Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“The attorney,” I said, holding out my hand to shake.
Dev let out a breath and looked up at the sky as if praying for patience. What had he expected me to say, exactly? I’m a onetime hookup and the man who’s never forgotten the taste of your friend’s skin…
“Attorney,” Silas repeated, as if trying to decide what exactly that meant.
I bit my lip against giving him a snarky response. For some reason, the idea that Dev was surrounded by beautiful gay men at this ranch made me want to punch something. Hard.
Dev’s eyes flicked between me and Silas before settling on the latter. “Can you please back off? I don’t have the energy to explain this right now.”
“Do you want me to call Kenji?”
Dev took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s… probably not a bad idea.”
“Who’s Kenji?” I asked.
The cowboy, Waylon, crouched back down and asked Lellie about the halter she was still holding. “Looks like you have Buttercup’s halter. Do you like horses? She’s right over there. Can you see her?” He gestured to a paddock off to the side of the barn, where a mare was standing.
“Foss!” She let go of my leg a little and pointed with her other hand. “Foss!”
Waylon held out his arms. “Want to go meet her?”
Dev shifted on his feet. I couldn’t interpret the expression on his face, but I could tell something was bothering him. Silas noticed also, reaching out to put a staying hand on the man’s shoulder. “Way, baby. Let Dev take her.”
Dev crouched down next to Lellie. “Do you want to see the horse? Can D-Dev take you?”
We all stood and watched as Lellie reached her arms up for Dev to pick her up. Something tightened in my chest as I noticed the relief on his face. He carried her over to the paddock, out of earshot from the rest of us.
Silas turned back to me. “What’s the deal with the kid?”
Waylon rolled his eyes. “Easy, tiger.”
Silas ignored him and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s clear she’s Dev’s daughter. And if he’d known he had a daughter, I would have known, too.”
“Not my story to tell,” I said. “You’ll have to ask him.”
“How long is she staying?”
“That depends on Dev,” I admitted.
“Are you…” He hesitated. “Are the two of you… Is this baby yours, too?”
Heat flooded my face and neck. “No.”
“So the two of you don’t have a history together.”
I hesitated too long before stumbling over my response. “I’m not… Not the way you… I’m Kathryn Scott’s attorney. Her friend.”
Silas’s eyebrows rose. “Ohhh.”
Waylon rubbed a hand over his face. “Can you butt out of Dev’s business for one freaking minute and let him decide how much to tell you?”
Silas looked offended. “I’m Dev’s best friend.”
“One of several,” Waylon muttered.
“Fine, I’m one of his best friends. And I’m entitled to—”
“No, my love, you’re not,” Waylon said with a laugh. “And I think it’s time to go and give these guys and little lady some space.”
“Who’s Kenji?” I blurted again. Because ever since they mentioned calling him, I’d wondered if maybe Dev had a current relationship, possibly in addition to… whatever he had going with the sheriff. And if so, that would have implications. To… to the custody situation.
The cowboy shot me an understanding smile. “Their Girl Friday.”
“He’d tell you he’s more like Q,” Silas muttered.
Waylon shook his head. “That would make one of you James Bond, sweetheart, and I hate to break it to you. Bond would be Bash in this scenario, not you.”
Silas scoffed. “He wishes.”
Waylon turned back to me. “Anyway, Kenji keeps their lives organized. He’s like an executive assistant on steroids.”
“Who’s ‘they’?” I asked, annoyed at how little I knew about Dev. “Why does a ranch hand like Dev need a personal assistant?”
Silas and Waylon both looked at me before exchanging some kind of silent message with each other. “We’ve gotta go,” Silas said and yanked his partner toward one of the vehicles before I could stop them.
Once they were gone, I headed over toward the paddock just as another man sauntered out of the barn, heading in the same direction. He was college-aged with sun-streaked, shaggy hair and was wearing a half-open Hawaiian shirt, loose linen trousers, and flip-flops. “Hey, my dude. Are you Devon McKay?”
Still holding Lellie, Dev looked toward him in confusion. “Uh… yes?”
“Cool, cool.” The man hitched a thumb at his own chest. “Indigo.”
Dev stared at him. “I… don’t understand.”
“Indigo. Your new hand? You know, for, like, roundup? Way got me all set up in the bunk room—massively chill vibe in there, dude. Magnificent energy. Like, seriously, all the good feels—and he said to find you to get started on whatever you need.”
“Your… name… is Indigo?” Dev scowled like he was trying to translate a foreign language. “And you’re… here for ranch work?” he guessed.