Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Those jeans hugged her dancer’s frame like she’d been poured into them. A bright teal tank top accentuated the light freckles across her shoulders. Her bright-blue eyes fixed on him with the expectant look he was already learning to recognize. She wanted something.
Jaw tight, he did his best to ignore the way his body reacted to the sight of her. His old, disciplined self was back, relaxing him and giving him clarity of thought.
“Daddy, I need to go into town,” Sage said without preamble, her voice bright and determined.
Standing there, a silence hung in the air. It was clear she was waiting for him to respond, and he was expecting her to continue.
“Okay,” he drawled. “I’ll bite. Why do you need to go into town, babygirl?” There could be any number of reasons, but he was pretty sure he knew why.
“I still want to talk to the first-grade teacher at Wilder Elementary School about the skills Rose’ll need to be ready to test into second grade this fall. She’s more than capable. And that way, our Rosie can be in class with kids her age.”
Our. The word warmed his heart.
He leaned the pitchfork against the nearest stall and wiped his hands on a rag. She’d been telling him this for a week straight, but he was still thinking it over. The school principal had told him that, because Rose had missed kindergarten, it would be “in her best interests” to start her in first grade. It felt wrong, but he didn't know what to do. Now here was his Wildfire, offering a different solution.
There was no doubt Rose was finally blossoming. She was breaking out of the shell that had kept her locked away for the past two years. The last thing he wanted was to put too much pressure on her and watch all that hard-won progress disappear.
Grady watched Sage, taking in the way she shifted from foot to foot, that hopeful, slightly nervous look in her gorgeous indigo eyes. She was trying so damn hard to do right by his daughter. She had proven herself already and earned his trust, but it was still hard letting someone else take that big a role in Rose’s life.
“You think she’s ready for second grade?” he asked.
Sage nodded. “She picks things up so fast. I just want to make sure we’re doing right by her.”
We.
She’d been doing that more and more lately… referring to Rose as ours instead of his. Try as he might not to read anything into it, it was getting harder and harder to beat back the dangerous hope that those words meant she wanted to stay on longer than this summer.
Rose and her needs were, it seemed, the only subject that could distract him from Sage. He rubbed a hand down his face, thinking it over.
“I want to do right by her too, Sage. I’m worried about the pressure it might put on her.”
Sage’s voice became fierce. “I’m worried about how the other kids will make fun of her because she was held back a grade. I’m worried about how bored she’ll feel being taught things that she already knows over and over again. I’m worried about her getting into trouble and developing a bad attitude about school.”
Grady nodded his head. “Okay, little wildfire, I hear you loud and clear. I don’t guess it could hurt for you to talk to the teacher.”
Clapping her hands, she smiled big and bounced up and down. “Can we go now?”
Damn, he wished she wouldn’t do that when he was trying to think. Watching her dance around in those tight jeans didn’t exactly put him in the right frame of mind for thoughtful conversation.
“We’ll go soon. I haven’t finished with my chores yet.” The way Sage’s face fell, he knew that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Patience, at least with him, wasn’t her strong suit.
Sage glanced at the horse in the next stall and shifted on her feet again, that familiar mischievous sparkle creeping back into her eyes. He braced. There was no telling what was going on in that brilliant mind of hers.
“If it’s too much trouble for you to go,” she said. “I can just ride one of the horses into town. You know, just like in the Old West. What do you think?”
Grady’s eyebrows shot up. A low, ironic chuckle escaped him before he could stop it. This woman. She was going to be the death of him.
He stepped closer, towering over her, and gave her the look. The one that usually made her squirm and bite her lip. “I think you hopping on a horse and riding all the way into town by yourself is a scary proposition, little girl.”
Sage’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink, but she lifted her chin, that quirky, defiant Little fire flashing in her eyes. “Not to me, it’s not. I’m brave.”