Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Confident. Curvy. A city girl who belonged to a world I could never touch.
But I married her anyway thinking I could keep her at arm’s length and still call her mine.
I never let her all the way in. Never let her see how deep she got under my skin.
And now she’s done pretending that’s enough.
When she hands me divorce papers, I expect her to run back to her perfect, polished life.
But she doesn’t.
She gets a job slinging coffee in town like she’s not tearing my whole damn world apart.
So I give her an ultimatum—thirty days in my bed, living like we used to.
After that, I’ll sign.
Only I won’t.
Because the truth is, I never stopped wanting her. I never stopped needing her.
And if I can't tear down these walls I built to keep her out, I’m going to lose the only woman I’ve ever loved.
For good
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER 1
DUSTIN
“Dustin Clay just laid down that steer in a smokin’ fast three point seven seconds. Y’all, give it up for tonight’s bulldoggin’ champion!”
The crowd goes wild, and I take my hat off and wave it around like I’m expected to do. I should be happy. This is what I wanted, and if it was this time last week, it would feel different. But now I just feel empty.
I’m handed a trophy, and there are flashes from every direction as people take pictures. I’m in a daze as I look around me. People are smiling and clapping. I’ve won plenty of events before this one, and I wait for that feeling, the one that makes you tremble with excitement. I wait for my chest to tighten, that feeling of pride, awe, and the sense of accomplishment. But it never comes. None of it does. As I look around at all the smiling faces, all I can think about is the one person I wish was here with me. My wife, Annie Clay.
She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved and the only woman that could destroy me. That’s exactly what she did when she had me served with divorce papers last week.
A cowboy pats me on the back, and I force a smile onto my face. He’s all happy for me, not knowing that my life has gone to shit in the span of seven days. “Congratulations, Dustin!”
I thank him, and I have to push my way through the crowd as the announcer continues. “And with that win, Dustin Clay now qualifies for the Jasper Classic where the bulldoggin’ first place prize is one hundred thousand dollars. A year of competitions all lead to this event of the season.”
As the announcer drones on, I keep walking. This is what I wanted. This is what I have been striving for, but now it feels like it’s not even worth it. I wanted that money to make life easier for me and Annie, but if she’s not with me, why do I even care?
People are patting me on the back, congratulating me, and I smile tightly as I walk through. Once I’m away from the crowd, I let out a breath, hoping some of this anxious feeling is going to disappear.
Ray finds me. “Congratulations, boss man.”
I nod my thanks. I can feel his curious gaze, but I know he won’t ask. Ray is one of the ranch hands I employ. He knows that Annie is gone, and he also knows that I’m close to losing my shit. Ray takes his hat off and wipes his forehead. “I’ll take Bolt home and rub him down.”
I nod at him. “Thanks, Ray. I’ll be at the ranch later.”
Without waiting for a response, I walk straight to the parking lot. I get into my beat-up truck and hold the trophy in my lap. This should feel different, and I’m still waiting on that feeling to come, but all I feel is an overwhelming sense of disappointment. I toss the trophy into the passenger seat and start up my truck. I pull out of my parking space, spinning gravel on the way. I almost pick up the phone and call Annie, but I know how that’s going to go. I’ve tried calling her a hundred times since I received her papers. No explanation. No nothing. She didn’t tell me I was a piece of shit. She didn’t tell me that she was sick of my rundown ranch or that she couldn’t live like this anymore. She didn’t give me any reason. Just a note that said she was leaving and then she was gone. And now she’s not answering my calls. She’s not returning any of my text messages. Hell, it’s like she’s completely forgotten about me.
I’m halfway back to Whiskey Run, and that feeling in my chest gets even tighter. I’m about to drive home to an empty house, and the thought is overwhelming. Fuck, I miss my wife.
This past year has been the best year of my life. I thought we were happy. Yeah, it wasn’t all easy, but I was happy. And I thought she was too. Boy, did I get that wrong.
As I stop at a stop sign in downtown Whiskey Run, I turn my head and look into Red’s Diner. It’s a Saturday night, and even though they’re probably closing soon, there’s still quite a few people in there. I’m in the middle of debating whether I want to stop and grab a slice of their Blaze apple cake instead of going home to an empty house when I see HER.
Annie’s long brown hair is up in a ponytail, and I watch her as she walks to a table. She’s smiling, but it’s not the smile she always saved for me. That should make me happy, but it’s short-lived as she pulls a pad of paper from her apron. Apron! What the hell is she doing? Is she working at Red’s Diner? After she had me served with divorce papers, I thought for sure she’d be far away from our ranch and Whiskey Run.