Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33504 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33504 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
He wanted to throw his burrito at him, but instead he took another large bite. There had to be a way to win Astrid over. He needed her, badly.
His stupid mouth. Back at the old pack, many of the elder wolves had said his mouth would get him in trouble, he just couldn’t believe it had happened.
What were the fucking odds, especially as it mattered more now?
Chapter Eight
Astrid stood at the window, blowing across the mug of coffee, with the special pumpkin creamer she couldn’t stop herself from making. It tasted so good. Outside the window, across the ranch, it was covered in white. Snow had fallen thick and fast through the night. And it was still snowing. She must have missed the warning, but it was in full play right now.
There was no way any ranchers were making it today. Lord had already said he would be back as soon as possible, and as she sipped her coffee, she watched him return.
This was not good.
It was easier to ignore Lord if they were both doing other things—if he was busy with the ranch and she was working in the kitchen, or cleaning the house. They could avoid each other. This was going to be a lot more difficult.
The last thing she wanted to do was appear petty. She took a sip of her coffee, and she made her way into the kitchen to pour him a large mug and add the pumpkin creamer she had made. It tasted so good, and she knew she should stop making it as fall was over, but she still had a few cans of pumpkin in the pantry. It was a staple in her cooking, especially through the fall.
“Wow,” Lord said, coming into the kitchen, and she handed him a mug. “Thank you. It’s fucking cold out there.”
That surprised her. Lord tended to run a lot hotter than most. She was already feeling the cold herself. She tried to wrap up, and they had turned the heat up in the house.
“Should we be worried?” she asked.
“You went shopping yesterday, right?”
“Yes.”
“We’re all stocked and I know the workers all made it home.”
“You knew this was coming?” Astrid asked.
“Yeah, I warned everyone.”
“When?” she asked.
“That would be at one of the breakfasts you decided you no longer needed to attend,” he said.
She was not going to rise to that bait. They both knew why she hadn’t been attending the breakfasts. It was her plan to try and get over him without everyone seeing it.
She didn’t want the ranch hands to watch her look at him with longing. That was sad. She knew that, and so did they. Astrid was trying to get over him, because she didn’t want to be one of those women that wanted a man who would never want her.
“And you told everyone then?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you leave me a note?” Astrid asked.
“Why didn’t you just attend the breakfast?”
She stayed quiet and decided to move on. “So, everyone got home safely yesterday before it started to snow?”
“Yes, and everything is locked and I can handle everything until the snow thaws.”
“Do you know when it will thaw?”
“Not a clue,” Lord said.
“Do you want some breakfast?” she asked. There was no point in being petty. He was the boss, and they still needed to eat.
“I’m starving.”
She would take that as a yes.
Opening the fridge, she saw she had a lot of breakfast sausage. She hadn’t paid attention, so she was going to have no choice but to cook it all and freeze it into packages.
“I bet you’re wishing you had come to one of those breakfasts,” he said.
She glared at him. “Why don’t you just enjoy your coffee?”
He took a sip. “I ever tell you this creamer is delectable?”
No. He never complimented any of her food.
She scanned the fridge and knew she could deal with all the extra meat without wasting a single thing.
First, she got a handle on the breakfast as Lord sat in the kitchen, watching her. Every now and then, he was on his cell phone, but for the most part, he watched her. She made them both a burrito, using different ingredients from the day before. Rather than have rice, she used some refried beans she had made herself. There was of course cheese, and she added some pico de gallo as well. All made by herself. Toasting up the burritos, she served them both and put lids on the pans, as she would finish them all after her own breakfast.
She poured them both a fresh coffee, with the creamer, and it was utterly delicious. The burrito was filling as well. For a good thirty minutes, neither of them talked, and she could forget about their troubles.
The truth was, every time she thought of the word “convenient,” she felt it like a slice across the chest. It hurt. Before she heard him tell Blake that, she’d been planning their wedding and their future, imagining him as her husband. It had all been lies. She had just been the only willing female there.