Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25331 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25331 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
I can hear the pain in her voice. I knew Amos was getting older. The last few times I’d talked to him, I could tell a difference, but I didn’t know it was that bad. “I had no idea.”
She sniffs. “Yeah, no one really does. It’s so weird. He knew Rick and Travis today but didn’t have a clue who I was. He was surprised that our foreman had hired a woman to work here.”
She laughs like it’s funny, but I can hear the pain in her voice. “Shit,” I answer. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m going to come over tomorrow and see him.”
“He’d like that. Thanks, Cole. I have to go. I have a few things I have to do before I can go to bed tonight.”
I try not to let the image of Sassy laid back on a bed fill my thoughts, but that’s exactly where my mind goes. Guilt hits me in the chest for thinking about her that way and knowing I shouldn’t. “Okay, honey.”
She’s quiet, and normally I’d hang up but I’m waiting for her.
Her voice is soft. “I didn’t know you had my number.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, I saved it a long time ago. And now you’ve got mine. Call me if you need anything. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hang up the phone before I do something crazy and reckless... like tell her how I feel about her.
Sassy
It was a late night last night. By the time I finally made it to bed, I was exhausted, but sleep alluded me. All I could think about was that strange phone call from my neighbor, Cole Rogers. If I remember right, I think he’s thirty-five, so he’s around fourteen years older than me. He’s a good man. At least he is to us. I’ve heard gossip in town on how he can be an asshole and hard to work for, but he’s always been great to my dad and me. I’m sure at this point he’s looking at us as a charity case or something. It’s obvious to anyone that pays attention that we’re losing control over here. I’m keeping the animals fed, but that’s about it. It seems every day something else breaks.
I wish I could have stayed in bed this morning, but I knew I had a hundred things to do today, and first thing up is mucking some stalls. It’s my least favorite chore, so I always do it first to get it out of the way.
“Hey, honey, how’s it going this morning?”
I look over the top of the stall to see my dad with a cup of coffee in his hand. With a measured glance, I answer him, “Hey, uh, Amos. It’s going good. How you doing this morning?”
I want to ask him if he knows my name, what year it is and a hundred other questions, but I don’t. It seems the more I ask him sometimes the more frustrated he gets, so I’m determined to keep it light and simple. That’s also why I call him Amos. I called him Dad one day, and he freaked out about it because he said he wasn’t my dad. Yeah, I definitely don’t want to do that again. I keep working and try to act as if everything is normal. Not as if I’m holding my breath, wondering if he knows I’m his daughter or not.
He glances around the barn and back at me. “We on a first-name basis now or what? I’m Dad, and it’s good. I got a cup of coffee, got to see the sun rise, and get to work with my daughter side by side on our ranch. Heck, honey, I don’t think life can get any better than what it is right now.”
I try to hold in my emotion. It seems anything can set him off sometimes, and I want to keep him like this for as long as I can. “I think you’re right, Daddy. I can’t think of anything either.”
In the past, I would have been able to talk to him about the financial problems with the ranch, but I can’t now. I can’t even bring it up. The doctors tell me to treat him the same as I always have, but they were wrong because in the past, he could figure things out and make it better. Now it’s like he can’t wrap his head around the fact that we are slowly losing the ranch, and he can’t figure out how to change it.
I lean against the pitchfork in my hand and smile at my dad. “Why don’t you go porch sit for a while, Dad? I got everything taken care of here. I think Cole said he was going to come see you today.”
He’s nodding his head, and a big smile forms on his face when I mention Cole. “Sounds good. I’ll do that.”