Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Jackie came into the shop and said there was a huge fire, and I was not prepared for that, Holden Lexington! I panicked. Jesus, I’m still panicking.”
“Millie.” Remington’s voice is the same tone he’s taken with me since I was little, and it kind of pulls me out of my head. “Stop. Everything is okay.”
“Don’t you ever run toward a burning building again,” Bridger snarls as he walks past me, scowling and pointing at my chest. “Do you hear me?”
“You’re not the boss of me, Chief!”
“There she is,” Holden murmurs and kisses my forehead. “My fierce wife.”
“Your wife is about to be even fiercer, Holden Lexington.”
“Who’s that?” He lifts an eyebrow, but I scowl at him.
“I am in no mood for this game today.”
I hear more footsteps behind us, and Holden’s eyes narrow as he looks over my head at who’s approaching.
When I turn, my heart stumbles in my chest.
All four of my brothers are standing there, looking around, then turning to me with concern.
“Everything okay here?” Brady asks. “We saw the smoke from the barn and thought we’d better see if you need help.”
Holden swallows hard, and I grin at them through the tears that still roll down my face.
“Was this fire today?” Chase asks, making me frown.
“You knew about this?”
“I thought everyone knew about this,” Chase replies and then shrugs when we all stare at him. “I do have conversations with the fire department, you know.”
“Thanks for telling me,” I mutter and then glare up at my husband, who watches me with impassive eyes. “I’m not leaving.”
“Okay,” Holden replies easily. “But you’ll stay out of the way.”
“I shut your car off and closed the door,” Ryan informs me before he reaches out and pulls me out of Holden’s arms so he can wrap me up in a hug of his own. “Don’t worry, okay?”
And that just makes me cry again.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Suddenly, I’m this hugging, crying person.
“Oh, God, you broke her,” Brady says, and then I’m passed to him, and he rubs his big hand up and down my back. “You know we hate it when you cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
They laugh at that, and then I pull out of Brady’s hug and scowl at all four of them before zeroing in on Remington.
“I’m sorry,” he says, surprising the ever-loving shit out of me, because my grumpy oldest brother never apologizes. I feel my eyes widen, and the tears dry up, and all I can do is stare at him. “I should have done better.”
“Damn it.”
Now Rem hugs me, kisses me on the head, and then I pull away and wipe my face on his flannel shirt.
I should blow my nose in it, too. He deserves it.
But I don’t.
“I don’t like fighting with you guys.” I sniff, swallow, and then look at Holden, who’s watching me with narrowed eyes. His hands are in fists. The sexy muscle in his jaw ticks.
He doesn’t like to see me cry, either.
“Did he take a swing at you?” I ask my husband.
“Dude, we just got here,” Ryan reminds me.
“No, him.” I point at Rem, and my oldest brother just grins at me. “You did not!”
“No, I didn’t.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
Finally, I turn into Holden and wrap my arms around his middle, bury my face in his chest, and breathe him in, not caring in the least that my brothers are watching.
He smells like a campfire, but he’s alive and not hurt.
“Do you need us?” Chase asks.
“We have a lot of people here,” Holden replies. “You don’t have to stay. The firemen are using this as a training exercise, and they’ll be here until everything is cold.”
I don’t pull away. I just close my eyes, wrapped in his arms, and listen to my husband and my brothers talk as I will my heart to slow down and my breathing to return to normal.
I never want to relive this day again. Not ever.
“We’ll head out, then,” Brady says. “We’re breaking in a new horse. But we can come back if you need us.”
“Appreciate it,” Holden replies. I can feel him move and let go of me with his right arm so he can shake their hands.
“Bye, guys,” I call out. “Love you!”
“See you, Mill,” Brady replies, and then I hear them walk away.
“I’ll go, too,” Rem says quietly. I feel him run his hand down my hair, and it brings tears back to my eyes. “Call if you need me.”
I nod, unable to speak, and then his footsteps leave, and I’m left with my husband.
“My brothers just walked onto this ranch as if it was nothing.”
Holden kisses the crown of my head. “Yeah. I liked it.”
“Holden.” I look up into his eyes and feel the tears want to well again. “Holy shit, I’ve never been that scared in my life.”