Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Kat’s expression softens, and she smiles. “Well, I forgive you then. I can understand the secret part and frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t call me out on that since you were the one who was most pissed over my secret relationship with Gabe.”
Chuckling, I stretch my arms up and arch my back, relishing the satisfying crackle of my spine. “What is it with us Blackburns and secrets? Ethan had a secret child, you secretly dated the enemy, I secretly dated one of our friends, Abby secretly tried to infiltrate and take down a puppy mill ring under Kellan’s nose.”
“We’re not boring, that’s for sure,” Kat muses, but her smile fades slightly, replaced by a look of concern. “Have you seen Wade?”
I shake my head, my chest constricting at the thought of the fight we had. “I took Holland to her mom’s house after we talked to the family, and then I went home, hoping Wade would show up so we could talk, but he didn’t. I haven’t seen him all day.”
Kat sighs, running a hand through her hair. “I saw him earlier. He’s been around but he’s quite grumpy. When I tried to talk to him, he told me to leave him alone. Normally, that would just egg me on to harass him, but I don’t know… this is different. He’s really bent out of shape and I can’t figure out why.”
“If I knew, I could fix it. I can’t believe his feelings are that deep for Holland. She’s never given him anything but genuine friendship. There’s never been anything on her part to make him think it would be otherwise.”
She gives me a pointed look. “I’m guessing it was the whole part about you pushing him away from her because you had her, rather than telling him the truth.”
“Okay, fine… that’s it. I get it. But I can’t make it better unless he lets me apologize.”
“He’ll calm down eventually. He always does and then you can make it right. Until then, you just move forward. That’s all you can do. How serious is it with Holland?”
I look at my sister, my heart overflowing with love, consumed with a zealous commitment to what Holland and I have. “I love her, Kat. To the ends of the earth. I’m going to marry her and have babies with her and if she wasn’t planning on coming back here to Shelbyville, I’d follow her to Zurich. I’d give all of this up to follow her.”
Kat’s eyes widen in surprise. “Wow, that is serious.”
I nod, feeling a sense of conviction. “Now I get it, Kat. What you have with Gabe and how important second chances are. Holland gave me another chance because she saw you do it for Gabe.”
“That makes me happy that my example opened the gate for you to walk through. And I’m truly happy you and Holland are together. She’s always been a part of the Blackburn family, but it’s going to be for real one day and I can’t wait to officially call her my sister.”
Images of engagement rings and wedding bells fill my head but before I can respond, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, seeing Ethan’s name on the screen. I answer quickly. “Hey, Ethan. What’s up?”
“Trey, I need you out in pasture eleven. Max got himself stuck in some mud and brambles. Bring ropes, planks, anything you can think of to help get him out.”
Stupid Max. That horse is always getting in trouble. “I’m on my way.” I hang up and turn to Kat as I stand from the desk. “Max is stuck in the mud. Ethan needs help.”
Kat laughs, rising from the couch. “I thought when a horse retired, they were supposed to just eat grass, get fat and be lazy. Max has been a pistol.”
The horse has been a continual source of frustration because he’s not content to be fat and lazy. He’s broken fences, tipped over water troughs and is always finding mud to roll in. Now he’s gotten himself stuck and while it’s not the first time this has happened on the farm, it is a pain in the ass to get them out. Luckily, Max is a pretty chill horse when he’s being human-handled so it should be easy.
“You guys need any help?” Kat asks, thumbing over her shoulder. “Otherwise, I’m going to head home.”
“We’re good,” I say, grabbing the keys to one of the ATVs with the intent to brush past her to enter back into the barn. The vehicles are on the opposite side.
Except Kat steps into me for a hug. “Really, really happy for you, Trey.”
My heart thumps with devotion for my sister. “Thanks, baby sis. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I quickly load up the ATV with two sturdy planks, two coils of rope, a halter and a lead line. As an added measure, I grab a bag of carrots, Max’s favorite, out of the barn fridge to entice him. It takes me less than five minutes to reach pasture eleven and as I approach, I see Wade already there standing by Ethan as they discuss the predicament.