Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Mornings on the ranch are usually quiet. The men don't have much to say when they're up before the sun, still sore from the day before. They've been even quieter since Letty started feeding them. They're happier, too. The usual scowls and glowers are gone, replaced by the kind of contentment that only comes when you've got a belly full of good eating, and the prospect of another good meal on the horizon.
I stride past, heading straight for my girl.
To my surprise, Tanner is in the kitchen with her, stealing bacon from a platter.
"I've been looking for you," I growl.
"Well, surprise, motherfucker," he says, smirking at me. "You found me."
Letty looks nervous as hell.
"You need to move Blaze and Bishop into my place."
"Why?"
"I'm movin' in with Letty."
She whirls around with a spatula in her hand, her eyes comically wide. "Walker!" she hisses. "You can't just tell him that."
"Just did, Sunshine."
"But…but… You didn't even ask if I want you to move in!"
"You sayin' no?" I arch a brow. "You don't want to wake up with me in your bed every morning, Letty baby?"
"Well, I mean, no. I mean, yes, I want that."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I…you…it's…" She splutters for an answer, only to give up when Tanner throws his head back, laughing loudly.
"You move fast, you asshole," he says. "After that second note on her door, I figured it'd take at least a few months for her to forgive you."
"Yeah, well, I had proper incentive." I cock my head to the side, eyeing him suspiciously. "Why do you care how long it took?"
"Because I bet that it'd take you a few months. Now, I owe Blaze two hundred dollars. And I'm not even fucked up about the money," he bitches, "but it's Blaze. He's going to annoy the hell out of everyone now that he won."
"Jesus Christ," I mutter, not entirely surprised that Blaze is behind the betting. You make your entertainment on a ranch, or you do without, and he's damn good at keeping things entertaining.
"He won two hundred dollars betting on us?" Letty asks.
"No." Tanner grins at her. "He won 4gs betting on the two of you."
Her mouth pops open.
I chuckle, tugging her into my arms. "They're assholes, Sunshine. Feel free to enhance their food."
She looks up at me and then over at Tanner. "You aren't mad?"
"About losing to Blaze? Fuck yeah, I'm mad. He's going to be insufferable."
"About us," she whispers.
His expression softens. "What'd I tell you, Letty? This is your home now. If that big idiot makes you happy, then good for you. If he ever stops making you happy, you tell me, and we run his ass out of here. It's that simple."
"But…" She gapes at him. "He lives here, too."
"Yeah, but cowboys are a dime a dozen around here. You're one of a kind." Tanner winks at her, snatching another piece of bacon. "We keep what's special, sweetheart. That's what makes this place what it is."
She stares silently as he strides out of the kitchen.
"Feel better now?"
"He meant it," she whispers, blinking up at me.
"Yeah, baby. He meant it."
She burst into tears.
I sweep her into my arms, tucking her face against my chest. My lips land against her ear. "Welcome home, Letty baby."
Chapter Eleven
Letty
"Ms. Letty?"
I turn from the ball of dough in front of me to find Abel standing in the kitchen doorway with his hat in his hands.
"Hey," I murmur. "What's up?"
"Walker sent me," he says. "He said I'm supposed to tell you that he needs you at home."
"He needs me at home?" I blink at him. "He's supposed to be repairing fences."
"Not today, ma'am."
I dust my hands on a towel, worried. If Walker is home in the middle of the day, something is wrong. Actually, if Walker willingly sent one of the cowboys into my kitchen, something is wrong. Even though he's in my bed every night and has been for the last week, he still gets all grumpy when they even poke their heads in here. He's jealous and possessive and nine kinds of ridiculous. And I love him anyway.
"I'll go right now," I mumble to Abel.
"Yes, ma'am." He steps out of the way, allowing me to hurry out the door around him.
I step out into the sunshine with my heart pounding a million miles a minute, worried as hell about what happened. On a ranch, it could be anything. They're always coming in from the fields with some new injury or horror story about a near miss.
I practically race up the steps to the front door, throwing it open. "Walker? Where are…"
I freeze in my tracks, blinking around me.
The living room is covered in rose petals. Every surface glitters with candlelight. Walker is on one knee in the middle of it, his hat on the floor beside him.
"W…what are you doing?" I whisper, my mouth dry.