Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
She expected him to follow through with his expressed intentions and called him out for his shit.
No one ever called him out for anything—except me—and it was a girl ten years younger than him? I was all for it.
“The nice and polished answer is that I wanted to help animals. Which I do.” She shrugged. “The non-polished answer is that we were broke AF and we were hanging on by the skin of our teeth to a ranch that’s been in our family line for generations. All it would take is one vet visit for an abscessed hoof and it would sink us. So I started watching YouTube videos and doing research out the ass, so I could start treating our own animals. I learned how to treat colic in our horses when I was twelve. I’d read every vet medical journal there was at the library by the time I was fourteen. By the time I was fifteen, I was a farrier and I was making just enough money to subsidize the farm. I put myself through college with a fuck ton of grants from the government and every scholarship I could qualify for, taking every single online class that I could so I could help on the farm. I graduated and immediately looked for a job that would allow me to work part-time that was mostly full-time, keep odd hours, and still be able to help at the farm.”
“You sound angry about that.”
She inhaled swiftly.
“My dad died last month.”
My brows rose. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that.”
“After all that I did,” she said softly. “He didn’t leave anything to me.”
The doors behind us opened and I heard voices.
Holly heard them, too.
She looked up, and her entire demeanor changed.
Her body was welcoming and open, a soft almost-smile on her face.
That all wiped away in a single instant when Denver and Boone walked into the reception area where I’d totally forgotten what I was doing in the scheduling program pulled up on Gena’s computer.
Denver came to a stop on the other side of the counter while Boone came all the way around and bumped me with a hip. “Let me sit there for a minute, I need to write some notes for Holly and Young for in the morning.”
I moved, partially blocking Holly with my body when she started to all but vibrate.
“Holly, have you met…” Boone started, but stopped short when Denver said, “Holly? Don’t you mean Georgina?”
Holly inhaled swiftly. “I don’t go by that name anymore.”
Denver stiffened. “You too good to go by the name your daddy gave you now?”
Holly inhaled so swiftly that I was surprised that there was any oxygen left in the room.
“Yeah, I guess so, since he all but said ‘screw you’ after everything that I’ve done for him.” She tapped me on the shoulder. “Let me put him with his mama, Nettie. He won’t ever acclimate if you don’t let her try.”
She had a point.
I gave Froto over to her and walked with her out of the room.
When we got to the kennel where the Pomeranian mom was panting away happily with her puppies, I said, “Was it Denver?”
Holly nodded once.
“Your dad left the ranch that you almost killed yourself to save to him? And not you?” I asked.
She nodded once again, a tear sliding down her cheek when she did.
“It kills me,” she whispered. “Working here with Boone. I know that they’re related. I know that I’ll see that asshole all the time if I’m here. He kicked me out of the only home that I’ve ever known, Nettie. I won’t ever, ever be happy here. But it’s the only place that works with my schedule.” She paused. “He wouldn’t even let me keep my horse.”
With that parting comment, she placed Froto in with his mama and left.
I waited until I knew she was truly gone before I headed back inside the office area to find Boone and Denver talking quietly.
“…condemned. Had to get her out of there somehow.”
I sidled up to the counter and leaned my arms against it as I looked at Denver. “Are we talking about Holly?”
Denver sneered. “Do you mean Georgina?”
“Holly,” I corrected him, eyes serious. “Respect her wishes to be called Holly, Denver.”
Denver’s jaw worked.
He got the meaning without me having to expound.
“Yes, we’re talking about her.”
He didn’t call her Holly, but neither did he call her Georgina.
“Why’d you kick her out of her house, Denver?”
Denver’s jaw went rigid.
“I didn’t fucking want to.” He growled, frustration clear on his face. “Like I was telling Boone when you walked in, that place was a fuckin’ death trap. She was using extension cords and heaters to stay warm. There were just as many holes in the house as there were windows. And swear to Christ, there’s so much random shit in there from Cantrell not throwing anything away that it’s a fire’s dream.”