Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
“It’s so nice to meet you, Hailey. Paisley was just telling me how much she adores you and is excited you’re back in her life.”
“It’s great to meet you, too.” My chest felt both heavy and light, buoyed, while a whisper of loss pulled in the deepest recesses of me. I’d been so hesitant to open myself up to relationships. To friends after what I’d done.
After what I’d caused.
The pain of it almost too much to stand beneath.
But is that what Brooke really would have wanted? For me to remain stagnant? Frozen in the mire?
Paisley continued, pointing as she introduced me to Savannah and Ezra who were engaged and expecting a baby and as adorable as could be before she gestured at Cody. “And this is Cody. Cody Cooper. Dakota’s older brother.”
Ah.
There was the connection.
It was strange how one person could inhabit so much of your mind, could take up a page in your history as if they held the utmost significance, and you knew next to nothing about them.
I swore Paisley shot daggers at him.
The hulk of a man just smirked in return. The sight of it tumbled through my belly, and a ripple of intensity rolled through the air when he sat forward, as if he’d single-handedly taken possession of the atmosphere.
“No need for introductions, Paisley. Hails Bells and I are acquainted.” He drew out the last, a scrape of seduction and amusement.
Paisley’s attention swung between us. “You’ve met?”
“I worked at her father’s ranch way back when, and I somehow got lucky enough that now we’re neighbors.”
He said it at the same time as I blurted, “He’s just doing some work at the resort where I’m running the stables.”
Paisely gasped. “You’re working at Cambrey Pines? That’s why we’re here…celebrating Cody and the big job he’s doing right now.” Then her eyes narrowed. “Wait, and you’re neighbors?”
“Right next door.” That grin was in full force when Cody issued it.
Paisley pointed at him, words slashing like razors. “Don’t even think about it.”
She turned back to me. “I already warned him I’d stab him if he gave you any trouble. He’s to be on his best behavior tonight. Aren’t you, Cody? Even if you two already know each other.”
I got the sense it was always like this between them.
Teasing.
Easy.
Comfortable.
Except there wasn’t a thing that felt comfortable when Cody set one of those big hands on his chest. “My very best behavior.”
The words were low and rough and pulsating with that over-the-top arrogance.
A warning blared at the back of my mind.
Yeah, I knew what his type’s best behavior entailed. The evidence was currently sitting on my phone.
“Famous last words,” Dakota tossed out with a chuckle.
Her attention swept to me. “Don’t believe a word that boy says. He might be cute, but there are nothing but lies that come out of his mouth.”
“Wow, even my sister has no issue busting my balls, and on a night that’s supposed to be celebrating my amazing achievements.” He didn’t seem all that offended. “And don’t worry, Hailey here seems to know exactly what she wants.”
His focus was fully on me when he said it.
The flecks of red in his eyes simmered beneath the shadowy light.
A wave of uncertainty ripped through my consciousness.
Unsure if I should stay or if I should run.
I’d resolved to keep as far away from him as possible.
And here I was, drawn into his gravity again.
He patted the stool next to him, that smile turning sly. “Come over here, darlin’, and sit next to me. I promise I don’t bite.”
Dakota was right. The man might be cute, but he was nothing but a liar.
Laughter and voices rang over the loud din of the bar, and the upbeat tempo of the country band thrummed in the air. It spun the energy into something alive and palpable.
A buzz that held fast and covered you whole.
I took another drink of my margarita. The sweet and sour concoction slid down my throat and pooled in my belly. Each sip chased away a little more of the nerves I’d been riddled with since the second I’d come in and found Cody sitting at the table.
Maybe I should have been concerned that an easy comfort glided through my veins.
Concerned I’d settled into the mood.
Into the casual support of this group who cared so deeply for one another that their lives had become intrinsically intertwined.
But I wasn’t concerned because it was a gift to witness. To get to experience it.
People who loved each other this way.
Some related by blood.
Others not.
It didn’t seem to matter. The connection was there. Solid and real and forever.
Unbreakable.
It was strange to feel a part of it, as if maybe I’d been sitting here all along and I wasn’t meeting most of them for the first time. The way they included me as if I weren’t an outsider but an integral piece of the building blocks of who they’d become.