Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
She mumbled what sounded like a curse under her breath. “I’ll be right there.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Ensley. I don’t mean to pit you against your brother.”
“Trust me, you’re not doing any such thing. If you asked him a personal question, then he’ll be a grump all the way to your house. He won’t speak. He’ll most likely turn on the radio and pretend you’re not even there.”
I closed my eyes. “I stupidly asked who hurt him and made him think he can’t be happy. I don’t know why I did, it’s just…he refuses to even try to be nice. I even made him breakfast! Granted, I did make myself at home in his house.”
She laughed. “I’m in my truck, which I have no idea how it got here, and I’m on my way. I didn’t think we drank that much last night.”
“According to my pounding head, we did. How long does it take for you to get from your place to Caden’s?”
“Not much snow fell last night, so maybe fifteen minutes.”
“My God, how big is this ranch?”
“It’s big. Do I need to come to the door?”
“No! I’m going to just sneak out, and I’ll start walking down the road.”
“It’s freezing outside, Lilibeth. Just wait in the house. Caden’s bark is worse than his bite.”
“I may have snagged some of his clothes from his laundry room as well. So I’ll be fine.”
Ensley let out a roar of laughter. “Oh my God, I wish I could have seen his face when he saw you dressed in his clothes.”
I grimaced. “I don’t think he was happy. I’ll see you in a few.”
After quickly gathering up my clothes from last night, I slipped into my boots—which were not made for walking in the snow—and very quietly left out of Caden’s front door. Thank goodness he didn’t have an alarm set. I started down the road, which had only a light covering of snow, and prayed his office didn’t face the front of the house.
It wasn’t but ten minutes later when I saw Ensley’s truck. I quickly got in and put my hands to the warm air coming out of her vents.
“He doesn’t know I left,” I said, as I peeked over at her.
“He might be upset that you left without saying anything.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I seriously doubt that. You didn’t see the anger on his face when he told me the faster I got out of his house, the better. I don’t know why he hates me so much.”
She started to say something, then closed her mouth. “Last night is slowly coming back to me. Caden brought us home, and I think the guys we met last night followed him in my truck, and that’s how it ended up back at my place. Did Caden mention why he didn’t bring you home last night?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t. Thank you for doing this. I hate putting you in this position, and I hope I’m not making you fall behind on work today. I know you said you had some horses on the ranch to work on.”
She shook her head. “Not at all.”
“Have you heard from Emeline?”
She smiled. “I did. They’re coming home tomorrow. My parents are already planning a reception for them.”
“That’s sweet of them.”
“Have you heard from Moreen?”
“Yes, she texted me not that long ago to tell me if I wasn’t feeling well, I didn’t have to come in today. I asked how she felt, and she said fine.”
Ensley laughed. “I do believe Moreen can hold her alcohol, at least that’s what Emeline’s always told me.”
“Next time I want to drink, remind me about this morning and how terrible I feel.”
“Oh, I will. Are you going to go in today?”
I shook my head. “I don’t have anyone scheduled for anything, and I usually go to Mrs. Harper’s on Sunday.”
“Mrs. Harper? How do you know her?”
I smiled. “I met her at the store. Her daughter was in town visiting and brought her in. They made perfume together, and I just fell in love with her. I try to visit her once a week. It’s a lot of fun. She reminds me so much of my own grandmother, on my mother’s side. I never met my father’s mother.”
“Yeah, she’s a sweet lady.”
“She wants to teach me how to knit.” Looking over at Ensley, I added, “She told me she used to teach.”
Ensley smiled. “She was an English teacher for the tenth grade. Everyone loved her as a teacher. I think Emeline was the last year she taught, then she retired.”
“She’s a hoot. Makes me laugh.”
“I should swing by her place sometime and visit her.”
“Oh, you really should, Ensley. She’s so lovely, and I know she gets lonely. Like I said, I try to go over at least once a week. I missed the other day, so I thought I’d pop by today, since I blocked out my schedule at the store. I know it’s the holiday weekend, and we were so busy Friday and Saturday, but I’m hoping today will be slow. Plus, I hired a couple of high school seniors, and they begged me to let them work with Moreen today.”