Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
To say Remy had been spoiled was an understatement.
To say I didn’t care because Mom was loving every moment of it was also an understatement.
Mom smiled.
Mom laughed.
Mom cuddled.
Mom was the mom I remembered from when I was little.
Did I think she was cured of her depression? Hell, no.
But it was a good day, and hopefully, she and Remy could spend time together again.
When Wes picked us up, he had to carry Remy to the car because she was sound asleep. She didn’t wake when he tucked her in bed when we got home either.
“What’s the matter?” I asked after he closed her bedroom door. I knew the silence in the car wasn’t because he didn’t want to wake his daughter. If she slept through a storm and a tree falling through my house, she could sleep through our voices.
No, something was wrong. I was used to his grumpy nature, but he radiated anger and frustration. I wrapped my arms around him.
“Tell me,” I said against his shirt.
“Soraya came back.”
I pulled back, looked up at him.
“What happened?”
“She said she wants Remy. I told her to get lost.”
“Did she say why?”
He ground his molars together and shook his head.
I took his hands. “What are we going to do?”
I knew nothing about child custody laws, but I knew how good of a father he was. If Soraya abandoned her own daughter right after birth, then there had to be some precedent that Wes would keep custody. Still, it was scary, and Remy wasn’t even my child.
I was invested in this. I ached for Wes and felt fierce for Remy because that woman didn’t have a motherly bone in her body.
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I like the way you said ‘we.’”
I climbed into his lap, cupped his face. “You helped me, now I’m helping you.”
Somehow.
“We have to wait to see what happens next. Respond accordingly.”
That was a horribly vague answer, but really, there wasn’t much to do until we had something to react and respond to.
Until then, we had to wait. I had to soothe Wes, somehow. Words might work a little, but I knew what would calm him because when I’d been frazzled from the tree falling through my house, he knew what would calm me.
I kissed him. Fiercely.
He kissed me back, taking over. Yes, he needed this. I’d give it to him.
I rolled my hips against him, and my pussy lined up perfectly with the rough denim of his jeans.
“Wes,” I whispered.
“Mine,” he growled. Then he gripped my hips and stood.
I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to his bedroom. We’d figure out what to do about Soraya. Together.
21
JOY
The next evening, I was settled once again on the back lawn of Rob and Willow Wolf’s sprawling ranch house. Marina had invited me over to hang out with the women of Wolf Ranch tonight while the men moved more cattle.
Since my house was borderline condemned, at least temporarily, and there was a chance for crazy-Soraya to stop by again, I was thrilled to spend the evening away from Wes’ house.
Remy was inside watching a movie with Lily, the daughter of Clint, another rancher.
Having lived in Cooper Valley my whole life, I knew most of the women here, but it was a delight to get to know them better. We sipped wine and nibbled on a gorgeous array of charcuterie. It seemed Marina did more than bake. I loved to be included as one of their group. There was a close knit feeling here at the ranch–not just among the men, but among the women, too. Luckily for me, it seemed that the moment I started dating Wes, they included me as part of their posse.
I was honored.
The group included Marina, who I loved, and her sister Audrey, Boyd Wolf’s wife and a local OB/GYN. Then there was Becky, who worked as a nurse with Audrey. The toddler, Lily, was hers.
Riley, Cody’s wife was here, and Emma, a newcomer from Los Angeles, who was dating Johnny. Natalie owned the ranch next door to Wolf Ranch, and last around the circle of chairs was Charlie, the ranch veterinarian.
“Where is Willow?” I asked, referring to Rob Wolf’s wife.
“Oh, she’s helping the men, actually,” Marina laughed.
“Good for her.” I popped an olive in my mouth. Willow seemed like a badass. If I understood correctly, she’d been undercover on Natalie’s ranch with the FBI when she met Rob. Insane!
Just then, Lily came running out, the screen door slapping behind her. “Mommy, I want to run with the wolves, too!”
A couple of the women glanced my way and laughed as Becky scooped the child up onto her lap for a cuddle.
“Are we the Women Who Run with the Wolves?” I remembered the book my mom had by her nightstand years ago.
Marina laughed lightly. “Well, it is Wolf Ranch, so we have to make all the wolf connections we can.”