Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
“Hey, stranger, haven’t seen you here in a while. Everything okay?” Tully greets me when I’m less than halfway down the hall. The door is open, and she’s surrounded by stacks of piles.
“Hey, Tully, think you might have a fire hazard on your hands.” I hit the doorway, and since there’s one chair without paperwork, I take the seat.
“We’re going paperless. This is the result of years of paper files. Sad to say, this is the tail end, and unfortunately, it gets messier as the days go by.” Tully pauses, grabs her drink, and takes a healthy sip.
“All’s good. I believe you have a Border Collie Sienna brought in?” I ask.
“Bucket? Yep, he’s here. Eating like a champ, loves to play fetch, and all of the ladies and gentlemen love him.”
“His vet bill, I’m paying it. Sienna doesn’t know I’m here. I’d appreciate if you kept that secret between you and me.” Tallulah isn’t expensive, but she isn’t cheap either. Shit is going to be steep no matter how you look at it. I’m not sure what Sienna is doing in the way of work besides helping on the farm, and with her not being open about it, the last thing I can do is bring up the subject of me following her. I’m not ruining my chances of sleeping in her bed. Fuck that. I just got her back.
“Funnily enough, I had a similar conversation with Sienna myself. Though, I told her if she didn’t pick up the bill, Dean would have. Then Momma Catherine and he would fight over the cutie. I did not see this coming at all. Though, it seems my husband hasn’t been very forthcoming. When did this happen?” My sister-in-law won’t let this go, which means she’ll have another secret to keep, and that’s a tall fucking order.
“Depends how deep you wanna get into it. Amos obviously doesn’t know, but it goes back, all the way back to the summer she graduated.”
“Wait a damn minute. Are you saying you’ve kept this quiet and nobody has ever known this entire time?” Tallulah picks up a pen, twirls it with her fingers, and continues, “You and Dean are a lot alike, huh? I shouldn’t be surprised. Yet I am.”
“JW is the only one who so much as has an inkling. Amos isn’t here this week, and I’ve fucked up in the past.” I shrug. “I wanted better for her than a broken-down cowboy who still needed to get his shit together.” Back then, chasing the next high and jackpot at the rodeo consumed me. Sienna never had a problem with me riding bulls for competition. In fact, she’d be front row and center watching me. Still, she deserved to live her life, and even with our age difference, she needed someone a hell of a lot more stable than I was.
“I’m sure Amos will appreciate that at some point. In the meantime, I’ll be praying for you.” Tully jokes, but she’s not the only one. I’m a selfish bastard and am doing the same for myself. I don’t want a rift between Amos and Sienna. Still, I already know our friendship will go down the pisser as soon as he figures shit out.
“Gonna need them. About the dog?” I don’t want to keep her from eating or doing whatever it is she does when the building is empty.
“I’ll send you the bill and stay silent. Unless she comes out and asks, then I won’t lie for you,” Tallulah says. I nod. That’s all I can ask of her.
“Sounds like a deal to me. You want me to grab you something from the diner?” I ask, standing up.
“Nope. Dean cooked enough food last night for an army. I’m eating leftovers. I’m on call tonight, so who knows what time I’ll manage to make it home. The new vets help a lot, but I feel like with the way Arrowleaf is growing, we’re going to need about four more and a bigger office.”
“Pretty sure it’s not growth, sweetheart. I imagine it has something to do with Arrowleaf having a vet that’s worth a damn. You put your name on the new hires, and they know you won’t let anything happen to their animals.” I state the truth. There hasn't been a huge growth spurt in our area for years. New people will come, buy an old timer’s farm who has passed away, and think they can make a living off it. They don’t realize the time and work it needs. Nine times out of ten, they sell, and it’s to a local rancher, then they head back to suburbia.
“You might be right. Thanks for the offer for food. If you happen to stop by Whisked Away, I wouldn’t turn down a sweet treat.”
“I can do that. Sienna asked for something herself earlier this morning. I imagine Mae has something huckleberry, right?” I ask.