Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 505(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 505(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Also, a side note: Billy and Tanner are considering adoption.
“Seriously?” I ask, despite my best efforts to hold my tongue. “Neurotic Billy? Puffy-chested Tanner? They want to adopt a kid and become daddies now?”
Chad laughs and lifts his hands in surrender. “Their life! Their choices! I know you recently buried the hatchet with Billy, but—”
“Oh, it doesn’t mean I won’t still razz him if he loses his mind after adopting and being forced to sacrifice all his precious free time for a child—assuming they go through with it.” I pop a bite of salad into my mouth, chew on it a moment, then smile. “Actually, I kinda think they’ll make perfect parents. They’re, like, the perfect complement to each other.”
“They really are,” agrees Chad with a smile, before he takes a long and thoughtful sip of his water.
As promised, I take him to my favorite park afterwards where we stroll down tree-covered cobblestone paths to walk off our lunch. Birds sing to each other in the trees above us, and halfway through our walk, Chad takes my hand, and my heart ignites. We plop down by a big tree that overlooks a pond, lean against its warm, strong bark, and watch the sunlight dance over its rippling surface as a family of ducks float by.
“Jo told me the secret.”
My head is resting against his shoulder. I feel so at peace. “She did? Which secret?”
Chad flinches. “There’s more than one??”
“I have no idea. What exactly did she tell you?”
“She told me about the man she’s been gettin’ serious with. This Joseph fellow from Brady.”
“Oh. So not the secret about she and I having a love affair? Phew. Good thing that’s still a secret.”
Chad shakes his head. “Anyway … I had guessed as much from you already, so really, it was in my head to begin with. I guess I just didn’t know the extent of it … or that she was considering movin’ all the way out to Brady to live with the guy.”
We’re holding hands. They’re rested on his lap.
I glance down at our entwined fingers with a smile. “Jo’s into him. Like, a lot.”
“A lot,” Chad agrees.
“Is that going to bother you? Her finally moving on after all these years of living on your ranch with you?”
“Well …” He shrugs. “I mean, yes and no. I’m sad she’s leavin’, sure. She’s become my pal. My best friend. She knows me better than I do. But … well, she’s leaving Millie, so that’s one good thing. I love that dog. And I’m damned happy that Jo finally got a man who really loves her the way she wants to be loved. He seems like a great guy. He’s even got a lake out there with ‘a hot gay couple’ for neighbors Jo’s already met, so there’s that.” Chad chuckles. “I am more than just happy for her. I’m fuckin’ ecstatic.”
“But?” I prompt him, sensing it.
He squeezes my fingers. “Well … it’s the last thing she said to me that gave me the kick in the ass to come out here and see you.”
I lift my head off his shoulder and look at him.
Chad captivates me with his blue eyes. “She said, ‘I’ve found my man. Now you gotta go get yours.’”
I smile softly.
He smiles back, but faintly, as if cloaked with mixed emotions both sad and happy.
I kiss Chad right then. He doesn’t move, but I feel the electric current surging through us just by our lips at last meeting for the first time since he arrived. We were both waiting for it. We were both wanting it. We were both scared of it.
He brings a hand to my face and caresses my cheek.
Our lips separate. Our faces stay together, foreheads touching, breath gently sweeping over our cheeks.
“I can’t help it, Lance,” he breathes. “No matter how hard I try to deny it, my thoughts always come back to you. I was able to handle bein’ alone all these years, workin’ the ranch … keepin’ myself busy … but now that I’ve had a taste of what life could be like with you at my side, it’s agony.”
“Chad …” I almost don’t want him to say any more.
“I don’t even care what you do with it, but you have my heart, Lance. You can kick it straight across this pond, let the ducks play with it, quackin’ away. You can toss it in your sock drawer. You can stitch the dang thing on your next garment, I don’t care. No matter what you do with it, it belongs to you. And it ain’t gonna—”
“Chad, please.”
“It ain’t gonna belong to no one else for all of fuckin’ time. That much I can guarantee you. Even if you decide not to pursue this, if you decide to let me go home and not come back—”