Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
The other two are still at it. Zac hums the same melody again and again, trying to get it just right. Barrett is singing along, insisting they’re collaborating. But the lyrics he’s coming up with are terrible, something about a cowboy with only one eye. Zac is pretending to be annoyed, but he keeps ducking his head to hide a smile.
“She’s pretty,” Noah remarks after silence has lapsed between us for a few minutes.
I growl at him. I’ve never felt possessive over someone the way I feel with Evie. Just the thought of another man—even my brother—showing interest in her has me wanting to rip all of these fence posts out of the ground. Don’t care if that makes me a caveman. “She’s mine.”
His mouth twitches but to his credit, he doesn’t smile. “Message received. Let’s call it a day.”
Normally, I’d push to keep going since we still have plenty of daylight. But I’m eager to get to my girl. I can’t wait to show her what I have planned for tonight.
Chapter 10
Evie
“And then I lassoed a horse, like a real cowboy!” Parker exclaims. “Chase saw me. Tell her, Chase. Tell her I’m a real cowboy.”
Chase looks up from his phone. He’s been doing that a little more since he met Greer. Looking up from his phone, taking the world around him in. I didn’t realize how much he was hiding behind a device until today. “They were hay bales.”
“It still sounds pretty cool to me.” I add a coat of gloss to my lips, using the bathroom mirror. Lizzy stopped by the apartment earlier today to drop off a few dresses and some makeup for me.
I had just enough time when we got home to help the boys through their weekend homework before getting the three of us ready for the fair tonight.
Chase shrugs. “I guess.”
“I’m the best cowboy,” Parker says just as someone knocks on the front door. He races toward the entrance, shouting over his shoulder, “I got it!”
I glance at Chase now that we’re alone. My voice is pitched softly when I ask, “What do you think of Greer?”
Some emotion I can’t define flickers across his face. He’d never ask for my reassurance. Never tell me if he was scared or hurt. He’s too busy trying to be a rock for Parker to consider his own emotions.
“You know I’d never choose him over you, right? You and Parker are my guys.” When I was with Spencer, it wasn’t about him. It was about giving the boys stability. Something I thought I was doing well until he drove drunk.
Relief crosses Chase’s face even as he rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I know.”
I give him a big grin. “Let’s go have fun tonight.”
Greer and I walk hand-in-hand behind the shops on Main Street. We’ve spent the last two hours wandering through the fair with the boys. They played carnival games, ate corndogs, and won so many prizes.
Greer’s brothers showed up a few minutes ago and whisked the boys away for more activities. Chase and Parker were delighted with the idea of spending more time at the farm.
After they left, I could have sworn I spotted Spencer in the crowd, but it was just my mind playing tricks on me. He doesn’t have a clue where I am, and even if he did, I doubt he would show up.
“You’re good with them,” Greer says, interrupting my thoughts of my ex-boyfriend. I haven’t mentioned the angry messages Spencer has left me. I don’t think Greer would take it too well. He’s protective of me and the boys.
“No one else has ever been good to them,” I explain. It’s why I’ve worked so hard all my life, why I keep showing up for them.
“And who’s been good to you?” He stops walking and stares down at me. Back here, the lights from the carnival are faded and the sounds of the crowd are muted. It feels cozy, like we’re in a world of our own.
I lick my suddenly dry lips as my heart pounds. “N-no one.”
“Let me be good to you. Let me take care of you and cherish you and love you.” He steps closer, invading my space. He lowers his head and brushes his lips against mine. I grab fistfuls of his flannel shirt, yanking him even closer. I need to touch every part of this man and have him touch me in return. I need to be fused with him until we’re one.
I whimper. It’s the smallest sound but as soon as I make it, he’s pressing me up against the brick wall. His bulge digs into my hip. This man is big everywhere, especially there. I want to feel him deep inside of my body, connecting skin-to-skin with him.
His voice is a low rumble that goes straight to my clit as I grind against him. “Are you getting wet, sweet girl?” He toys with the hem of my soft, pastel dress. His big, thick digits caress the material like he wishes he were touching the soft skin of my thighs instead. “Need me to take care of you?”