Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Jogging around the hood, I send up a silent prayer that she lets me spend the night again.
Maybe this time she’ll let me sleep under the covers.
CHAPTER 20
Desperate Times Call for Shirtless Measures
Wheeler
Jack is heading up to first class for dinner with Rose and her terrible fiancé when I’m hit by an especially violent bout of nausea.
Bile surges up my throat in a bitter-tasting gush of heat. I launch myself off the couch and make it to the powder room just in time to throw up the peppermint tea I’ve been sipping all afternoon.
“Oh, Jesus, sweetheart.” Duke’s somehow right behind me already. “You all right?”
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I nod. “I’ll be okay. This shit comes out of nowh—”
I retch. More puke.
I’m shaking, and oh Lord, Duke is pulling my hair out of my face and holding it in his hand as I continue to lose the contents of my stomach in the toilet bowl.
The force of my sickness pushes tears from my eyes. I’m shaking.
I’m also so, so embarrassed that I’m vomiting in front of Duke. The smell, the noises I’m making, the way my body convulses—it is literally the unsexiest thing on planet Earth.
Why, God, why?
But Duke, being the stellar human he is, just takes it in stride.
“I imagine this really, really sucks for you,” he practically coos while gently placing his free hand on the small of my back. “I’m so sorry. Let me know if you wanna rinse your mouth out with water. Sometimes that helps.”
I nod, too embarrassed—too tired—to do anything else.
Next thing I know, he’s turning on the sink. Keeping my hair in his hand in a kind of ponytail, he gently guides me to the water. He even goes so far as to cup his hand underneath the faucet, allowing me to drink from his palm like some wounded baby animal.
“I hate you seeing me like this.” I sound as miserable as I feel.
Duke chuckles softly. “Blue, this is nothing. Ever witnessed a five-hundred-pound bull having explosive diarrhea?”
“That happens?”
“I’ve seen it firsthand. You’re fine.” He shuts off the water and grabs the nearby towel to wipe my mouth. “Well, you’re not fine, clearly. But this don’t bother me one bit.”
Suddenly we’re face-to-face. His brows are pinched together, eyes full of concern.
“Promise?” I ask.
Those eyes stray to my forehead, my nose, my chin. Like he’s checking to make sure I’m not dying or something.
“I promise.”
I start to cry. The physical misery of this, the emotional turmoil, but also how good it feels to be looked at this way, cared for—it slams into me with the force of a freight train, and I can’t hold it in anymore.
I have never been more overwhelmed in my life. This is so bad but also so wonderful, and I just—none of it computes.
“Aw, Wheeler.” Duke does that thing where he pulls me into his chest, practically smothering me with his warmth and solidness and goodness.
The T-shirt he changed into after we got home smells like Tide detergent. Same kind Mom used when we were growing up.
It’s a small comfort but a comfort nonetheless.
I breathe in the scent and feel my heart rate slow as he cups the back of my head in his enormous hand.
He holds me. I let him.
“Tell me something,” he says after a beat.
“Yeah?”
“Is Haines going back to SMU?”
I nod, smearing snot all over Duke’s T-shirt. For a split second, I’m mortified, but then I remember that this is a cowboy, and he’s used to being dirty. He just said he’s not bothered by a mess.
He would care if I said something or pulled away. So I don’t.
I melt into him and say, “Yeah. He’s taking some classes there over the summer.”
“And Mollie’s sticking around the ranch for now.”
“As far as I know, yes.” Where is he going with this?
“Are your parents around to help you at all?”
“My parents.” I scoff. “I’m not going to say anything to them unless we decide to keep the baby.”
I feel him stiffen. “You’re not gonna tell your parents—”
“Well, maybe I’ll tell my mom. But I definitely won’t tell my dad. It’s easier this way, trust me.”
My head tilts back as Duke’s chest barrels out on an enormous inhale. “So you’re gonna be on your own here.”
“I have friends,” I say defensively, lifting my head to look at him.
He’s looking down at me, deep grooves in his forehead. “Don’t shoot me down right away, all right?”
“Duke—”
“I want you to come back to the ranch with me. Just…only until we figure out what to do. You’re sick, Blue. You gotta let someone take care of you, and that someone should be me and my family.”
Aaaannd now I’m literally weak in the knees. Great.
Just freaking great.
This guy is so freaking great.
“But work—”
“You do it at the ranch. You haven’t mentioned any trunk shows or meetings you have in the next couple weeks.”