Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Could this be any more outrageous? I think not.
Please don’t let him see this. Please don’t let him see this. I repeat those words to myself fifty times as I sprint across the grass, but they do the exact opposite.
Right on cue, as if he could hear my internal thoughts, Bennett steps out onto his front porch and narrows his eyes toward me and my flock of sheep as we haul ass across his yard.
I try not to make eye contact, but let’s be real, it’s impossible. How can you not make eye contact in a situation as ridiculous as this?
I am a train wreck in progress, and Bennett Bishop can’t look away.
Norah
Of all the ways to start today off, being the leader of a flock of sheep in the middle of Bennett’s yard wasn’t one of the options I mulled over. A clear-the-air chat, a just-act-like-nothing-happened avoidance, those were more on par with what I’d pictured.
But this? Yeah. Epitome of awkward. And now that I’ve been spotted, keeping this very embarrassing moment a secret is no longer an option.
Bennett crosses his arms over his chest and leans into the post at the front of his porch. His eyes are locked on me and my flock, and bells and baaas sound at my back as I approach him. He’s silent, as expected, but his face says more than enough for a full-blown rebuttal to trigger in my head and shoot off my mouth in a ramble.
“So, weird story, but I started this morning on a run slash walk, thinking I could get back on track in the area of physical fitness, and now I’m kind of, like, the head of this herd of sheep. Josie says they’re Tad’s because they have orange paint on them, so I’ve been trying to get them to go home. I heard he lives next to you, so, well, here I am with a herd of sheep in your yard.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I take a deep breath and continue.
“I know things are a little weird between us because of Friday, and I know this is inconvenient and I’m undoubtedly going to be late for work now, but I’ve tried cajoling them, complimenting them, and insulting them for going on an hour now, and none of it has seemed to help get rid of them.”
“That’s because they’re sheep.”
“Right. Well, that pretty much leaves me with walking them the rest of the way to Tad’s, so that maybe when they see him, they’ll get over me.”
At the mention of Tad’s name, his lips turn down in an almost-frown—a state in which I’m completely used to seeing his handsome face. I don’t know what he has against the sheep farmer, but I do know that this is our MO. I mean, I’m almost always annoying or disappointing him.
Though, I am surprised when he simply responds with, “I’ll take the sheep to Tad’s.”
I don’t know what I expected, but I take it as a good sign. He hasn’t said the word fired once. Maybe things won’t be weird between us. Maybe we’re both just going to forget Friday night even happened.
“Really? You’ll take the sheep to Tad’s?”
“Really,” he affirms, shoving away from the post and coming down the steps toward me. “Summer’s so excited to see you, she’s already in the studio. I wasn’t quite ready, but she made Charlie go ahead with her so she’d be there when you got there.”
My chest warms so much it almost feels fuzzy. I haven’t known Bennett’s daughter long, but her spirit is the kind that infects you immediately. Her positivity, her radiance, her eagerness to learn about anything she can—it all defies the body she’s been given like space defies gravity. She might only be a seven-year-old little girl, but there’s something special about her. It’s like she’s wise beyond her years. It pains me to think that her daily battle with her disease has made her grow up faster than any little girl should.
And the thought of her waiting for me to arrive in the studio trumps any and all vague notions I had about running home and taking a shower. I refuse to make her wait anymore.
“Okay. If you think you guys can bear the smell of sheep on me all day, I’ll go ahead and head to the studio now and save my shower for after work.”
Bennett’s face contorts again, and then he jerks his chin back toward the house. “You can shower here if you want. Won’t have any of your girlie shit, but at least you won’t smell like livestock all day.”
Take a shower in Bennett Bishop’s bathroom? As in, I’ll be naked in his house?
A shiver passes over my whole body at the thought. Still, with one secret sniff to the collar of my sweat-drenched T-shirt, it quickly becomes a viable option.