Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I’d felt good when I was with him. I felt like a version of myself I’d forgotten about, the Ryder I used to be eight or nine years ago, when my grandparents were still alive, and my heart hadn’t been shattered, and I truly believed my best friend would always have my back.
I’d forgotten what it felt like, that kind of carefree joy. But Hal had reminded me.
A blaring car horn brought me back to the present. I was still sitting there at the hotel entrance, and cars were trying to pull in behind me.
With a sigh, I put the SUV in gear and pulled away from the curb. It was time to get back to reality… although I didn’t quite know what that looked like, now that Hal had upended my world.
5
Hal
When I got back home on Sunday afternoon, I changed into a comfortable, oversized sweater and leggings, made a blanket nest on my bed, and called Logan. He answered with, “Hey, where are you?”
“I got home a few minutes ago.”
“How’d it go?”
“The wedding went off without a hitch. As soon as we got back, Embry packed up his dog and some of his stuff and moved in with Bryson, so phase two of the fake marriage is underway. The two of them really seem to be hitting it off, which is good.”
“Glad to hear it. Did you have fun?”
“I had an incredible time, thanks to a handsome cowboy from Texas named Ryder.”
“Interesting,” Logan said. “I’ve never known you to be into that type of guy, but he sounds perfect for a Vegas fling.”
When I heard his son shouting enthusiastically in the background, I asked, “What are you guys up to?”
“We’re on a walk. Owen just spotted a cat, and Lucky’s trying to keep him from abducting it and bringing it home with us.”
“I should let you go.”
“Okay, but let’s talk soon. I want to hear all about your cowboy.”
Once we ended the call, I burrowed deeper into my blanket nest and stared at the phone in my hand. I’d planned to ask Logan’s opinion on whether it was too soon to message Ryder, but I didn’t want to cut into his family time.
That left me to debate the pros and cons on my own. On one hand, I didn’t want to seem needy. But then again, I wanted Ryder to know I was thinking about him, and that I was serious about keeping in touch.
While I was debating, a text from Ryder popped up. That put a huge smile on my face. It said: Hey. I was just thinking about you and wanted to see if you got home okay.
I replied: I was just thinking about you, too. I’m home and all is well. Where are you?
At the airport. My flight leaves in about an hour.
I asked him to message me when he got home, and he promised he would. Now I had something to look forward to.
It was nearly nine when he messaged me again, which would make it eleven p.m. where he was. Just got home. The ranch is still standing and all the animals are fine, which is a relief.
I replied: Was there any question?
No, not really. My employee was holding down the fort, and he’s perfectly reliable. I just worry when I’m not here.
Ryder asked if it would be okay to video-call me, and when I agreed, a call popped up immediately. His handsome face filled my screen when I answered, and he smiled at me and said, “Hi there.” That was followed by a braying sound off in the distance.
“What was that?”
“Jeff is mad because I wouldn’t let him out of the stable when I got home. During the day he roams free, but at night I have to lock him in to keep him safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“All kinds of things—coyotes, mountain lions, skunks. There’s nothin’ cute about a donkey that reeks of skunk spray. It’s happened twice, and I’d love it if we didn’t experience that a third time. Mostly though, he’s in there to keep him safe from his own bad ideas.”
“When it’s light out, I’d love to meet Jeff and the rest of your animals.”
That made him smile. “I’ll happily give you the full tour. For now, you can meet the wolf pack.” He angled the camera toward his feet, where four sleeping dogs were clustered. “They’re being a little clingy since I was gone for four and a half days. Normally, a couple of them would be across the room on the couch.”
“They’re not exactly what would come to mind if someone told me to picture a group of ranch dogs.” There was a basset hound, a chihuahua, a long, skinny greyhound, and some kind of little, brown puffball.
“I know. They’re all rescues that came to me in various ways, but you should see them when they team up. It’s pretty great.”