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)
Walking on foot, she leads Sunrise by the reins across the front of acres of blooming fruit trees. I cut the engine so I don’t disturb them. But having a moment to watch her in these surroundings she calls home makes me realize I can’t ask her to leave. It’s not a deciding factor for me, and I would never want her to leave a place she loves so much.
I start to walk along a path worn through the grass toward her. Catching the rays of the golden hour shining through strands of her hair makes it as vibrant as the sun. It’s so much redder than I ever thought. Wearing boots on her denim-clad legs, a black tank that hugs her curves, and a black hat that I recognize instantly, she’s spectacular like her surroundings.
When she catches me, she stops and puts a hand on her hip. She’s not annoyed, but she sure does love to give me a hard time. I love it, too. I love her mouthiness and strength, her killer body, and the quirky way her mind works sometimes.
I fucking love everything about her.
I stop about ten feet back or so. “Nice hat.”
She laughs and pushes it up on her forehead. “This old thing?”
As much as I love it when she runs into my arms, a sense of peace comes with the slower pace of this hello. “Heard you were out here somewhere on the ranch.”
She moves closer as her smile blooms like the peaches for me—perfect, ripe for kissing, and so beautiful. “Thousands of acres and you still found me. Intuition or—?”
I close the gap, cupping her face and kissing her like I’ve wanted to since the moment she left my place. When our lips pull apart, I lean my head against hers, feeling whole with her in my arms again, and whisper, “Destiny.”
CHAPTER 33
Tagger
“You sure on the sage green?” I hold the swatch out in front of us.
Nodding, my mom appears confident in her decision. “The sage.”
There are a million colors, but she picks the same color already on the house. “Sage it is, then.”
I buy all the supplies, and we head over to Sassy’s to grab lunch since we’re out. I’ve been waiting for the topic of Pris to come up since we left the Pass this morning, but she’s not said a word. She picks up a french fry and points it at me. “You were out late last night. Did you have fun?”
Images of Pris on the mattress with that fine ass of hers in the air while fucking her from behind come to mind. The sexy sounds of her moans I worried would reach the house if she wasn’t careful still fill my ears. The hot, slick embrace of that sweet pussy milking me has me shifting on my side of the booth.
I glance outside to rid the memories before I have to leave to handle the situation in my jeans. I turn back to look at my mom, and that does it. “Yeah, a lot of fun.”
“That’s good. Who did you spend time with?”
I push my plate away since I’m done eating and rest my arms on the table, keeping my voice down. “You know who, don’t you?”
A mischievous grin teeters onto her face after a good little laugh. “I can hope.”
“Mom, just say it.”
“Chrissy Greene.” Leaning forward, she says, “You two had such a connection at dinner during your last visit. She has the loveliest personality and what a beautiful young woman she is.” Placing one hand on the other, she leans back again. “I know I’ve said it before, but she reminds me so much of her mother.”
“I’m sure she loves to hear it.”
“How serious is it, Tagger?” Goes in for the kill . . .
No hiding anything from her. Never could. “Serious.”
“Marriage serious?”
I’m not sure if it’s right to talk about things when they haven’t come up between Pris and me, but I’m not going to lie about us anymore. “There’s no proposal planned at this time.”
The gentle upturn of her lips has me feeling I’m on the right track. I’ve thought about the relationship a lot, but I don’t know where Pris stands on the topic. Something else for us to talk about.
I pay the check, and we drive home—no more talk of marriage, and an ounce of pressure was never applied. It was nice to have the time with her and even more to hear how she feels about my girl.
When we return to the house, I recruit Beck to help his ole dad out. While I get the ladder out of the barn and set it up against the house, he’s happy to jump in and play with the power washer. I had no doubt that would be his favorite part.
I pull my shirt off and grab the straw cowboy hat from the hook inside and get to work. Beckett does the same. I want to laugh, but I don’t want him to think I’m making fun of him. I’m touched that he wants to be like me.