Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
As I’m walking down to the barn, I have tiny slivers of pain in every muscle of my body. Hell, some muscles I didn't know anything about until last night. But now, as I stretch my body as I walk, I can’t seem to keep the smile off my face, and it stays there until I’m standing outside the barn, a little unsure how to proceed.
Dixon and I decided that one night was all this is going to be. It felt like more when he wouldn’t let me leave, making excuses to kiss me just one more time.
Maybe he’s had a change of heart. Maybe he’ll decide one night isn’t enough, and we can see if we can actually make a go of this… Whatever this is.
I stand outside the office, and I hear my father and Dixon talking about the rodeo this weekend.
I know I need to go in there because it will be embarrassing to be caught eavesdropping outside the door. I pull my shoulders back and wince because even that hurts. I force a smile onto my face and walk in the office, knocking on the open door as I go. “Hey, guys.”
My dad comes over and side-hugs me. “Well, well, there she is. I guess you decided to sleep in today.”
I nod, avoiding Dixon’s gaze. “Yes, I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
Dixon coughs. “So everything is set up for the weekend. We’ll take both trucks and trailers, rooms are booked, and—”
Charlie points at me. “What about you, honey? What’s your plan for the weekend? You thinking about going into the city to see some of your friends? I’m sure you’ve been missing them.”
My forehead creases. “Uh, no. I was actually hoping to go to the rodeo this weekend, but I mean, if you think I’ll be in the way or…”
I let my voice trail off. I sound pathetic, but I don’t know what else to think. Dixon clears his throat. “You should go to the rodeo. I’ll book an extra room.”
I look at him curiously, trying to see if there’s something more to what he’s saying, but he changes the subject again. “Okay, well, that’s settled. I better get back to work.”
Dad nods his head. “Me too, me too. You have anything Faith can do to help out?”
Dixon huffs his breath like he’s over having to babysit me or something. “Yeah, I’m sure I can come up with something.”
Dad kisses the top of my head, tells Dixon and me bye, and then walks out the door, leaving me staring at Dixon and him looking everywhere but at me.
He starts to ask a question while looking over my shoulder at the wall. I almost move around so he’s forced to look me in the eyes, but I don’t. I hold perfectly still. “You okay… I mean are you feeling… okay?”
I nod. “Yeah, sure. I’m fine. Are you okay?” I have to ask him because he looks anything but okay. As a matter of fact, he looks like he’s not doing well at all. His hair is all over the place, he has dark circles under his eyes, and his shirt is rumpled.
He nods, still not looking at me “Yeah, I’m fine.”
I slap my hands together softly. “Uh, okay, so I don’t want this to be weird.”
Finally, he looks at me, and all my hopes that he may have changed his mind and wants more than one night go down the drain. Only now, when I’m reassuring him that he has an out, does he look at me, and he’s obviously relieved. “Right, it doesn’t need to be weird.”
I nod. “We said one night. We did it and got it out of our systems.”
He grunts. “Right… out of our systems.”
The longer I stand here, the more awkward it gets. I point my thumb over my shoulder. “I’m going to go help Carl do the feeding and watering and then go check fences.”
I wait for him to tell me no. He’s made sure to keep me away from Carl and Eddie since I got in town, so I’m waiting on him to give me some reason why I can’t help him.
When he nods his head, it’s like a kick in the gut. He really meant it when he said one night. I turn on my heel and am almost out the door when Dixon stops me. I twirl so fast on my feet I almost stumble. He walks toward me. For just a second, I think he’s going to reach for me, but instead he crosses his arms over his chest. “You should probably take the side-by-side.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Why?”
His cheeks turn ruddy, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him embarrassed. He points to my lower body. “It’s just… it might… uh… hurt a little if you rode a horse.”