Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Can we leave early?
Maybe dip out before dinner even begins? The need coursing through me right now to claim Hartford is overwhelming.
“How’s it going living with Paxt, Hartford?” Brock asks, breaking me from my inner turmoil.
She confiscates my beer from my hand and takes a sip before handing it back. “It’s fine.”
“Sounds exciting,” Brock says lifting a brow, obvious sarcasm lacing his tone.
And I get more and more upset with how close Brock is sitting next to Hartford. Can’t he sit somewhere else?
Like the floor?
“She’s being well taken care of,” I say, placing my hand over hers on my thigh, and Shep eyes me from across the room.
He raises a brow, and I quickly move my hand away.
Fuck. I don’t know how to act anymore.
“She’s being well taken care of,” Tripp says in a mocking tone, and I wish I could chuck this beer at his head.
Hartford blushes, and I shake my head.
My god, is dinner ready yet? I wish I could escape this tension growing in the room. Why is everyone so focused on Hartford?
“I’m taking better care of her than you ever could, Tripp,” I say back to him.
Tripp holds up his hands in surrender. “Never said I would take care of her.”
Hartford pouts, batting her eyelashes at Tripp. “You wouldn’t let me stay at your place, Tripp?”
A smile erupts on his face, and my anger bubbles over.
“Enough,” I say, placing my hand over Hartford’s resting on my thigh. “Hartford’s not staying anywhere but with me.”
Hartford giggles like she’s playing a joke, and Tripp laughs along with her. “Obviously,” she says, facing me. “Stop getting so upset,” she says quietly for only me to hear. She takes my beer, and finishes it off. “I’m going to go and get another, and help your mother more.” She gets up and heads into the kitchen, and I try to breathe out a deep breath.
Fuck. Why am I wound so tight?
Shepherd stands and nods at the back door. “Let’s talk,” he says.
Once we’re on the back porch, I suck in a large lungful of fresh air, and blow it out slowly. Shep sits in a green patio chair, and I take a seat next to him in the other chair.
“Talk to me,” he says, leaning back and overlooking the large backyard that backs up to the edge of the bay.
I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. “I don’t know what to say, Shep.”
“How about the truth?”
“The truth?” I shake my head and turn to face him. “The truth is, I’m crazy about Hartford. I want her. I feel like my heart is going to explode if I can’t have her.”
He smiles and crosses his arms. “You’re just now realizing this?”
“What?” I ask.
“Pax, the teasing. It’s all in good fun, but it’s because we know.”
“Know what?”
“Sometimes I worry about sending you out to sell our beer when you can’t even comprehend a simple conversation,” he says, shaking his head. “We know that you want her. You’ve always wanted her. Just like she wants you.”
I squeeze the back of my neck. “She’s not in the same place.”
He clicks his tongue, tsking me. “Pax, she is.”
I stare at him as he nods. “Shep, what are you talking about?”
“I can see the way she looks at you. Like you roped the moon, or something like that.” Shep takes a long pull from the can of beer in his hand.
“Only because we’re friends.”
“No, it’s not. That woman is crazy about you. I’ve only been home for a hot minute and even I can see the sexual tension between the two of you is off the charts.”
I close my eyes and scrub my face, processing what he’s saying. “So, what do I do? We’ve gotten close since she’s been staying with me, but I’m man enough to admit that I’m terrified it’s going to end for good. And I’ll end up losing her as a friend.”
He sets his beer down on the small table between us, and shifts in his seat to face me. “Talk to her. Tell her how you feel and lay it all out. It’s the only way. Otherwise, you’re both going to continue this dance of avoidance. Plus, after all these years, it’s getting hard to come up with new ways to tease you about it.”
He stands, grabbing his beer. He cracks a grin as he walks back into the house, while I stare at the closed door.
Talk to her about my feelings? That will scare her off before I even have her.
I’m doing this my way—I just need to figure out what that is.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hartford
It bothers me that Paxton’s brothers have most likely figured out we’re sleeping together. But I had a feeling they would, to be honest. Just one glance at me and you'll see it written all over my face.