Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“She stays with me. Besides, I’ve got two wild horses I need a hand with. I can use all the help I can get and they’re over on my land.”
Mary-Jane studies me for a second.
“I don’t think she’s going to like that very much,” MJ says, making we wonder how close she and Luciana are. Hell, does she talk to everyone in this town but me?
“She doesn’t have a choice. She wants to work on Jennings land, then she only has one option: doing it from mine.” I know it’s a dick thing to demand, but I’m beyond caring. I know what would happen if she was staying here at Ty’s. I’d snap and end up showing up and throwing her over my shoulder and storming out, probably making things worse. It would be better if she stayed with me. Then I couldn’t just lose it one day.
Mary-Jane lets out a little huff, but I know she’s in. It’s the same sound she makes when Ty cavemans her into doing something. “All right, I’ll call Dr. Long. But I have a feeling you’re going to have a fight on your hands.”
I couldn’t agree more. Looks like I’ve now got three wild horses to break in.
Chapter 2
Luciana
“Are you going to take the job?”
I look over to my older sister Fernanda, who’s washing dishes. She points to the paper in my hands, and I fold it up, putting it in my back pocket. I grab a dish towel and dry the ones she’s finished with as her three kids run through the kitchen at full speed. She yells at them in Spanish and they stop in their tracks, then creep slowly away from us, not wanting to get into trouble.
“You sound exactly like Mom,” I say, elbowing her.
“I guess I’m on a roll tonight, so I’ll keep nagging like she used to. Are you going to take the job or not, Luciana?”
I sigh and shrug. “I don’t know.” I let out a long breath.
She dries her hands and then turns to me. I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my face, but I don’t look up to meet them. She doesn't just sound like our mom, she can also cut you with a look, getting us spilling all our truths.
“Luciana,” she snaps, and my eyes come to hers. “This is your dream. You have to do this. You’ve been working in school for so long, and you were finally able to get into Dr. Long’s office. It’s over two hours one way for you to get there every day. If you were able to work on a farm full time, you’d get the clinical hours you need in no time. Then you’d be able to finish and become a vet. The real deal.”
I nod, knowing she’s right. But I look around the small house and think of all of my responsibilities here. Of leaving them. I might be gone a lot between the drive to the clinic, the hours there, and studying, but I do help as much as I can here. It might not be a ton, but it’s something, and a little goes a long way.
“Stop that. Stop it right now.” She points her finger at me. “I can see your brain already trying to talk yourself out of it. When Mama got sick you tried to give up on your dream, but we wouldn’t let you. And now that she’s gone you don’t have that excuse anymore. Mateo and I may not have much, but we work hard and we make it just fine. Don’t you dare use us as an excuse for quitting your dream.”
“Fernanda—” I try to speak, but she interrupts me.
“There’s nothing to say. You’re going. And when Dad gets home, you’re going to tell him. Don’t ask, tell. Lo entiendes?” She says it like a question, but it’s anything but.
I want to get mad and tell her she’s not the boss of me, but she’s only pushing for me to follow my dreams. How can I be mad at her? I’d do the same thing if it were her. “Yes, I understand.”
Before I can say another word, Mateo and our dad come in the side door. Mateo immediately scoops up Fernanda and kisses her on the neck. She giggles, and I can see the blush on her cheeks as she closes her eyes and breathes him in. My heart aches at how in love they are. They have been since they were sixteen, and not a day has gone by since that he hasn’t worshiped the ground she walks on.
“Hey pequeña,” my dad says, coming over and kissing me on the cheek.
“Eat while it’s still hot,” Fernanda says, still blushing from Mateo’s welcome.
The men sit down, and I go back to drying dishes and trying to think of a way to tell my father what I want to do.