Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
He quickly pasted on a small smile as Morag turned to him. “And you! Och, I knew you’d eventually find someone who’d knock you on your well-formed arse, Jared McCulloch.”
I giggled at that as Jared easily took her embrace and hugged her in return. The affectionate look on his face made me feel a little envious of the older woman.
“And of course it would be Allegra,” Morag said as she released Jared. She reached out to touch my cheek affectionately. “This one is very special. I hope you both know how lucky you are.”
Those tears burned again. “Morag …” I gave her hand a squeeze in thanks. My guilt sickened me.
In fact, I was never so thankful to get back in the Defender and drive away from her kindness.
“That sucked,” I finally broke the silence between us as Jared drove back toward the farm.
“Aye. It did. I suppose we’d better get used to the feeling.”
“I didn’t think about this part when I proposed marriage. I didn’t think about how hard it would be to lie to everyone.”
“I know.”
“Do you regret it already, Jared?”
He shot me a hard look. “Do you?”
I turned away, watching the village pass by, watching it turn into trees and then fields and mountains and sea. I would never be able to explain why this was the place my soul felt at peace. The truth was, I didn’t care why it was. Just that I’d found it. Minutes disappeared between us before I finally answered, “I’d do anything to stay here. So no. I don’t regret it.”
“I’d do anything to keep the farm,” Jared replied gruffly. “So I don’t regret it either.”
Have you told Mom and Dad yet? xx
The text from Aria arrived an hour after our trip to Morag’s.
My heart leapt at the question and I quickly texted back:
Not yet. Please let me tell them. xx
Less than a minute later, my cell pinged again.
Okay. But you need to tell them. And I would like to have lunch. Just the two of us. So we can talk. xx
Sure. I’m getting settled on the farm for now but I’ll call you. xx
My phone pinged again but I ignored it, focusing on the tour. Jared officially introduced me to Georgie, whom I’d briefly met when he collected Jared from the Gloaming the night he was drunk. He was around Jared’s age, shared a similar broad-shouldered build, but had a thick crop of red hair and an even thicker dark brown beard. While Jared was tan from working outside year round, Georgie had pale skin and freckles.
His blue eyes twinkled with mischief upon our introduction, and I knew without asking that he knew this was all a ruse. I could only hope Jared had warned him to keep quiet about it.
Our first stop was the cow shed in the first field next to the farmhouse. Shed was an inaccurate description for the huge structure that housed the cattle. Inside it were two injured cows. The rest were out in the fields. Jared showed me their setup for milking, how the fresh milk was collected and then transported to a processing plant to kill the bacteria, before being sold on to major dairy brands.
The rest of the morning, we drove all over the farm. He showed me his rapeseed crops, the barley fields, and the meadows where he intended to put sheep.
“That’s one of the first things I want to do. Buy sheep, hire a shepherd again,” Jared told me as we drove onto a meadow field with the most spectacular far-reaching views toward the sea. “Equipment needs replaced too. I’ll make a list of the costs so you know exactly what’s happening financially.”
“You don’t need to do that,” I assured him. “Just buy what you need. My financial guy is going to transfer the money to your business account.”
Jared gave me a hard, penetrating look. “I want you to know exactly where the money is going.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
I could tell by the slight ticking of muscle in his jaw that Jared was frustrated. My gut told me he hated his part of the bargain—taking money from me. The farm was worth the hit to his pride, though. And I understood that.
“This field is different.” He gestured for me to follow him out of the vehicle. He opened the gate and I breathed in the sweet-smelling air as we traversed the wildflower-strewn ground.
There was barely a cloud in the sky and the sun was warm on my bare arms. It was like we stood in a mammoth great hall with a sky-blue ceiling above, and lush green, purple, and white carpet beneath our feet. Beyond the fields were trees that hid the main road in the distance, so all a person could see was the glinting sparkle of the North Sea.
“This is so beautiful,” I whispered.