Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
“We could do this together,” I softly whispered.
“What was that?” Tanner asked as he looked up at me and let the horse’s leg down.
“Nothing, I was just thinking out loud.”
He smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Do you think you’ll have time to maybe work him with me?”
Tanner’s smile morphed into a wide grin. “I was hoping you’d ask. I’d love to work with him. He looks like he could be a great horse. If you wanted to get back into dressage competition, he’d be perfect for that. I can see it in his eyes.”
I looked at the pathetic-looking horse. He looked tired, and only someone who truly loved horses could look past what was on the outside to see what potential this horse had. I sensed it the moment I stepped into the stall with him, and clearly Tanner had as well. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to call my father.”
Tanner looked surprised. “Right now?”
I nodded. “Yes. Right now.”
Chapter Thirty-One
TIMBERLYNN
My heart pounded so loudly, I was positive everyone in the Missoula airport heard it.
“Don’t be nervous,” Tanner whispered as he pulled me closer to him.
“I can’t believe he agreed to come.”
“And why wouldn’t he?”
Slowly, I shook my head. “Because he’s never come to anything. Ever. Tanner, he wasn’t even at my high school graduation.”
Tanner frowned. “He wasn’t?”
“No! Or my college graduation.”
Without saying a word, Tanner kissed me on the forehead. “Well, he’s here now.”
I blew out a breath and mumbled, “He’s about eighteen years too late.”
My breath caught in my throat as I saw my father heading down the escalator. He scanned the area, and when he saw me, he smiled. I smiled back, almost without meaning to. Things had been tense between us the last few years, but that one smile gave me the slightest bit of hope. I wasn’t going to go crazy, though. My father had let me down so many times in my past, and I knew this feeling was only temporary.
“There he is,” I softly said as Tanner dropped his arm from around my waist.
In a minute he was there. Standing in front of me, the smile still on his face. He truly looked happy to see me.
“Dad,” I said as I walked up and kissed him on the cheek. I was stunned when he pulled me into a hug and held onto me.
“Timberlynn, I’ve missed you so much, sweetheart.”
Then he let me go and looked at Tanner.
Tanner stuck out his hand to give him a firm shake. “Mr. Holden, I’m Tanner Shaw, it’s a real pleasure to meet you.”
My father gave Tanner a good once-over. His smile was still there, yet it had faded ever so slightly. “Tanner, it’s good to meet you. It’s also good to put a face to the name.”
I smiled nervously.
“Your luggage will be coming off of this belt,” Tanner stated.
“I carried mine on, learned my lesson a time or two.”
Tanner laughed an honest laugh, while I let out a nervous-sounding chuckle. My father turned to look at me, and I forced myself to smile wide. “Did you have a good flight?”
He nodded.
Tanner reached for his suitcase. “Let me take that for you, sir. I hope you don’t mind, but my parents have planned a small lunch with my two older brothers and their wives to welcome you to Montana.”
My father kept the pleasant smile on his face. “That sounds nice.”
As we walked out of the airport, my father stopped. I turned and looked at him.
“Dad? What’s wrong?”
He stared straight ahead, and I heard Tanner chuckle. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Tanner said.
With a slow nod of his head, my father replied, “They don’t look real. It looks like a picture.”
I turned to see where he was looking. The mountains. They were covered in a fresh snowfall, and it looked like a winter wonderland.
Smiling, I stared out at the same view. They were part of the reason I was drawn to Montana. But the man standing there, telling my father what mountain range he was looking at—he was the reason I had come here. I hadn’t known it at the time, or maybe I had. But Tanner Shaw was one of the reasons I fell for Montana.
My father turned and looked at me. “Well, I certainly see the appeal.”
“Just wait until you see Hamilton. Kaylee is so excited to see you.”
His brows narrowed ever so slightly. “I don’t even know when the last time I saw Kaylee was. I think you were in high school, and she might have been in college.”
I laughed. “Most likely.”
We made our way to Tanner’s truck as my father kept talking. “I haven’t heard or seen her parents in a while either.”
“Kaylee said they were in Austria. Or maybe it was Australia. I don’t remember.”
He let out a halfhearted laugh. “They always did like to travel.”