Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 130673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
The flight passed quickly, and we were greeted by a huge black Escalade that took us to Bruce and Jolene’s ranch on the outskirts of Dallas. Grav was glued to the window, nose smushed to the glass, oohing and aahing at the sunflower and strawberry fields. Rhyland and I were kind and impersonal with each other, as we always were around my daughter. I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. To get her hopes up. To get mine up.
It was an hour before we reached the ranch-style house, which appeared surprisingly modest. Gray brick, with open red shutters, overhanging eaves, and a wide, open-plan porch. Surrounding it were cattle grazing freely. Cows, elk, and sheep with shepherd dogs running around.
An intense pang of realization stabbed at my chest. This was what I wanted for my daughter. This carefree, natural lifestyle.
Bruce and Jolene were waiting on the porch with sweet iced teas, sitting on rocking chairs and talking easily. They stood up as we poured out of the vehicle. The golden glint of an unforgiving summer glazed every surface—the ground, the walkway, the heat rolling off the concrete walls of the house—and Gravity, who in her excitement forgot to be shy, dashed outside, running everywhere, trying to play with the dogs.
“Grav,” I laughed nervously, trying to snatch her back to me. “Careful, sweetie. You don’t want—”
Rhyland scooped her up even though he was holding both our suitcases. “No way, little stinker. We’re going to ride horsies together now.”
Bruce and Jolene approached us, and we exchanged pleasantries. They were obviously impressed by the deep, genuine connection Rhyland had with my daughter.
“Hey, Lil Miss.” Bruce tousled Gravity’s hair affectionately. “Does Mr. Rhyland right here take you to do fun things?”
“Yes!” My daughter’s eyes widened with delight. “We do all the fun things together. And he makes me waffles.”
Rhyland sent Bruce a satisfied smirk, and it occurred to me his relationship with my daughter could be part of a grander, more sophisticated scheme. The thought made me shudder.
Jolene and Bruce showed us around the house. It was an open-plan, one-story, L-shaped house with two wings. Their bedroom was on one side, ours on the other, and there was a huge living room and two dining areas in between.
“I raised my five kids in this place.” Jolene touched her cheek longingly as we weaved in and out of comfortable, generously furnished rooms that smelled of farmland, with dancing curtains and folded quilts and the intense, pleasant feeling of home.
“You have five kids?” I shrieked. I had one kid—not a particularly difficult one—and still found it overwhelming.
Jolene laughed. “I sure do. I kept having boys and wanted a girl.”
“And did you get one?” I hoped she had. Hell, I was half considering giving her mine, she seemed so committed to the task.
“I did!” Jolene said brightly. “Our fifth one is adopted. Her name is Lorelai. She lives right down the street from us.”
“That’s amazing,” I breathed.
We followed Bruce and Jolene to the backyard, which had a huge, gated pool and an impressive play area, including a tree house, swings, slides, and a sandbox. Gravity lunged into the sandbox without even asking for permission, doing the breaststroke in the hot sand.
I snorted out a laugh, shaking my head. “Sorry. This’ll make a mess, but I’ll clean it up.”
“You will not,” Jolene chided, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. A rush of gratitude coursed through me before she caught my gaze and said, “This weekend is not only about business, Dylan. It’s also about you. I’ll take care of Gravity. I have ten grandchildren between my children—I know what I’m doing. And you’ll always be within reach, close enough to see her. We’ll shadow you while Bruce shows you around. There are so many things to see here.”
My knee-jerk reaction was to refuse. I had a hard time letting other people take care of Gravity. But I needed to let go if I was serious about going to school at some point in the near or distant future.
“Okay.” I nodded, my voice grainy and heavy with emotion. “Thank you.”
We started off with pony rides for Gravity and exploring the property. The Marshalls had owned this land since the 1800s, and every generation was engraved onto it, worked it, and cared for it.
“We Marshalls never did too badly for ourselves,” Bruce explained with a piece of straw wedged into the side of his mouth. “But it wasn’t until I worked for a technology company and came up with Telephonication that I saw a real big buck in my bank account.” Telephonication was the app everyone used to make video calls and have unencrypted conversations all over the world for free. “I sold the app, and since then, I don’t know…” He massaged his chin with a frown. “Never put my hand on a venture that was a bad idea. I know a hit when I see one. And you.” He turned to Rhyland. “You have a good idea right there. I’m starting to warm up to you.”