Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
I felt like an asshole after I left Charley last night. I didn’t know what to do about my urges and desires, but I knew I could make the kid happy. So, despite my emotions being in turmoil, I made sure that at least someone had a good time this morning.
I lean a little closer, inhaling her fresh scent. “I’m glad she’s happy.”
Her eyes dart away. “I’m glad someone is.”
“You’re not happy, Princess?”
“It’s just been a lot. I didn’t expect to…”
I slide closer so that my mouth is by her ear and whisper, “Didn’t expect to what? Be fucked by me?”
Charley freezes, and her breath quickens. She takes a deep breath to calm herself, her eyes on the floor. “I can’t get tangled up in this, Liam. I have Penny. To consider”
“I’m here for you and that little girl now, and I’m not going anywhere.” I catch her chin, tilting her head to meet my gaze. “And neither are you.”
Linda clears her throat, her eyes on Charley. “Um, on the way here this morning, I stopped at the school on the corner—you know, the one my grandson goes to? Well, it so happens they have room in Penny’s grade, so I enrolled her.”
Charley’s eyes widen. “Oh, I hadn’t decided—”
“Yes, well, while you’re deciding, the girl should be in school,” Linda continues, “and this is easy. I can pick up Penny with my grandson every day, so she won’t have to ride the bus, and she can have her riding lesson every day after class.”
I’ve never been so damn grateful for Linda’s meddling.
“Thank you.” Charley smiles. “Thank you so much. You’ve been so kind.”
Linda’s eyes light with mischief. She catches Travis’s eye and hauls him out of the room, leaving me alone with Charley.
I link my fingers with hers and drag her alongside me before she can protest. “Let’s take a morning walk. We’ll circle around to the paddock where Penny is having her lesson.”
“Thank you. No matter how much I say it, it doesn’t feel like enough.”
“You’ve got to stop saying it,” I order, my arm around her waist as we walk. “Seriously, this place wouldn’t be here without you. Didn’t you notice the name Charley?”
I pause as we reach a bend in the softly sloped path. A stand of giant snow-tipped evergreens towers over our heads. It’s the perfect spot for a bit of privacy while overlooking the paddock.
I point across the property to the wooden sign on top of the barn. “Whiskey Heart Distillery is named after you.” Cupping her face, I search her eyes. “Charley Heart, this business exists because you inspired me to chase my dreams.”
She looks shocked at my admission. “I-I thought it was a pretty name, but—”
“Why else would I put Heart in the name? I’m not known for being romantic, but it seems I’m sentimental. If you hadn’t put all this in my head at seventeen, I’d probably be a lawyer or politician by now.”
Charley beams at me, and my mind returns to another time. A time when things seemed so much simpler…
“Law school. That’s all my dad thinks about. Fuckin’ law school. I don’t even like law or politics, and he’s salivating for me to be the goddamn President of the United States or some shit like that.” I stared at myself in the dresser mirror—eyebrow ring, blue eyes framed with eyeliner, and messy, jet-black dyed hair. My lips tilted as I took a hit off the joint. “I’m gonna be like a politician and just say, ‘Oh, I’ve done marijuana.’” I inhaled the smoke, letting it sting my lungs, before coughing and exhaling. “Didn’t inhale, though.”
“Have you tried talking to him?” Charley asked.
“You’ve met my dad. What do you think? That man doesn’t listen to shit. He’d tell me I’m being childish and need to contemplate my future.” I cleared my throat and imitated my dad. “Being a bleeding-heart baboon is fine and dandy when you’re a teenager, but eventually, you’ll grow up and realize that the world doesn’t work like that. The only things that get you anywhere in life are money and power.”
I shook my head, trying to wipe my father’s pretentious face from my mind. “You’d think the man came from a silver-spoon background instead of a damn farm. He promised my grandfather that he wouldn’t let the family farm die. I was there when he held that old man’s hand and gave his word. Now, that place is just vacant buildings with a few horses. That’s what I want—to make a go of it. To bring that place back to life. It’s the only fuckin’ place that ever felt like home, anyway.”
I waved my hand around. “This mausoleum is nothing more than a prison.”
“You should do it,” Charley whispered. “The distillery.”
“I know nothing about whiskey.”
Charley nodded toward my guitar. “You knew nothing about that until you taught yourself to play. If that’s what you want, Liam, do it.”