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)
It wasn’t what Pa had asked, and they both knew it. “Hmm. Well, they say you’re never too old for a change. If it’s not hitting the right spots … maybe it’s time to look around. Ma and I … we never planned to own a ranch, but it was the best choice we could have made.”
“You help people. It’s important work and I’m grateful I was one of the people you helped.”
Pa just looked at him for a long moment. “You know, Carter, we wanted you to go to college because you were smart as a whip, and we thought you should have choices. Your life getting derailed so young… that was a tragedy and we were glad to give you some stability for a while.”
Carter looked up and nodded slowly.
“But we weren’t sending you away because we didn’t want you. We sent you away so you could be sure that this place was where you needed to be, and not just the first safe harbor you’d stumbled into. We wanted you to have the best life, even if it wasn’t here, but I have to admit I always thought you’d come back after school. I’m glad you’re here now anyway, but I hope you won’t be such a stranger in the future.” Pa patted him on the shoulder and walked away before he saw the shock his words had caused.
As he watched the older man vanish out the door, he realized his mouth was hanging open. “They wanted me to come back.” The words were barely a whisper but just saying them unlocked something that had been twisted up tight for years.
He’d thought … helping him apply for scholarships and encouraging him to go off to school was their way of saying he’d used up enough of their generosity. They’d asked him to call and write, and he’d done both for a very short time, but the longer he was away the more he convinced himself that they’d done enough for him.
So, he cut ties and made his own life like he was supposed to, but now … now, it was like the floor had dropped out from under him. He stood there like a mannequin, staring into space with a blank expression, while he tried to rewire his brain to accept this new information.
Despite the long day, the conversation kept him awake, tossing and turning in the comfortable bed long after the bunkhouse had gone quiet. It didn’t help that when he finally managed to turn his brain to a new topic, it settled on Ally and how much he wanted to hold her. No matter how hard he tried to keep his thoughts pure … it didn’t exactly work.
The new Daddy thing was electric. The way she responded to it was driving him crazy. And she wasn’t holding back just because they were on a weeklong sex ban either. If anything she’d turned up the heat; brushing against him every chance she got, whispering naughty things in his ear.
The switch had lent a new excitement to everything. Every time he thought about her calling him ‘Daddy’ in that sultry voice of hers, his cock twitched. Maybe this was just some new honeymoon period, but he had a feeling it was more than that. Daddy Carter seemed like a good fit for them both.
He ached to touch her, but she was yards away in a different bunkhouse. His hand slid down to stroke his half-hard erection, and he had to stifle the groan. The temptation to jerk himself off so he could sleep was nearly overwhelming. But he wasn’t a teenage boy in the dark. He wanted his wife, not a quick, unsatisfying hand job.
The rules said no and he was ‘trusting the process’, but it was a real bitch, especially since his wife wasn’t interested in keeping those rules. Daddy felt obligated to make sure they didn’t mess up, but it wasn’t easy.
Still … no one said they couldn’t be alone with each other. In fact, Ma and Pa had encouraged couples to spend plenty of time together.
Carter sat up and grabbed his phone. “Are you awake?” he texted her.
Her reply was almost instant. “Yeah, we just finished watching a movie. Why?”
“Want to go for a walk, or are you too tired?” He started pulling on his jeans before she even replied.
“Sure! Let me get dressed.”
He grinned and shoved his feet into his boots. Feeling an awful lot like a teenager sneaking out after curfew, he crept across the creaking floor, let himself out, and went to meet her.
The ladies’ bunkhouse was still lit up, and when she opened the door, he could hear laughing and someone said, “Oooooo! Someone’s going to break the rule!” in a loud singsong voice.
Allegra paused in the doorway and called back over her shoulder, “Some of us can go for a walk without falling on a dick, Cassie.” She snickered as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Once it was shut, she looked at him. “Please tell me we’re going to break this dumb rule?”