Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Fuck, this guy…
“There you are!” his sister called out as they left the mudroom and walked into the kitchen.
“Cole, this pain in my ass is my sister, Katie, and these are her kids, Melissa and Mason.” He pointed to the two kids currently sitting at bar stools and snacking on carrots and dip.
“He said ass,” Melissa whispered with a giggle.
Katie glared at him and he shrugged. He wasn’t used to being around the kids. His days were spent with ranch hands who dropped bombs all day long. Watching his mouth was not an easy thing.
“Nice to meet you,” Cole said as he walked forward to shake her hand. He nodded at the kids. “Mmm, carrots and dip. My favorite.”
Little Mason held out a half-bitten carrot to Cole, and JB had to smother a laugh. But Cole took the carrot with a thank-you and ate it.
Both kids had blond hair like their mother and father. JB looked around for Carlyle and figured he was off somewhere with JB’s dad.
His mother was at the stove, stirring, and she threw a smile over her shoulder. “Hope you like pasta,” she said to Cole.
“I do, ma’am.”
“Now what did I say about formality? It’s Bel.”
The kitchen smelled of garlic and tomatoes, causing JB’s stomach to grumble. It had been a long afternoon of checking cattle, and it felt like lunch had been days ago.
Last year, his mother had them paint some of the inside of the house and the kitchen was now a pretty teal with white cabinets and multi-colored granite countertops. Plants hung from macramé hangers in front of the three windows, and there was a vase of tulips on the breakfast bar.
Bel nodded toward the open bottle of red wine on the bar. “Help yourself. Or there’s beer in the fridge if you prefer.
“Wine sounds nice.” Cole moved toward the bottle.
Katie handed him a glass and he looked to JB, silently asking if he wanted some.
“I’ll stick with a beer,” JB said. He liked wine just fine, but he was in the mood for a cold brew, and his dad kept Guinness in the house. He didn’t care if wine went better with spaghetti. He walked to the refrigerator, his boots clicking on the tile, and got out a beer.
Cole took a sip of his wine and leaned against the counter. The tension that seemed to usually fill his body when he was around other people didn’t seem as bad. His shoulders were only a little stiff, and his expression was open as he watched Katie with the kids. He looked comfortable, sending a warm feeling throughout JB’s chest. He wanted the man to be at ease in his home.
Jesse and Carlyle walked into the kitchen and Mason held out his arms to his daddy, who swiped him up with a smacking kiss on his cheek. Carlyle was a good man, an excellent father, and a saint to put up with Katie as far as JB was concerned.
He watched the burly man love on his son and felt a pang. He wanted kids someday. Just wanted to meet the love of his life first.
JB pointed at his big brother-in-law. Carlyle was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched across his massive chest. “Cole, this is Carlyle Thurman, my sister’s husband. They’ve been together since high school.”
“Nice to meet you.” Cole walked forward to shake Carlyle’s hand.
Cole was taller than his brother-in-law, but Carlyle was broader. He greeted Cole warmly, shaking his hand as he shifted his son to his other hip.
“Cole, I want to show you my new computer setup,” Jesse said as he steered Cole toward the door. Carlyle followed and Katie sidled up to JB with a wink.
“That man is hot. Like smoking hot. Tell me he’s a boyfriend.”
“Nope. Just a friend, and I’m pretty sure he’s straight.”
Katie narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose at him. “Pretty sure? Not totally sure? You haven’t asked?”
“I’m not so sure about that at all,” Bel butted in. She turned away from the stove to point at JB. “He does look at you.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” But he had noticed Cole looking more and more, and yeah, there seemed to be some kind of curiosity in that gaze.
Katie blew out a breath, her eyes on the door where Cole had disappeared. “He’s so big. Like Carlyle. When you said a computer guy was going to be staying with you, I pictured him…well, different. You know, kind of small and nerdy. Like those guys on The Big Bang Theory.”
“He’s definitely into computers. You should see all the equipment he brought with him.” JB took a sip of his beer and sighed with pleasure. He should stock his place with Guinness.
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Katie asked as she popped a carrot into her mouth.