Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
I stretched my neck on both sides. “That was different.”
“Yeah, of course, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less valid. I’ve only spent five minutes with Ellie and it’s pretty obvious that she’s a great person and is seriously in denial about her feelings for you.”
“Right. Like she feels anything for me except regular annoyance and mild contempt.”
“That appears to be mutual.”
I sighed.
“You haven’t spoken to her since, have you?”
“How did you know that?”
“You look defeated.” His lips tugged to one side. “Just give her a chance. Speak to her, Max. I’m not saying you’ve got to marry the woman or tell her everything about your life, but there’s nothing wrong with being a little open to the possibility of something happening between you.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s not interested in that.”
“I’m pretty sure she is.” Fred snorted. “You’ve got to speak to her either way.”
“Jesus, you’ve spoken to her for five minutes and now you’re a fucking relationship guru.”
He laughed, crossing one ankle over the other and raising his teacup. “Just don’t be your usual arsehole self, and you’ll be all right.”
“That’s how I know you’ve only spoken to her for five minutes. Believe me when I tell you that she gives as good as she gets. You need to be a little bit of an arsehole to deal with her.”
“I’m sure she does. And if you ask me, someone who can give as good as she gets is exactly the kind of thing you need.” He finished his tea, rinsed his cup, and set it in the sink. “You never know what’ll happen, Max. It’s not going to hurt you to try.”
I stepped aside for him to walk past, and as he headed towards the stairs, I sighed.
He was right.
Realistically, I knew that.
I wasn’t my father.
I hadn’t inherited any of his addictive, negative, horrid personality traits—and thank God for that—but that didn’t mean that one woman was suddenly going to make me change a decision I’d made years ago.
Not even if that woman was Ellie.
• • •
“Merooow.”
I peered over at Winston. He’d moved from one hay bale to another a while ago, and I rather had the impression that he was watching me and moving to keep an eye on me.
It was unnerving. I wasn’t sure if he liked me or not, so I was glancing frequently in his direction just to make sure he wasn’t planning a stealth attack from the back.
“Merow.”
I stared up at him. “What do you want?”
“Merow,” he replied, then licked his paw and swiped it over his ear.
“I don’t speak cat.”
He stared at me, paw raised, as if I’d offended him. Then he made the strangest little noise—somewhere between a purr and a hiss that I wasn’t sure how to take.
“You are the strangest thing,” I muttered, securing the gate so the goats wouldn’t escape. I gave it one last rattle to check it was locked in place and looked back at Winston. “I suppose you want a lift home for the night, hm?”
As if he understood, he got to his paws and stretched, shoving his bum right up into the air. He followed it up with a swift swing forward to stretch his back legs, then elegantly leapt from the hay bale to the floor without missing a beat.
“Merow.” Winston wound a figure eight around my legs several times, and I sighed, reaching down to pet him. He accepted the head scritches with another one of those weird hissing-purring noises.
I guessed that noise was a good thing.
“Come on.” I picked him up. “Let’s get you home to your human before she worries about you.”
“Rowww,” he lamented, stretching his front leg out so it was hanging awkwardly over my arm.
It reminded me of when you slept on the edge of your bed and your arm just sort of hung there, suspended in mid-air, ready for the under-the-bed demons to drag you to the underworld.
I hoisted Winston into a one-armed grip while I locked the barn doors, then readjusted him to a proper one as I set out towards Greygarth Lodge. It was a beautiful evening—the sun wasn’t quite setting yet, but there was a haze of low cloud on the horizon that hadn’t quite burnt away in the hot afternoon sun.
It didn’t take long to reach the lodge. I had no idea if Ellie was even in there, and I doubted there’d be a door left open for Winston to return to this time, so I sat on a bench that was just out of view of the house and put the cat next to me.
Unbothered, he licked his paws.
I pulled my phone from the pocket of my shorts and opened the text message thread with Ellie. We’d only texted once, but this seemed like a good place to start.
ME: Are you at the lodge?