Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“I am happy,” he said.
Wade pursed his lips. “You see this.” He pointed at his face, circling it. “This is me being happy. I’m a happy kind of guy. I’ve got my wife at home waiting for me, and kids that love me. This is what you call happy. What you look like is a guy who has to make a tough decision.”
“Can I be real with you?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“Did you get Carla pregnant on purpose when you were younger?”
The smile on Wade’s face didn’t change, so much as his eyebrows rose, and there was a conspiratory look on his face.
“Yeah, I did. You know this. It’s why we were pregnant before we were at prom. I knew the moment I saw Carla, she was going to be my wife.”
“You did?”
“Fuck, yeah. I wasn’t going to wait around and let her think I didn’t want her. I know some men like to fuck around and think there are plenty of fish in the sea. Not me. I was happy with my fish.”
Shae nodded.
“Question is, are you happy with your fish?” Wade asked.
“Stopping calling women fish,” Shae said.
“Okay, what do you want to call them?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“You know, I’ve not seen you like this in quite some time. Peyton getting under that skin of yours?”
“She’s there,” he said. “I don’t want to let her go.”
“Then don’t.”
“She thinks this has a limit,” he said.
Wade sighed and clasped his hands together as he leaned across the bar. “She does, and who told her there was a limit?”
He looked toward Wade, and was not about to tell him his business. Wade did not need to know he had blackmailed Peyton to be with him, in order to keep her sister alive. He didn’t need to know that Peyton had bargained her virginity for him to keep Lily-May away from her.
The men he had sent to keep an eye on Lily-May informed him that she got a job at a strip club and was still doing drugs. That woman was never going to learn. He randomly sent out guys to make sure she wasn’t causing any trouble.
“Your point?”
“Look, if you’re looking for forever with your girl, then tell her. I’ve been happily married since we were eighteen, and you know Carla has been my girl since before then. I’m a happy guy. Sometimes, Shae, you just got to be straight with the woman you love.”
Shae looked toward the time and saw it was getting closer to six. “You tell anyone about this conversation, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Wade threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, like I am going to do that. Seriously, dude, we’re buddies.”
Leaving the bar, Shae climbed into his truck, pulled out of the parking lot, and headed into town.
Fort had gone all out in terms of October decorations. There were pumpkins, ghosts, vampires, witches, bats, Frankensteins, and everything else that went bump in the night. He had already seen the treats Peyton had cooked up. Pumpkin iced donuts with Halloween sprinkles. Chocolate cookies with edible eyes. Cupcakes and cookies with all kinds of spooky decorations. Leah was still loving the job, and she had survived her week.
Looking into the shop, which was still aglow, he saw the two women, but he only had eyes for Peyton. She was everything.
He didn’t have to wait long, and he watched as Leah took the boxes of cookies. She hugged Peyton, then headed in the direction of the elderly home. He climbed out of his truck and helped Peyton inside.
“We’re not taking them?”
“No, Leah is going to visit her grandma, and she offered to take them.” He closed the truck door and rounded the vehicle.
The streets were busy. Some of the shops stayed open a little later, but Peyton always closed her door at five-thirty, giving her time to clean up and prepare for the next day. Tomorrow was Sunday, and it was the only day off she took. The last few Sundays, he had stuff to do at the ranch, and even though it was a day off, Peyton was constantly working on ideas for future events and recipe planning.
Driving back to the ranch, he glanced over at her and wondered if his baby was growing inside her right now.
“Are you sore?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
He couldn’t help but glance her way. Her cheeks were a pretty shade of red. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying. It is a little sore, but not in the way you think. I’m aware that we ... had sex,” she said. She nibbled her bottom lip.
He pressed his foot to the gas and managed to get to the ranch in record time.
Parking his truck, he climbed out and rounded to Peyton’s side. He helped her out, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he took hold of her hand, entered the ranch, and went straight to his office. Slamming the door closed, he pressed her up against it and kissed her. He was not too gentle as he did this.