“Fuck you.”
They laugh, and then I turn for the office at the end of the building.
“I’ll be in the office for a while, catching up on some paperwork. Let me know if anything changes with her.”
“Will do.” Vance nods and turns back to the stall, and their conversation picks up where it left off.
I’d rather be at home with my girl, picking up where we left off at the coffee shop, but she needs this time with her mom, so I’ll wait a while.
I’ve already waited eight years. What’s another two hours?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MILLIE
“Give me another hug.” Mom pulls me in, wrapping her arms around me and holding me close, and although I’ve had a lot of support from Holden, his sisters, and my sisters of the heart, I really needed this.
A hug from my mom.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper into her ear. “I knew Dad would be mad, but I didn’t expect that.”
“Come on. Let’s sit and talk. Do you have tea?”
“In the kitchen.”
Mom leads the way and takes control of filling the kettle and finding the mugs. I pull out the tea bags and honey and set them on the counter for her.
“Your father is a good man,” she says after turning on the burner under the kettle. “A wonderful man. But he’s human, darling, and even I don’t know everything that went down between him and Holden’s father. I know snippets, but John was always adamant that I be shielded from him.”
Now that I know more about what kind of person Lawrence was, I understand more. Mom turns to me with shrewd eyes.
“Do you know some of what he did?” she asks.
“Some,” I confirm and blow out a breath. Jesus, I need to confide in someone, and my mom has always been that person for me. “I guess I need to admit to something, and I really need to talk this out.”
“That’s why I’m here.” She smiles softly, but her eyes are sad. “You never used to keep secrets from me. We don’t have that kind of relationship.”
The kettle starts to whistle, and we take a minute to make our tea and then move to the small, round kitchen table and sit facing each other.
“I hate keeping secrets. I’m not good at it.”
“You usually just say whatever’s on your mind, unapologetically. I’ve always admired that about you.”
I take a deep breath, let it out, and start at the beginning.
“I was nineteen,” I begin, and Mom leans in, listening intently. I tell her all of it. How much time Holden and I spent together that summer, how sweet he was to me, how tender he was with me. So many emotions flit over her pretty face, from concern to swoon to anger when I get to the end and tell her how he spoke to me, how he drove me away. “I was so heartbroken.”
“Of course, you were.” She reaches for my hand. “I remember that year. You became so distant when you went back to school, and I thought it was just because you were consumed with classes.”