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)
I hear him gulp, and then he laughs in earnest. “I forgot what I was going to say.”
He pats my shoulder and then walks away as I watch Millie’s horse slow as they disappear into the evergreens.
She is sexy on that horse. Hell, she’s sexy doing anything at all, but in my barn, taking care of her animal, it’s almost more than I can take.
It’s obvious that the visit with her father knocked her off her stride, and needing a little time alone to settle her nerves shouldn’t hurt my feelings.
But for just a second, it did.
And that’s ridiculous. We can’t be attached at the hip twenty-four seven. It’s normal for people to take a moment for themselves if they need it.
But I had eight fucking years to myself, and I’m over it.
Shaking my head, I walk back into the barn and return to the chores I was doing while Millie was gone. Everything that I have to do here can be handled by my men. If I had to take a month off, my ranch wouldn’t suffer for it.
However, I enjoy being out here, working. It soothes me, the way being on her horse calms Millie.
So, while she works out whatever’s going on in that gorgeous head of hers, I’ll stay here, waiting for her. She has one hour, starting now, to get her pretty little ass back here, before I go searching for her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MILLIE
“It’s so pretty back in here,” I say to Betty as we discover another beautiful meadow full of wild flowers. Purples, reds, and yellows flutter in the breeze, and when I inhale, the scent of them surrounds me.
It’s fun to explore new property. I’ve been on every square inch of my family’s land, probably hundreds of times. I know it like the back of my hand. So, to be out here, exploring by ourselves, is fun.
And helps to clear the frustration from the conversation with my dad.
“We haven’t done this in a long time, have we, baby?” I rub Betty’s neck as we walk through the field. “Just you and me, wandering around. There’s the creek they told us about.”
I judge where the mountains are and urge Betty to the left.
“We have to stay to the north.”
I check my phone, and I still have a signal, so we’re going in the right direction. I know Holden doesn’t want me to be without a signal, and that’s the last thing I’d want, too.
The air is cooler around the creek. Refreshing. I pull Betty to a stop beside it and swing down so I can let the water run over my hands. It’s still ice-cold from snow runoff, but it feels good.
I glance to the right and see a little family of deer standing about thirty yards away. The spotted fawn is drinking from the water while two does watch me, their long ears twitching.
I grin but don’t make any noise as I turn away from them. I don’t want to scare them and send them off into the woods.
I’m on their turf.
Betty takes a drink of the water, and when she’s finished, I hop back into the saddle, and she trudges easily through the current to the other side and climbs up the bank.
We wander for more than forty minutes. Just meandering around, taking in the scenery, enjoying the shade from the tall evergreens, and then breaking into the sunshine to warm up. I didn’t realize just how beautiful the Lexington property really is.
Something makes me glance up to the trunk of a tree, and then I grin. There’s a trail camera. I wonder if Holden’s watching me right now, and I wave, just in case.
And then I blow him a kiss.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
HOLDEN
Grinning, I lean both hands on the desk, watching as my girl waves at the camera and then blows me a kiss and gives me a sassy wink. Blood surges through me, right down to my cock.
I haven’t been watching her every move as she’s made her way through the property. I’ve given her privacy. I just happened to have this camera pulled up on the monitor, and the movement on it caught my attention.
But I’m glad to see that she’s enjoying herself and seems to be just fine.
My shoulders relax.
Checking the time, I see that she’s been out for almost an hour, but since I can plainly see that all is well, I’ll leave her be for as long as she wants. She’s north of the creek, like I asked her to be, so I don’t see a reason to worry.
Betty and her beautiful rider move out of sight, and I leave the office.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MILLIE
We’re on Wild property now. There was a gap in the fence that I need to tell the guys about so they can come out and fix it, but it worked out well for me and Betty. I recognize where I am. There’s an old, sealed-off gold mine nearby that my brothers and I used to play around when we were kids.