Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 80261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
The ranch was also a huge part of our lives too. I loved it. We all did, helping in everything and anything we could. They were some of my favorite memories. People could only imagine what it was like growing up in a house full of boys. I was tough. They made sure of it. I probably grew up way too fast, but it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
My brothers taught me everything I knew, down to how to ride my bike. Technically, I was the only one who still lived at home with Daddy, but nobody would ever know or think that with how often the rest of them were there. Our house was a revolving door for all of them to come and go as they pleased.
Except for me of course.
I had a curfew and if I was late, they’d be hauling ass through town trying to find me. At one point, they had the tracker on my phone activated and I raised all hell to Daddy on that one. Thank God he took my side. Only if they knew where I was. Our group chat was mostly filled with them asking me where and what I was doing. Especially as I became older.
Now the things I’d learned and seen because of them were a much different story. Including the number of girls sneaking in and out of the house when Dad was sleeping.
They were as shameless as they were good looking.
“There’s my girl,” another guy excitingly greeted, grabbing Cove around the waist to tug her into his side, and tearing me away from my thoughts as we stood in line.
The guy nodded to the bouncer, and he handed Cove’s fake ID back to her.
“This is my best friend, Haven,” she announced. “Isn’t she pretty?”
I smiled flirtatiously, handing the bouncer my fake ID.
I never had a problem getting attention from guys. Which was why my family kept me on a short leash. I was often told I looked like a porcelain doll with my bright green eyes and pouty lips. I had long brown hair I usually kept down, framing my oval shaped face and prominent cheekbones.
From the pleased expression on the bouncer’s face, he was going to let me right in.
“She’s something all right.” He smiled at me. “You must be new. I’d remember a beauty like you.”
I bit my lower lip, peering up at him through my dark, long lashes.
Cove grinned, mouthing to me, “I’ll see you inside.”
Once her and the man who recognized her were gone, the bouncer asked, “How about you let me buy you a drink?”
I smirked. “I don’t take drinks from strangers.”
“Haven.” He extended out his hand. “I’m Chris.”
I shook it. He was cute.
“There,” he added, pulling back the black velvet rope. “Now we’re not strangers anymore.”
I beamed, playing my part. While walking toward the door, I looked behind me as I strode passed him. “I’ll see you inside,” I remarked.
As soon as the last word left my mouth, a sharp tone filled the air. “The fuck you will,” I heard as I abruptly collided into a solid chest suddenly blocking my entrance.
I fell back, stumbling over my own two feet in the cowboy boots I was wearing. The brick wall in front of me didn’t move until he wrapped his arm around the back of my waist, holding me against him for a few seconds to stand steady. Then in the blink of an eye, he let me go, leaving some distance in between us.
My heart fluttered and my stomach dropped when we locked eyes for the first time. He loomed over my five-foot four frame, completely captivating all of my senses. From the black muscle shirt he was wearing which accentuated the dark tattoos on his left arm and chest, to his bright blue eyes I swore was telling me my future.
His face was as chiseled as his body with a strong jawline and bone structure. There were a few strands of his dirty blonde hair that fell across his smoldering glare. Simply adding to his rough exterior that I was entirely captivated by.
Never in my life had I experienced what I was feeling in that moment with a complete stranger. Almost instantly, this hot blaze sparked through my whole body, igniting this lava to form in the pit of my stomach.
It was overpowering.
Startling.
All consuming.
It wasn’t until he glared at Chris who was behind me and berated, “What the hell are you doing letting a little girl into my bar?”
That I winced. Unable to help it.
“I’m not a little girl.” Standing my ground, I held my head higher, trying to pretend like he wasn’t having an affect on me.
His stare once again met mine as he cocked his head to the side, narrowing his gaze at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Without saying another word, he leaned back and folded his arms over his broad, muscular chest, eyeing me up and down. He was making me slightly uncomfortable. It was obviously easy for him to intimidate people, and I wasn’t any different.