Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Speaking of . . . my dad chuckles. “It means you need a good night’s rest because tomorrow will be a busy day.”
“You sure you don’t need help around here?” I ask.
“No. You go ahead. I only have fishing on the schedule tomorrow.”
I know his code now. Fishing means a nap during the day. I’ll let him have it, especially because Beckett was probably a handful today. To my son, I say, “It also means you get to ride a horse with me.”
“Yay! Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever.”
That might be a warning before the storm, considering how Pris and I left things, but maybe it won’t be so bad. She didn’t tell her dad, so that’s a good thing. And she said good things about me, to boot. I find her utterly unpredictable, though, so who knows what I should expect.
I spend time with Beckett after ushering him through the nighttime routine and settling him in bed. One book is the plan, but he talks me into two, then falls asleep before the end. I don’t blame him. My eyes have grown heavy.
My legs feel like dead weight I’m dragging upstairs as I head to bed myself. Since I took a shower after dinner, I’m glad I can fall straight into bed. In the room, I fold up the pallet where Beck slept the first two nights. Tonight, he insisted he was a big boy and chose to sleep in the spare room downstairs all on his own.
He’s comfortable here. It’s good to see him acclimating, but I knew he would if given the chance. And it’s great to see him expanding his wings.
I barely get the light turned off before I pass out.
CHAPTER 11
Tagger
My alarm startles me awake at five o’clock.
I have many regrets in my life, but promising Mr. Greene I’d be out there again today might be my biggest. I won’t disappoint, though. I gave my word, so I get ready and wake Beckett from the dead. I don’t remember him sleeping this heavy back in the city. Can’t blame him with sirens going off throughout the night. Even twenty floors up, there’s no avoiding the sounds of the city. And out here in the quiet countryside, the days are more physical, draining the body at night. So I get it.
“Hey buddy, good morning,” I whisper, lifting him out of bed and setting him on his feet. “You still want to go with Daddy to the ranch today?”
“Mm-hmm.” His eyes don’t open, and I’m second-guessing if this is a good idea. I don’t want to deal with a bad mood that could have been avoided. That won’t be good for either of us. His arm comes around my back, and he rests his head in the crook of my neck. “I want to go with you.”
“Okay. Let’s get you ready, and we’ll eat some breakfast before we head out.”
Not twenty minutes later, he’s wide awake and singing with his whole chest in the back seat of the truck like he’s auditioning for Broadway. I try to keep my eyes from crossing. I love to hear the enthusiasm, but it’s not even six in the morning.
Pris comes galloping down the porch steps as soon as we park. Going right for Beck, she opens the door and leans in to unlatch him. “I heard you were coming to visit today.”
“Daddy said I can ride a horse, Miss Christine.”
She restrains herself from glancing up at me, but I can tell ignoring me doesn’t come easy. “Did your daddy? Well, we’ll make sure that happens. But first, I wanted to see if you can help me collect the eggs as soon as the sun fully rises.” When his feet land on the ground, she taps his nose. “What do you say, buddy?”
He looks at me. I can tell he wants to go with her but doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. “You go, Beck. We have all day to spend together. Okay?”
Turning to her, he says, “Daddy said I could get eggs with you.”
“And whatever Daddy says apparently goes.” She slams the door closed before I can say anything.
Guess I’m not in her good graces like her dad led me to believe. I open the door and get out, ready to get on with it since it’s going to be a long fucking day.
I wasn’t wrong. I spent most of the day covering Davey’s daily duties, herding being a part of it. Reggie didn’t hold back on my duties. I even wondered at one point if Pris was behind the list. She’d make a great spy, considering how she managed to be out of my sight most of the day, to my disappointment.
So much for my plan of making it right.
I’m running out of time, and it might just have to be something I say on the way out later. I’m too busy to take a break in the meantime. At least my kid is having the time of his life riding Nightfall with me. There’s no reason to complain.