Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
I rolled my eyes. “Not the same thing.”
He smirked, but after a few seconds, his expression softened into a more serious one. “I did something for my family, something big. And yet, Matty’s always been the golden child. He has no interest in the ranch. He does very little to help out because he has baseball, or he can’t risk getting injured or not getting good sleep. It feels like everything has been handed to him on a silver platter. And even though I know he didn’t ask for this special treatment, I feel like he’s not shown enough gratitude for it either. The least you can do when someone gives you everything is show a little gratitude. Right?”
I turned toward him, adjusting my seat belt. “What did you do?”
Isaac shook his head. “Can’t say.”
As I opened my mouth to prod him, I thought of the things I couldn’t say. “So you’re upset with Matt for letting you do whatever you did while he got everything on a silver platter?”
“No. Matty doesn’t know what I did. So I’m holding a silent grudge, and those are the worst kind.”
I frowned. “Are you saying I’m revenge? You just want him to have one less thing on his silver platter?”
“Baby,” he laughed, “you don’t belong to anyone. I could lasso you, but you’d break free. I’m not taking anything that’s not given to me.”
His short sentiment contained a lot. It was the first time anyone had ever called me “baby” in that way. I liked it coming from Isaac. And I felt a little more of that power he referenced in the farm shed. I was in control of us. He would only take what I was willing to give him.
The less he demanded, the more I wanted to give him. Isaac held me with open arms.
I turned up the radio, and we spent the next two and a half hours singing our hearts out with the windows down, my shoes off, one foot on the dash and the other outside the window. Nashville became an afterthought. Going anywhere with Isaac next to me and the radio blaring was everything.
He pulled over for fuel, and I ran into the gas station to use the bathroom. When I came out, he was waiting for me by the refrigerated section.
“Pepsi?” He opened the door and grabbed one.
“Yes.”
He handed it to me and grabbed his Mountain Dew. “Hungry?”
I nodded. “Starving.”
We found the stand of Hostess snacks. Isaac grabbed Ding Dongs, and I chose Twinkies. He also added a can of Pringles, Mentos, and a pack of lemon-lime Gator Gum. As we waited in line, he turned to face me, eyeing me with an unreadable expression.
“What?” I grinned, holding my pop and Twinkies.
“Nothing,” he said as a smile crept up his face, and he dipped his head to kiss me.
He was kissing me in public, and my father did not approve of public displays of affection. It wasn’t a long kiss, but a few people were staring at us, and it made me blush, so I dropped my chin to end the kiss. I kept my head down and strained my gaze to see if the bystanders were done staring. Isaac took my things and set them on the counter.
“I’ll meet you outside,” I mumbled, slithering out of the gas station.
Isaac, with his sexy Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, white tee, and mischievous grin, strutted toward me as I stood at the back of his truck. “It’s not locked.”
“Just stretching my legs a little more.”
“Well, you’d better get in the truck before I embarrass you again.”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t embarrassed.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying.” I crossed my arms over my chest as he opened my door and set the bag on the floor.
“Are you sure?” he asked, shutting the door.
Before I could lie a second time, he took three strides, grabbed my face, and kissed me a lot harder than he did in the gas station.
Tongue.
A tiny moan.
Then he turned me without releasing my lips. My backside hit the bumper. He wedged one leg between mine, and his left hand slid down my neck and chest until he had my breast cupped, giving it a hard squeeze.
I knew with certainty that someone was going to report us for something like public indecency, and my parents would get a call from jail. When he released my mouth, I gasped.
“Do you like how I feel between your legs?” he asked with his lips at my ear.
My mouth dried up with panic.
Isaac didn’t give me a fair chance to respond before he abandoned me. He climbed into the driver’s side while I kept one hand on his truck to navigate my wobbly knees to my door.
CHAPTER TWENTY
STEVIE NICKS, “TALK TO ME”
Isaac unlocked our motel room. It wasn’t anything fancy, but I didn’t care because we were in Nashville. He held the door, nodding for me to step inside.