Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“And her watching Juniper’s training has helped as well.”
All eyes swung around at the sound of Tanner. He walked into the kitchen with Nathan right behind him. The younger Shaw shot me a knowing smirk, then looked at his sister, who suddenly seemed very interested in the meatloaf cooling on the counter.
Oh sure. She was all brave at my house, and now she’d probably crawl into that meatloaf if she could.
“I believe it has,” I stated as Timberlynn handed me the plates, and I headed over to set the table. It was the normal routine, nothing different from any other night I’d come over for dinner. The little sexual innuendos suddenly gone between mother and daughter.
“What do you think about putting Romeo out with Juniper and Tesoro?” Tanner asked as he grabbed the basket of rolls and butter and made his way to the table.
If talking about horses kept the focus off me and Lily, I’d play along. Besides, it was another normal thing we did when I was over for dinner. We talked shop most of the time. Or about Nathan’s baseball.
“We could try. I think Juniper might get a little jealous if we throw in another male, but she’s doing well with him. So I think she’d do better with another male, rather than another mare.”
“Unless it was an older mare,” Lily said as she came to stand next to me. “I think having an older mare, one who isn’t threatening in any way, might do her good. I mean, every girl wants a bestie.”
We all laughed, and I felt the nervous jitters I’d had since we got Timberlynn’s text slowly fade away. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Timberlynn announced dinner. “Everyone sit down, time to eat.”
Timberlynn had already set the meatloaf on the table, sliced and ready to serve, along with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Steamed green beans sat on the other side of the table with the freshly made rolls.
I held out Lily’s chair while Tanner held out Timberlynn’s. He glanced at me and smiled before he took his seat. It wasn’t anything new. If Nathan didn’t grab his sister’s chair, I usually did.
The dishes were passed around while Tanner asked Nathan about baseball practice. When their conversation ended, Tanner looked directly at me.
“So, you spent the day with my daughter doing what, exactly?”
The piece of meatloaf I’d just swallowed was attempting to come back up and kill me, so I started to cough. But maybe death by meatloaf was a better alternative. Now that I think about it, it might have been a better way to die than at the hands of Tanner Shaw.
Lily stared at me with a bemused expression on her face as I took a drink of water and offered a diplomatic answer. “We spent the day getting to know one another better.”
Nathan mumbled something under his breath, but everyone ignored him.
“Really?” Tanner asked. “And what did you learn about Lily?”
“Dad,” Lily warned. “Don’t do this.”
Timberlynn placed a hand over her husband’s arm and said, “Tanner, we talked about this.”
He waved her off. “I’m curious, that’s all.”
I drew in a deep breath, set my fork down, and looked directly at my boss. The father of the woman I’d had my mouth all over for the last few hours. I had to do a little shake of my head to whisk the memory away.
“I learned she hates chocolate ice cream and only eats it because she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.” Tanner raised a brow and looked at Lily in surprise before bringing his gaze back to me. “I learned the first time she rode a horse, she was scared to death but also so excited it outweighed the fear. She’s afraid of roller coasters, her favorite season is fall, her favorite number is seven, and she’d like to build a house here on the ranch someday so she can be near her family like her cousins have done. She hates how long baseball games are, but loves watching Nathan play.” I peeked at her, then added, “And seeing the guys in their uniforms. And her dream is to see Taylor Swift in concert.”
Lily stared at me with a disbelieving look on her face. We hadn’t talked about any of that today.
No, that wasn’t quite true. She did tell me her dream about going to a Taylor Swift concert.
Timberlynn was doing everything she could to keep her smile from growing bigger while Tanner studied me quietly.
Nathan chuckled and said, “Damn, dude, that’s giving—”
“Language, Nathan,” Tanner warned. Then he pointed at him and said, “And don’t even think of using that term, ‘giving cunt.’”
I nearly choked again. “I’m sorry—what?”
Timberlynn sighed, and Lily laughed.
Focusing back on me, Tanner rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’ll fill you in later.”
Okay, that had to be a good sign, if he was planning on talking to me later and not killing me.