Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
I’m quiet for a beat too long because Hunter asks, “Have you done that yet?”
“I’ll get around to it,” I promise as I weave through the forest with Bella beside me. My entire body aches from the long day spent hauling trees.
He makes a noise of disbelief. OK, so that’s two of us that don’t believe me. I’m not sure why I haven’t tried to have anything traced yet. It makes sense to do that, but Sophie’s appearance in my life feels a bit like a miracle, and I don’t want to question it.
“Do you think she’s a con artist?”
“At first, I considered it, but I don’t know. It’s been over a week. You’d think if she were angling for something, I would have figured it out by now.”
“I can come over there. Charm it out of her.”
“Don’t you dare,” I growl.
Hunter has never been a ladies’ man. He’s too much of a recluse. Like me, he prefers to live in his cabin on the mountain undisturbed. I know he’s messing with me, but his words still leave me furious. He chuckles softly. “You could try to charm it out of her.”
I grunt. “I’ve never been the charming type. It’s not in my nature.“
But would Sophie like that? Would she like to be charmed? No, I can’t be thinking like that. She’s only here for three more weeks. When she first arrived, I was counting down the days until she’d leave.
But now that we’ve fallen into a slow rhythm, I find I don’t mind sharing my space with another person. No, that’s not it. It’s her.
I like sharing my space with Sophie. I like the way she fills my cabin with life and laughter. I like the way she bounces up every morning, putting on coffee and clanging the pots until I finally roll from the couch in a disgruntled heap.
I like her teasing laugh and her sunshine smiles. I like that smudgy makeup around her eyes and those tight little skirts that she wanders around in.
Since I don’t know what to say to him, I promise to call him later. He gets off the phone, chuckling under his breath.
“One day, he’s going to find a girl he likes, too,” I tell Bella. She makes a soft whimper as we walk back to the cabin.
I used to like coming home after a hard day’s work because I looked forward to the solitude and the quiet of my cabin. But now I look forward to arriving and seeing Sophie in my space. Her presence fills me with peace and contentment.
The moment my boots hit the porch boards, excitement thrums through me. I can’t wait to see her and hear about how her day has gone. Even the mundane things are fun to talk about with her. I push open the cabin door to find a bride sitting in the middle of my living room floor. She’s pale white, looking like a ghost. She blinks up at me, her eyes an eerie shade of yellow.
I yelp and mutter a string of profanities under my breath before I realize that it’s just Sophie in makeup and old wedding dress that looks like it might have been used fifty years ago.
I throw my head back and roar with laughter, unable to hold back the booming amusement. I can’t even remember the last time someone made me laugh like that.
She beams at me. "I figured it was my turn for the prank."
"It was a good one," I agree.
"It was fun, but these contacts are miserable to wear." She puts a finger to her eyeball and pulls out one contact then the other.
She blinks up at me with those moss-green eyes, and I’m so tempted to kiss her. Would she like that? There are moments when I think that she’s almost becoming fond of me.
She started sitting closer to me on the couch at night, and she certainly doesn’t seem to mind brushing up against me when we’re working together in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner.
"I’m going to change out of this monstrosity while you start dinner," she tells me and disappears from the room.
Still chuckling, I head into the kitchen to start on a savory mac and cheese dish.
She told me last night that macaroni and cheese is her favorite meal. More and more, I find myself looking for little ways to make her smile. There’s something about seeing her happy that puts a warm glow in my chest.
When I finish preparing the food, I tell her, “Let’s eat on the porch.”
I’m delighted when I see the smile that stretches across her face. Makes me feel like grinning like a fool. The air is crisp and invigorating. The stars dotting the sky are bright, and the moon is a half-crescent. In the distance, I can hear creatures big and small scurrying through the woods. It’s a perfect autumn night in the country.