Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Finally, I roll away from the desk and walk to the tea station. I put a hand on my aching back. I spent Sunday unpacking while Flint took the kids around the ranch. They still haven’t stopped talking about it. He’s like a superhero to them and sometimes, the looks they give him scare me. They’re so completely gone for him, and they’ve barely known him for longer than two days.
“They’re five,” I say out loud, repeating the words that my grandma said when I shared these fears with her. Of course, they’re going to love him instantly. Love is easy for them because they don’t understand their dad’s abandonment. They only know that he left for Thailand.
I told them that he was at the beach, and the boat hadn’t come to take him back yet. I still don’t know if that was the right thing to say. How do you look your innocent sons in the eye and explain that their father never wanted to be a dad? You don’t. You lie and you tell them a story about a beautiful beach and a father who loves them but can’t come home quite yet.
Stop thinking about this, I remind myself firmly. Just like it doesn’t do them any good to think about their father, it doesn’t do me any good either,
I finish making my tea and reach for my reader to distract myself. Maybe the internet will be working again in an hour or two. I swipe at the screen, selecting a cowboy romance from my TBR list. My choice for today’s trope has nothing to do with a violet-eyed man who gives the best hugs and listens to every word I speak and encourages my sons that they can really become dinosaur hunting racecar drivers when they grow up.
I squirm in my seat as I read the filthy scenes, imagining that the hero is Flint, and I’m the shy heroine who’s underneath him.
“Hey, boss, got those reports from the vet.”
I startle at Flint’s words and glance up, surprised to see him in front of my desk. “When did you come? Come in, I mean.”
He frowns. “Just now. You okay?”
“I’m…busy,” I answer, shutting my reader with a loud clap.
“Ahh, no internet today. That boring, huh?”
“You said you had reports for me.”
“Yep, can’t scratch a cow’s nose without red tape involved.” He passes me the notes about the cow’s health. Most people don’t realize that being a cowboy comes with actual paperwork. You have to track the health of your livestock, the local permits, and about a dozen other tiny things to stay legally compliant. But apparently, Bronco doesn’t trust computer systems and wants a paper copy of everything. It explains the large filing cabinets on the wall.
Flint hesitates for so long that I think he’s going to say something else.
I add the reports to my desk in the inbox tray then cross the room to the row of cabinets. I’ve been working on digitizing the records in between reading my smutty book.
“Can I see…it?” He finally asks so quietly that I could almost miss the question.
“See what?” I glance over my shoulder to see his ears turning red.
“The baby bump.”
“It won’t be here for a few months.”
“Not even a little bit?”
I snort. “Not when you’re my size.”
He turns to go, and I remember what he said that night at the bar. “You were an only child, and you probably weren’t around a lot of babies in the military either.”
He turns back to face me but ducks his head, staring at a spot on the floor. “When I was about the twins’ age, I asked for a baby brother. It made my mom cry, and my dad took me aside and told me to never mention babies in front of her again. The next day, she took me to the animal shelter, and I got to adopt three cats.”
My heart twists for him. “Lock the door.”
When he turns to do that, I reach for the hem of my dress, tugging it over my head until I’m only in my bra and panties. My shoes are still under the desk where I kicked them off hours ago.
Heat sparks in his gaze when he sees me undressed, filling me with a rush of satisfaction. I’ll never get enough of the way he looks at me, like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world and he’s the lucky one who gets to see me naked.
“Come here,” I say and reach for his hand when he’s in front of me. I place it on my stomach, feeling my own body instantly relax now that he’s touching me. “The baby is right around here and about the size of a pea.”
Wonder crosses his face. “That tiny?”
“That tiny. Right now, our baby looks kind of like a tadpole with a little tail. All curled up and safe.”