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)
“Not broken, but she twisted it pretty good.”
Mom sighed. “There should be some aspirin or Tylenol in the master bathroom in the cabinet.”
“Okay, I’ll be sure to check if she hasn’t already. She’s taking a shower.”
“Thank goodness your father had Jimmy bring in that food. The storm looks to have stalled. You might be there until at least tomorrow afternoon.”
“Don’t worry, Mama, it’s not going to be a hardship.”
She laughed. “No, I imagine it won’t. I’m sure Timberlynn wouldn’t have gone out if she had known how fast this storm was moving in.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and looked toward the hall where Timberlynn was in the master suite. I could hear the water running, so I knew she was still in the shower. “Yeah, she feels bad about it.”
“Well, I might as well tell you because I’m sure Timberlynn is going to find out soon enough.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “Tell me what?”
“Your daddy ran into Richard Covey earlier. He mentioned something about Timberlynn buying the family property and Richard seemed surprised by it.”
The sound of my heart beating in my ears made it almost hard to hear my mother’s words. “He didn’t know the family was selling?”
“He knew, but he told your daddy plans had changed. When your father asked him for more details, he simply said they had a better offer.”
I closed my eyes and cursed inwardly. “She was really looking forward to that place, Mama.”
“I know she was, son.”
“Should I say something?”
“I wouldn’t—just let it be for now. There isn’t anything she can do being stuck out there, and I’m sure she’s already feeling a bit stressed. The poor girl doesn’t need another knockdown right now.”
I remained silent on the phone as an idea hit me. A crazy, insane, brilliant idea.
“Sweetheart, is everything okay?” my mother asked.
“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. I just had an idea pop into my head.”
“What kind of idea?”
I looked around the cabin. “One that might be moving a bit too fast for Timberlynn.”
It was her turn to be silent. “Lord, don’t even tell me. Let’s just make it through this storm first, okay?”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “Are you and Dad okay? Did Ty or Brock make sure you had enough firewood? You’re okay with food?”
A light chuckle filtered through the phone. “Who’s the parent here, Tanner?”
“Sorry, I can’t help but worry. It seems like a pretty bad storm.”
“If you happen to remember, your father and I have lived through plenty of them over the decades. We’re fine. Your father can always go out and get more wood. We’re planning on camping out here in the living room in case the power goes out, so we’ll have the fire.”
I grinned. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that my father would take full advantage of that. He was, after all, a Shaw.
“You take care of our girl, okay?” Mom said.
My gaze drifted back toward the master bedroom. “Our girl?” I asked in a teasing tone.
“Yes. Our girl. She might not have been in our world for very long, but I adore her. And I’m pretty positive that you do too.”
I rubbed my chest to ease the ache there. It was becoming a familiar feeling every time I thought about or saw Timberlynn. “I adore her, Mama.”
The line was silent for a moment. “I know you do, Tanner. Check in before you go to sleep and in the morning.”
“Will do. Goodnight, Mama, I love you.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I love you too.”
The line went dead, and I hung up. The shower had stopped, and I walked back over and took out bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes. I grabbed the bread and pulled out four slices and put them in the toaster. I searched for the right type of frying pan, and soon had some bacon cooking. I turned the heat down to low and set off for the master bedroom.
I sat down on the bed next to her. “I’m cooking up some bacon for BLTs. Does that sound okay?”
“Sounds good.”
Timberlynn sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at the floor. The look on her face was one of utter devastation.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She nodded, then looked up at me and slowly shook her head to indicate she was indeed not okay. It looked like she was about to cry at any moment.
My heart raced in my chest and I tried like hell to keep my breathing controlled. She held her phone in her hand, and I glanced down to see she had an email pulled up.
“Do you have service?” I asked.
She slowly shook her head. “No. The realtor emailed me earlier, and I downloaded the message but wanted to wait until I got back to read it.”
Her voice sounded defeated and I hated that. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”