Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 117506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“We’re doing good. Michael and I have been busy trying to get things back up and running after my father…well…after he let a good portion of things go.”
They all nodded, but no one said anything. It wasn’t a secret that my father was in rehab. His drunken episodes had been seen a few times around town. As far as I knew, no one had found out about the cheating. Yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if most folks knew that my father had stopped paying off the loan. If they did, no one said anything to any of us.
“I loved the advertising you did for the strawberries and the you-pick-it,” Lincoln said. “I’ve been waiting for Hunter to get a bit older before Brock and I take Morgan and Blayze. I’m not ready to leave him yet.”
I gave her an understanding look. “I don’t blame you. He’s a tiny little thing.”
“Stella would kick your ass if she heard you say that you weren’t ready to leave him with her,” Kaylee said.
Lincoln grinned. “You just wait until you have your little one—you won’t be in any rush to leave them behind with anyone else.”
Kaylee rubbed her stomach and exchanged a loving glance with Ty. For a moment, I felt a painful longing. What would it be like to have a man look at me like that? With nothing but love written entirely all over his face.
“What about you, Timberlynn and Tanner?” I asked as I motioned toward Kaylee’s swollen belly. “Any plans for a baby?”
Timberlynn blushed, and Tanner wore a wide smile.
“Not yet,” Timberlynn said as she looked at him. His expression was similar to his brother’s. You could see the love radiating off of the two of them. For a moment, I felt so out of place among all these lovebirds.
“New love!” I said with a laugh. “You should see the way you two look at each other. It’s adorable!”
This time, they both blushed.
A voice I instantly recognized came from behind me. “Adorable isn’t the word I would use.”
A chill ran down my spine, but an unfamiliar heat pooled in my lower stomach at the same time. A part of me, one I attempted to keep buried felt as if it had just woken up from a long winter nap and was ready to come out and play in the spring sun.
Dirk.
I hadn’t spoken to him since New Year’s Eve. Oh, I’d seen him once or twice since that night, though I tried like hell to ignore the way it made me feel. We saw each other when he came home for the birth of Hunter, and of course, Timberlynn and Tanner’s wedding. Plus, I had seen him in town a few times. But I had always gone out of my way to avoid him.
What was he doing here? He was just home a couple of weeks ago!
I turned to see him standing there, and I wanted to curse my damn body for reacting like she did. I took a quick inventory with my eyes. Good Lord, the man was handsome. There should really be some sort of warning that alerted a woman when he was near. Tall, dark, and built like a man who grew up working on a ranch. And those green eyes of his. They reminded me of the meadow down by the creek that ran across our farm. In the spring, the grass that grew there was the most stunning shade of dark green. Anytime I saw that field, I thought of Dirk. Especially in the spring. This past spring, I found myself avoiding it altogether.
“You’re just jealous,” Kaylee said with a wink.
“Hardly,” Dirk said as he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. I instantly felt pain race through me. I looked away and stared out over the dancing crowd.
“Stop kissing my wife, you asshole,” Ty stated.
Dirk laughed, and I tried to ignore how much I had missed hearing that sound.
“I’m Blayze. Who are you?”
My gaze drifted down to a little boy who stood in front of me. Dark brown hair, almost black, and blue eyes. Blayze was the picture of his father, Brock. Goodness, if any child looked like a mini version of their parent, it was this one.
“I’m Merit. We’ve met before, but you were a little bitty baby,” I said with a smile.
Blayze stood taller and stuck out his chest. “I’m not a little boy anymore; I’ll be seven in September.”
I widened my eyes. “Well, I say, you are a very handsome young man.”
Blayze gave me a big smile. “I think you’re something pretty, Miss Merit.”
I snapped my gaze back up to Brock. “A little Shaw in the making.”
“You have no idea,” he mumbled.
Blayze cleared his throat and reached for my hand. “Miss Merit, do you have a boyfriend?”
“Oh no,” Lincoln said. “Blayze, do we need to have that talk again?”