Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
He stumbles and then sits on the edge of his desk. With his hands resting on his knees, he asks, “You love her?”
I run my hand through the scruff of my beard. “I do. I love her.”
He shakes his head like he doesn’t understand me. “Did you tell her that?”
Now it’s my turn to pace. I start walking back and forth and then stop at the big window and look out the window at the white fence that surrounds every acre of this ranch. “No, I didn’t tell her. Maddie is… fuck, she’s everything, Elliott. I have nothing to offer her. I’m a broke cowboy. She’s young and has her whole life in front of her.”
I’m lost in thought and don’t realize Elliott has come to stand beside me until he puts his hand on the wall and is looking out the same window. “Do you remember this ranch ten years ago?”
“I’m the same age as you, Elliott. I can remember ten years ago.”
He laughs. “Yeah, okay, so you remember that when Dad died, the ranch was in shambles. We were going to lose it. We didn’t know that Dad had taken out a second mortgage and that we had that high bill for the new tractor. I was about to give up.”
I turn to look at him because I’ve never heard this story before. “And?”
He smiles as if he’s remembering a nice memory from the past. “And my sister—she was twenty at the time—did all this research and came up with the idea for us to ship our 100 percent pure Angus beef. Here we are, ten years later, and we’re in every grocery store in the nation. She’s the one that saved our family’s ranch. It was her.”
I can’t help but smile. “That sounds like Maddie. She’s something else.”
Elliott turns and gestures in the direction of the barn. “We have all this. It’s a million dollar company, and you know what my sister says to me? She misses our old life when things were simpler.”
He clasps me on the shoulder. “Look, I don’t want you to be with my sister if you don’t want to work to be the man she deserves, because you’re right. She deserves the best. But I’ll also tell you, don’t push her away because you think she deserves someone better than you. Damn, Rhett. I think I knew how you felt about her before you did, and there’s not a better man than you.”
I shake my head. “But—”
He cuts me off. “No buts. You either love her or you don’t. There’s no in between.”
“I love her.”
Elliott squeezes my shoulder. “Good, so then go bring her home.”
I jerk. “She’s gone? She left? Where the hell is she?”
“Well, she woke up this morning prepared to leave, but I convinced her to stay until she was better prepared to travel. She had a migraine last night, and she hasn’t had one of those since she was in high school.”
“Where is she?”
Elliott slowly lets out a breath. “I talked her into taking a few days off and going to the cabin.”
“The north cabin?” Our cabin, I think to myself.
He nods, and I start walking toward the door.
Elliott follows me out. “Take the snowmobile. There’s another snowstorm coming. I’ll take care of your herd.”
As soon as I get out the door, I take off running. I know I’ve fucked up. I shouldn’t have left here the other day until I made her talk to me. All I can do is hope I’m not too late. I’m going to tell her exactly how I feel and then just pray that she feels an inkling of the same thing.
CHAPTER 13
MADDIE
I hear the motor, and as it gets closer, I hear it shut off and then boots on the porch. I force a fake smile on my face. I should have known my brother would have followed me up here.
But when the door opens and Rhett is standing there, I jump to my feet. “What are you doing here?”
He stomps his boots and then starts taking them off. I’m shaking my head. “What are you doing? Don’t take your boots off. You’re not staying.”
He stands to his full height. “I’m staying. There’s a snowstorm coming.”
I swear I could cry right now. “Then what are you doing here? I can’t do this, Rhett. Please don’t do this to me.”
He walks over to me and stops. He’s so close he could reach out and touch me, but he doesn’t. “Give me five minutes.” I open my mouth, and he holds his hand up to stop me. “Give me five minutes. If you don’t like what I’m saying, I’ll leave.”
She tilts her head to the side. “You’ll leave in the middle of a snowstorm?”
He nods, his eyes trained on mine. “If that’s what you want.”