Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“You and Gideon were both so angry. You’d beat the hell out of each other before you got here.”
“That was only the latest time out of dozens before that.” He chuckles. “I liked that Ray was up front and honest, right from the get-go. The one rule was ‘We don’t hurt the girls.’ I’d never respected anything more in my life.”
I squeeze his hand. “You wouldn’t have hurt us anyway.”
“Who could ever even think about being ugly to Debbie? Christ, she was a tiny thing, but she was pure sunshine. She just spewed happiness and love onto everyone.”
“She was irresistible,” I agree as we walk over a small hill and see the lake come into view. “Now, I have a serious question for you.”
He looks down at me and quirks up the side of his mouth. “Okay. Shoot.”
“Are you going to get my hair wet?”
His eyes flick to my topknot, and then he smirks. “Fuck yeah, I’m gonna get all of you wet, Trouble.”
“Damn it.” I wiggle out of my cover-up, toss it aside, and then run toward the water. There’s a beachy area that Ray built when we were teens so it would be easier to swim, and I dive right in, hair and all, and swim just under the surface.
It’s so hot today, and the water is nice and cool, and suddenly, Ryker’s with me and holding on to me.
I wrap my arms and legs around him and fuse my lips to his as he keeps us afloat in the water.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he says against my lips.
“Is that a fish in the water, or are you happy to see me?”
He chuckles and grinds against me. “That’s all me, baby.”
“We’re not having sex in this lake, Ryker.”
“Says who?”
“Says me. Anyone could come out here at any time.”
His brows lower over his eyes. “No way. All the guys are working. There’s no one around.”
Suddenly, we hear horse hooves, and Ryker’s eyes widen.
“You’ve got to be shitting me.”
I rub my nose over his. “Told you.”
“Hey, we want to swim,” Aiden calls out as he and Micah dismount their horses. I haven’t spent much time with Micah. He’s a quiet boy, but I can see that he’s eager to get in the water.
They both strip down to their underwear and then run and cannonball in, splashing us.
“So much for lake sex,” Ry mutters in my ear.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make it up to you later.”
He leans in and bites my neck and then whispers, “I can’t fucking wait.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aiden
I’ve gotten used to getting up at the ass crack of dawn. Actually, it’s before the ass crack of dawn because the sun isn’t even up yet. But Dusty’s already in the kitchen, making us all breakfast. He makes us breakfast every day. We offer to take turns, but he still does it.
I don’t know what I would make if it was my turn. I’m just a kid. I don’t cook so good. I guess I could toast bagels or something.
It’s probably for the best that Dusty cooks.
Micah and I share a room in the bunkhouse. He’s cool. Since I bought the gaming system, he bought the TV in our room, and we spend a lot of time in here in the evenings, playing around.
“I smell bacon,” Micah says as he climbs out of bed and scratches his chest. Without saying anything else, he leaves the room, and I yawn.
Neither of us is a big talker. That’s probably why we get along so well.
I get up and pull on my jeans and a T-shirt, grab my hat and boots, and walk out to the kitchen, where sure enough, Dusty’s finishing up breakfast and the other guys are already having coffee at the table.
Even Ryker’s here this morning, which isn’t typical for him. He usually meets us later on.
“Is Aunt Wills okay?” I ask him with a frown.
“She’s still sleeping,” he replies and then sips his coffee, and I immediately feel better.
Good.
I call her Aunt Wills, but she’s really my mom in every way that matters. She’s the only mom I remember. I don’t know much about my real mom. I just remember being hungry. And sick.
I was really sick.
“I hear you all had fun yesterday,” Dusty says as he piles the bacon on a plate. “Went for a swim.”
“Yeah, it was fun,” Micah says as he joins us. “I didn’t know that lake was there.”
Ry grins. “As long as you finish your work each day, you can swim as much as you want. We lived in that lake when we were kids. It’s the best way to cool off.”
“Just no swimming alone,” Micah’s dad says, giving us both a stern look. “Be safe about it.”
We nod and dig into the food. I’m hungry here, but never because I haven’t been fed. It’s because we work so fucking hard. And I kind of love it. I like the horses and the cows, and we got chickens last week, and that’s pretty cool. I don’t know dick about chickens, but I guess I’ll learn. I mean, won’t they freeze in the winter? It’s weird.