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)
She already knew the way to his ranch, and the drive was long—a good thirty minutes—but she got there. Shae leaned over and typed in his gate code which allowed them onto the ranch.
She got to the main driveway, found his spot, and parked the car. Climbing out, she helped Shae inside, and knew until he was better, she was going to take care of him.
****
“You don’t need to take care of me,” he said, shaking all over. “I’ll be fine in a couple of hours. You need to get to your shop.”
“My shop is closed for today. I’ve already called Leah, and she is coming by to help me. I’m going to take care of the orders from here, and I’ve already left messages for those that needed them. I’ve got everything organized so I can keep an eye on you. All you need to do is tell me how to handle your ranchers, and we’re all set.”
“My ranchers know what they need to do. They’ve already got their job descriptions.”
“Excellent. So that means you can sit back and relax today. Now, I’m going to make you some toast, because I don’t know if you remember, but last night you threw up. So, dry toast, and we’ll see how you handle that, and then we’ll take it from there.”
Peyton didn’t wait for his answer. For today, she was the boss. He was laid on the sofa, and she had put the television on. The front doorbell rang, and it was the strangest sound to him, because he didn’t recall anyone ringing that bell in a long time.
“That must be Leah. I’ll be right back.” She handed him the remote, and he listened as the two women started to talk, so it must have been Leah.
“Hey, boss,” Leah said, coming into the sitting room.
“Hey,” he said, not at all interested in making small talk.
“Is there anything you want me to do?”
“Just ... make sure everything runs smoothly, and be there for Peyton.”
“Will do. I hope you feel better soon.”
And he was left alone once again.
He didn’t want to be sitting in his damn living room, but the truth was, the moment he got to his feet, his head started to spin. It was not a good feeling to have. He had vomited last night, and he lifted the blanket over himself. At least once a year, he fell sick, usually around this time, and more often than not, he doped himself up on some medicine and got to work. He never took time off.
However, with Peyton, she was bossing him around. She kept coming into the sitting room, changing the movie whenever he asked her. Not that he was paying attention to any of the movies because he was more interested in his woman than anyone else.
Leah kept coming to him as well, letting him know what was happening. They had Mrs. Reynolds stopping by for her order of cupcakes that Peyton was able to fulfill. Peyton was dealing with a couple more orders that had been made in advance, including a few birthday cakes and an anniversary cake.
Much to his surprise, Peyton also arranged to make lunch for the workers, and she got everything set up outside. When she came to see him and offer him more dry toast, she sat down on the coffee table in front of him.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
Without a word from him, she put the back of her palm against his head. “You’re not as warm.”
“You’re spoiling my workers,” he said. “I can hear their appreciation from all the way in here.”
Peyton laughed. “Yeah, they appreciate the fact that they don’t have to go out to lunch. I did warn them this was a one-off. That the moment you feel better, I will be back at the bakery and will not be able to cook for them. I think they’ll enjoy it while they can.”
“You know, you didn’t have to cook for them, and you could have gone to the bakery. I can handle this,” he said.
“Yeah, you can handle it and probably make yourself sicker, and I’m not going to allow that to happen. Stop being a stubborn ass, and let me take care of you.” She got to her feet.
He looked up at her, and before she left, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the cheek. “Rest,” she said. “You need it.”
And with that, she left the living room, after putting on a brand-new movie for him to watch, which he didn’t pay any attention to.
By the end of the day, he had randomly slept, only waking up when Leah or Peyton came to check on him. He didn’t like feeling so weak, but this sickness bug had seriously knocked it right out of him, and he was not impressed by feeling this way. He wanted to throw up, but instead just dealt with it, as there was not much else he could do.