Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 99(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 99(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
“I’m not done with it. Not by a long shot. I have two bedrooms in this place now. That’s not enough for a family.,”
I laugh as I sit down in a chair. “How big is big enough for a family then?”
“Five? Six? I don’t want to force my kids to share if they don’t want to. And I tend to want a big family.”
I do the math and realize that he really means it. “Plus a guest room, so you even need more space.”
“Exactly. Far from done.”
I ponder what I want out of my family. I was an only child, but I always wondered what if I had more than that. Country families were always bigger than city families, so I’m not surprised that Hood wants so much. I do wonder if I’m the one that wants to give that family to him. That much pregnancy seems daunting, but who knows? Maybe after the first I’d realize it’s not so bad.
“So, what do you do when you’re not a lost traveler looking for grandma’s house, Red?”
“Hmm? You mean my job?”
“Yeah. I work at the Crumble Dairy Farm with construction on the side. What about you?”
“I’m a columnist for a wellness magazine. I do all my work online, except for an annual performance review. I can pretty much work anywhere I want as a bonus, so me coming to check on Grandma isn’t that hard for me.”
He pours me a cup of coffee. He then holds a bottle of whisky over it, and I giggle and nod. He adds a little spike to mine, and slides it over. He takes his black.
“None for you?”
“I gotta drive you home so you don’t get chased down by more rabid wolves.”
More chuckling. “Fair enough.”
“So you can work anywhere, then?”
“As long as there's an internet connection, I’m fine.”
“So you could work in a cozy cabin in the woods?”
I nod. “You mean like my grandma’s house? Yeah, I can do that.”
“Not that cabin. I mean this cabin. I want you to work here, Red.”
I sip coffee nervously as I stare at him. “We met like, an hour and a half ago, and you’re asking me to move in?”
He shrugs. “Crazier things have happened than love at first sight, babe.”
I almost spit my coffee out, and stare at him with wide, surprised eyes. Did he really say what I thought he just said? It couldn't have been anything else, I definitely didn’t mishear him talking about shovels or pretentious French art galleries.
He absolutely said what I thought he said.
I gather up the willpower to echo him, my shock overcame, if even temporarily.
“Love? You said Love?”
7
HOOD
Maybe the stories of love that Cookie and Rainier have been telling me have been influencing me. They both told stories of meeting Sugar and Baker all too suddenly, and in hours, not being able to imagine life without them.
It felt hyperbolic when they said it. Like I didn’t believe such a thing could ever happen to me.
Then I met Red.
And I completely believed them. She was gorgeous from when I first laid eyes on her, and her nature is making her more and more the woman for me. She cares, has a wonderful sense of humor,and seems to be infatuated with me as I am with her.
It seems absurd to be remotely thinking of her moving in with me, or even more ridiculous, marriage and kids.
But here I am. Imagining putting a ring on her finger and building this house to accommodate her and all of our kids.
“You really did say love, did you?” She repeats, looking at me as if I had just told her that the sounds a cow makes are ‘woof’.
I laugh, running my hands through my hair. “Too much too fast for you?”
“Perhaps a tad. We haven’t even been on a proper date yet. This isn’t too far off from you walking up to me on the street, dropping to a knee, and proposing to me.”
“I can totally do that too if that's what you want.”
More laughter. “How about a date first, Hood? Let’s slow it down, if only a little bit.”
“Then I can declare my intentions for you, huh?”
“That’d make me feel better. What if you’re like... I don’t know...” She rubs her temples in thought. “You’re some sort of scoundrel or something?”
“Scoundrel? You think I’m a scoundrel of all things?”
“It’s the first relevant term to pop up in my head, Hood.”
I smile. “Okay, sure, we’ll do it your way, Red. I’ll prove I’m not that nasty scoundrel out to get you. How about dinner tonight?”
She sighs. “I promised my grandma I’d made stew.”
“If I buy her a pizza will that make you and her feel better?”
“Hood, no pizza place delivers to where my grandma lives.”
“I deliver. Ask her. Any take-out she wants and I’ll be her special delivery boy, showing up when I pick you up for dinner.”