Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Cora helped me onto Tabby’s saddle, and then we were off. I had some experience with riding, but I was far from accomplished. Thankfully, Cora was right about Tabby. She followed along behind Cora, and I didn’t have to do much of anything.
The trail ran through a copse of trees before leveling out to the flat West Texas shrubbery that I was more accustomed to.
“Sort of beautiful out here.”
“You get used to it at least,” Cora said with a laugh. “Sometimes, we take the horses out to the state parks, and I’m always so mesmerized by all the greenery. Wish we had it here too.”
“I get that. I live in a giant steel city.”
“True. But you and Gavin must love it up there. I can’t imagine him moving back.”
“Me either. He belongs up there.” Then, I bit my lip. “But he sort of belongs here too.”
“He’s a chameleon. He can belong anywhere.”
That was a trait we had in common. It was a little disorienting to hear someone voice it out loud.
Cora glanced over at me. “Do you see much of Maggie?”
“Uh, some. We saw each other in the Hamptons.”
Cora shook her head, bit her lip, and then seemed to come to a decision. “Does she seem … happy?”
“Uh … why do you ask?”
“Well, you know,” Cora muttered. She glanced over at me nervously once. “I’m sure Gavin told you, right? About the arranged marriage?”
Somehow, I managed not to sputter in shock. Arranged marriage? Locke and Margaret had been arranged? Fuck.
Well, that explained … a lot. Like why she was hooking up with his brother. And why she hadn’t seemed to care when I forced her to tell Locke what was going on. And pretty much everything else.
But why hadn’t Gavin told me?
“Shit. He didn’t tell you?” Cora asked, correctly interpreting my silence.
“Not exactly.”
“Shit. I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but I’ve been so worried about her. She agreed to go through with it but, in classic Maggie fashion, didn’t think any of it through, and she won’t respond to my messages when I ask.”
“Wow. Well, that’s a lot. I’m sure she’s just adjusting to her new life.”
Which was the understatement of the century, considering what I’d seen Maggie getting involved in.
“Probably. Will you look out for her? I think she’s maybe in over her head.”
“Yeah. I’ll do what I can.”
We lapsed into silence as my thoughts roared with unanswered questions. Thankfully, after a few more minutes, when my legs were just beginning to get sore, a barn became visible on the horizon. A speck and then a house and then a colossal structure in the middle of nowhere, illuminated from within by bright lights, with a few hitching posts on the outside.
Cora dismounted once we reached a post, and after Cora helped me dismount, she tied the horses up.
“We used to come out here all the time as kids,” she said, drawing me toward the barn. “Now, it’s like a man cave. You’ll see.”
She tugged the heavy door open and revealed the massive interior of the barn. There were two pool tables at the back of the space, a full kitchen and bar on one side, along with darts, a dance space, and multiple enormous televisions for watching the game. Not to mention, a fully fitted loft up a short flight of stairs.
The guys turned in unison at our entrance. Gavin’s face lit up at my appearance, and he extracted himself from the game of pool he’d been playing to pick me up around the middle and kiss me hard and fast.
I laughed at his exuberance while his cousins whistled.
“Rack ’em up,” Cora said with a keen grin. “I’m in.”
“Fuck. We’re all finished,” Nate grumbled.
“You’re the one who taught me,” Cora reminded him.
“Yeah. Clearly a mistake.”
I laughed with everyone else, but Gavin still had eyes only for me.
“Hey, can we go somewhere private to talk?”
He shot me a quizzical look but nodded before taking my hand and leading me out of the barn. We headed over to the horses. Gavin fished an apple out of a bucket and fed it to the horse he’d ridden over here.
“Everything all right?” he asked, concern suddenly coming into his voice.
I couldn’t hold it in a second longer. “Why didn’t you tell me that Maggie and Locke’s marriage was arranged?”
Gavin froze. “Who told you?”
“Cora. She was concerned for Maggie. And for good reason, considering I saw Maggie hooking up with Micah Locke in the Hamptons! I made a huge deal out of it. She had to tell Locke what happened. It’s probably the reason she isn’t here. I had no idea it wasn’t a big deal since she begged me not to tell you.”
Gavin’s green eyes went shockingly dark. “She did what?”
I opened and closed my mouth. I’d been so sure that the arranged marriage meant the relationship was fake. Katherine and Camden’s had been arranged and fake for so long. That was my metric. Maybe this was different.