Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” I muttered, not knowing what to say. I knew Lyle Rhodes wasn’t a good person, but I wasn’t expecting that. Questions flew through my mind. “Does he… does he hurt you?”
“When he’s really mad,” she murmured, looking down at her lap. “It’s why I can’t wait to get out of here.”
I felt a surge of anger and protectiveness. I had no idea things were that bad. “Why didn’t you ever tell us? We could have helped.”
She shrugged, a sad smile on her lips as she looked back up at me. “I didn’t want to burden you guys. Your family has always been my escape, my safe place. And… it wasn’t your problem.”
That compels me to actually move and I take the rod from her hand, setting it down on the dock beside mine. Her head bows and I reach out to push a strand of hair loosened from her ponytail. I’ve touched Holland many times, casually or in passing, but this was intimate.
She turned to look at me again.
“You’re not a burden, Holland. You’re family to us.”
Her eyes glistened and she nodded, swallowing hard. “Blackburn Farms is my refuge.”
“It always will be,” I said, and then I pulled her into a hug. Despite palling around with her, Wade, Kat and Abby for years, it was the first time she and I had ever embraced.
Holland slid over and laid her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms tight around her and she burrowed into me. Her breath fanned over my neck and a shiver rolled up my spine. We stayed like that for several minutes and when she pulled back, it was only to stare at me. Our faces were inches apart and I couldn’t help but notice she glanced down at my mouth.
Time stretched between us, the air thick with unspoken emotion. Before I could second-guess myself, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. It was gentle, tentative, and I felt her stiffen in surprise. I pulled back, afraid I’d made a mistake, although I didn’t quite see how that was possible when my heart was hammering against my breastbone. But then she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back as if her life depended on it.
There was no gentleness or hesitant exploring. It was a kiss immediately filled with confidence and passion on both our parts. The world around us faded away, leaving the two of us in that perfect moment.
And it changed everything.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
Holland turns to me, surprise on her face for a second, then disdain. “I don’t want to hear it, Trey. It’s in the past and I’ve forgotten it.”
“Clearly you haven’t,” I reply. “Because you won’t talk to me about it.”
“Because I’ve forgotten it,” she grits out angrily. “I’ve moved on and you were nothing more than an inconsequential—”
There’s no thinking involved. The anger that flares within me that she would dare call what we had inconsequential has me reacting without any thought in the world other than proving her wrong.
I drop my reins, grab her by the shoulders and pull her in for a blistering kiss. She briefly stiffens in shock, but then she melts into it. Her mouth moves against mine although her arms remain loose by her sides. It’s a slow kiss, filled with all the desire I’ve kept buried for years and now have the burning need to get out.
But then the feeling passes, and she shoves me hard. “What the hell was that?” she seethes, even daring to wipe her hand across her mouth.
I’m not moved by her offense. “Don’t you dare say what we had was inconsequential.”
“Why not?” she snaps back. “You certainly didn’t think it was important enough to see it through.”
“It was a little more complicated than that,” I say.
“On the contrary, it seemed very simple to you. But it’s moot. I’ve moved on and I suggest you do too.”
She spins toward her horse and in an impressive display of athleticism vaults into the saddle. She steers her horse around, but I stop her with four little words. “You kissed me back.”
I can practically hear her gritting her teeth because she can’t deny it. For a heartbeat, she was sunk as deep into that kiss as I was.
“A mistake,” she says, glaring over her shoulder at me.
“Maybe a second chance,” I suggest, and I have to wonder what the hell I’m doing. This is probably a really bad idea considering the dynamics. “I’ll take my share of the responsibility, but you should as well. After you left, I tried to contact you. You never responded. Just shut me out.”
“What was the point?” she asks.
“Because I could have explained. Made you understand. Hell, did you ever consider that maybe I’d figured the error of my ways and wanted to beg you to come back? But you just cut me out.”