Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70566 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
When I got done and washed up, my back was already aching.
Oh, and all of my pastries were eaten.
“Denver’s gone to the store to replace them all,” the front desk worker, Rhett, said. “We didn’t realize you hadn’t eaten yet. We’re really sorry.”
“He’s going to get you another coffee, too.”
My brows rose. “Why? It would’ve kept.”
I was mad that he’d thought to replace it, to be honest.
I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t feel like it was any of his business whether my coffee was hot or not.
“It would’ve,” Boone agreed. “But Froto got excited when Denver was feeding him and knocked it to the ground.”
“Oh,” I grumbled, the anger leeching out of my sails.
Just as I said that, the front door opened and Denver came through, carrying my drink and another box of pastries.
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched him come toward me, not sure how to feel.
He set everything on the counter between us and asked, “Greta?”
“She’ll make it.” I eyed my drink. “Thanks.”
“My fault for knocking it over,” he said, not bothering to tell me how it’d gotten knocked over. “I’m sorry they ate your food, too. Got some replacements.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Least I could do,” he admitted.
“She’ll be fine,” I said. “You can come back later and probably pick her up. Was a lot of bluster, but I bet she’ll recover better at home.”
“Okay, Quad Shot.” He grinned.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about a nickname coming out of Denver’s mouth aimed my way.
But I decided not to be too angry about it.
Mostly because he looked relieved that his dog would be okay, and I would allow him a pass seeing as he’d had a hard morning.
After he left, I got changed into some scrubs and got to work.
I didn’t get a chance to check my email until midday.
When I did, I saw that my query on the room over the barn had been replied to with a number.
I immediately dialed as I gorged myself on the rest of the pastries Denver had brought back.
I fully expected the person who answered on the other end to be male, but when a young girl picked up, I frowned in confusion.
“Hello?”
“Uh, hi,” I said quietly. “I’m calling about the room for rent.”
“Oh!” she chirped. “That’s me! Or us! Well, it’s my dad’s. Kind of? I’m sorry. I’m blabbering. Hi, I’m DeeDee.”
“DeeDee Windsor?” I asked forlornly.
Because I knew that if this number went to DeeDee, that likely meant that this room for rent was over Denver’s barn.
Not some random strangers that hadn’t stolen my home.
“Yes.” She paused. “Do we know each other?”
“It’s Holly.”
“Holly?”
I gritted my teeth when I said, “Georgina. Georgie.”
“Oh!” DeeDee cried. “Georgie!” She paused. “You go by Holly?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Okay. I’ll try my hardest to start calling you Holly then. I don’t blame you for going by something different. Your mom’s name is everywhere.”
It was.
My mother, the Hollywood starlet that she was, was known far and wide.
Even people who had just moved here joked about how my name and my mother’s name were so close. Not that they knew that Georgina Kate was my mother.
I didn’t tell anyone that information.
But the town knew.
There was no hiding it.
Georgina Kate made her way back to Sawtooth every once in a while. And when she did, she always caused a stir. And by stir, I mean she caused her daughter, A.K.A. me, to have to deal with her high-fallutin’, pompous, thinks-she’s-better-than-everyone self. I always had to clean up the mess of anger and resentment she left in her wake.
Anyone who met Georgina Kate hated her.
She was not an easy person to get along with, and certainly wasn’t someone that anyone liked when they saw how she treated people she thought were less than her.
“Thank you,” I said to DeeDee, numb.
What was I going to do?
I’d started this phone call off hopeful.
But now…
“Please, please tell me that you’ll take the apartment. It’s free. The only thing that’s wrong with it is that the shower doesn’t work in the apartment. But it’s something my dad’s going to work on. He has a contractor that he’s on the list with. But he doesn’t trust many people to come out to the ranch and snoop in his stuff. That’s also why this place isn’t taken yet. Dad runs them off before he even meets them. He’s done a background check on every person that’s called so far, and found all of them lacking. I have a feeling you’ll be perfectly fine, though.”
Before I could reply, she kept talking.
“Dad needs the help,” DeeDee sighed. “When Mom decided that divorce was better than being bored at home all day, she bad mouthed him to everyone that was working here. Mom has this way of getting everyone to believe that she’s this really great person. That she’s the one that was wronged in this situation. When she decided to leave Dad, she took half the ranch hands with her. And everyone that needs a job has one since it’s mid-season. We got a few here and there, just looking for seasonal work and all. Couple of high schoolers that will be leaving once September hits. But Joe, Catalina, and I all signed up for summer classes and we’re busy. We have to be at school by six, and Dad refuses to let us get up super-duper early like him to get some work done before we go. You have to come, please. Dad will immediately trust you because of your dad.”