Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“This was…this was a mistake. I can’t do this.”
“What?” she asked, a shocked expression on her beautiful face.
I scrambled off the bed, reached for her shirt, and held it out.
Haven lifted on her elbows. “You’re stopping?”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I said, “It was a mistake, Haven.”
She blinked at me a few times, and I could see she was fighting back tears. “Why? I thought you wanted…um…it felt like you wanted…”
I shook my head. “It was a stupid mistake.”
Haven snatched her shirt from my hand and quickly put it on. She stood and appeared to be dizzy for a moment. When I reached out to steady her, she jerked away.
“Haven.”
She cut me off and said, “You don’t have to say it was a mistake again, Nate. I got it. If touching me repulses you, why in the world did you kiss me?”
“What?”
She pushed past me and headed out of the barn.
“Haven, will you wait a second.”
Once she got to her car and went to open the door, I put my hand on it. “Wait.”
“For what? You made it clear you made a mistake—a stupid one. I’d like to leave before I’m humiliated even more.”
“I didn’t mean to do that…I got carried away, and it just happens with guys.”
She spun around and stared at me; her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. You, of all people, to say that to me. Wow. Thanks for making me feel even better. I’m glad to know that any woman can make you hard, and want to fuck her with your fingers. Oh, except for the girl who is tainted.”
Her harsh words felt like a slap, and I stepped back. She slowly shook her head. “I would have given myself to you, Nathan, willingly without regret. I will never make that mistake again.”
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t stand to see the hurt on her face. The sound of her car door opening caused me to look at her again.
Stop her. Tell her how you feel about her. Tell her it has nothing to do with what happened.
Opening my mouth to say something, I quickly shut it. When Haven slammed her door closed, I jumped.
I stood frozen in the same spot as I watched her back out and drive down the driveway. Once her car was out of sight, I stumbled back and reached for something to steady myself. I wasn’t sure what in the hell I was feeling, but there was one thing I knew for sure. I could never…ever again…kiss or touch Haven Larson.
Chapter One
NATHAN
Present Day
Lightning lit up the darkening skies while thunder rumbled through the valley. The storm that was predicted to move in later this afternoon was making an early appearance, and I wasn’t the least bit disappointed about that. I loved storms, especially fall storms. Something about the thunder echoing off the mountains made my heart feel happy.
“Looks like this one is going to be a big one!” my cousin Josh called out over the increasing wind.
I nodded and shut the gate, ensuring it was locked securely.
“I hope we don’t get any lightning strikes in the valley. Everything is still dry from the summer,” I said as I jumped into the ranch truck and shut the door right before the heavens opened and rain poured down.
“I’ve got a good plan in effect if anything does happen,” Josh said from the truck’s driver’s side. He quit his job as a firefighter not long ago and started working full time on the ranch. I wasn’t sure why he gave up his dream job of firefighting, but I knew our grandfather’s sudden and unexpected death had something to do with it. One thing he did do, at the request of our oldest cousin, Blayze, was come up with a plan in case of fire. A few years back, a wildfire had burned a few hundred acres of the Shaw Ranch, and Blayze never wanted to see that again. Fires were something you couldn’t control, but you could have a plan of action to keep the damage to a minimum, and that was precisely what Josh had been working on. The first thing he did was start working on clearing the entire fence line of the ranch. It’s not a small feat, but we got it done. Our cousin, Beck, who a few years ago had been a recent addition to the family, was in charge of the clearing. The guy was a Shaw, for sure. He was out there with the workers clearing and hauling brush. He was our Uncle Beck’s son, but he never got the chance to meet him since he died before Beck was even born. Originally from Texas, after Beck’s mother died, he found the name and information for his father’s family. One trip to Hamilton and Beck fell in love, not just with Montana, but with Avery Littleton, our cousin, not by blood. The rest, they say, is history.