Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
She just stares at me. “Hey,” I greet her, my voice going low, “come on, let’s get you out of here.” I hold up my hand, and she retreats from me. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I assure her, not moving from my spot, leaving it up to her to come to me. “I’m going to get you out there,” I say as she takes one step forward, her tail whipping behind her. “Atta girl,” I coo to her as she takes another step to me, finally nudging my hand with her muzzle. “What’s up, pretty girl?” I rub up her nose as she stares at me, letting her smell me and get used to me. “You ready to go out?” I hold her lead rope in my hand and walk her out of her stall.
“Feeling better?” Emmett asks me, still sitting on his desk, but now all the clipboards behind him are gone, so I know the jobs have been handed out.
“I’m fine.” I walk toward the fenced pen on the side of the barn.
“Word around is that you were hanging out in town last night.” My back to him, the hair on my neck stands up.
“I went for a walk,” I state, and it’s not exactly a lie. “Jesus, when did people start giving you a play-by-play of my life?”
“And a drink, apparently.” I hear his boots hit the floor and then hear them approach me as he stands beside me. “Not a friendly one either.”
“People need to mind their fucking business,” I hiss at him, “and not worry about what I’m doing.”
“People are also saying she’s fixing to change the state of the distillery.” He continues talking. "Even some of the old folks who are holding grudges are thinking of going in to have a drink.”
“They should.” It’s the only thing I say to him before I walk out with the horse. My thoughts go right back to her, where they shouldn’t be. The last thing I should be doing is thinking about Autumn. “It’s nice out, isn’t it?” I ask Goldilocks, who walks slowly beside me. “It’s going to be a warm day.” I look around, spotting one of the ranch hands. “Can you get me a saddle and bridle?” I ask. “I’m going to take her for a walk.”
“Sure thing, boss,” he says, turning and walking back into the barn. Emmett stands there staring at me as he drinks his coffee. He looks to the side when the ranch hand comes back out with the tack in his hand. “Let me help you,” he offers, tossing the saddle on her back as we strap it on her and bridle her. She moves a bit, not sure what is happening, as I put one foot in one of the stirrups before hoisting myself up on her.
She backs up five feet. “It’s okay, girl,” I say. “We’re just going for a walk. You’re going to like it.” I nudge her side a touch as she walks forward, heading to the edge of the property. She is scared to go into the forest, but I lean down. “It’s going to be okay,” I tell her as she walks, and the branches snap under her hooves, I go down the trail where we take all the other horses. “See? I told you it would be fine,” I reassure her as we make our way back. “I won’t lie to you.”
I get off her when we get to the fence, walking her back to the barn. “She needs water,” I say, walking into the barn and going to her stall. “I’ll be back after dinner,” I tell her as she walks over to the pail where the water is.
I walk out of the stall, leaving her with one of the hands as he takes off her saddle. Walking to the next stall, I do it all over again, making sure all the horses get their exercise. By the time I walk the last horse in, the sun is setting and the only one left in the barn is Emmett. “Hey,” I say, walking with the horse to his stall, “everyone gone?”
“Yeah.” He leans back in his chair, his feet up on the desk. “Need help with him?”
“No,” I reply, and he takes his feet down and stands up.
“Then I’m going to get out of here.” He grabs his keys off the hook behind him. “A couple of us are going for a drink.” I turn my head to him. “Want to come with us?”
“No,” I snap, turning back and going to grab some fresh water. He just nods at me as he walks out.
I put the water down in the stall before making my way to my house. As I walk up the steps, I get angrier and angrier with every second that passes. “I have a date tonight.” I hear her voice as I step into the shower. The minute she said the words, it was like someone threw ice-cold water over my head, and the blood inside me also turned to ice. She got out of bed—which was a first. Usually, she waited for me to leave before she did that. And, apparently, she hated me so much she washed the sheets each time. When I saw her standing there in just her barely there lace panties, my mouth watered right away and my cock stirred in my pants, obviously not picking up on the fact it wasn’t the time. Every single step toward home, I got edgier and edgier.