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)
“I’m starved.” He intercepted me and took over setting out the plates and silverware.
“We have salad, too, so we’ll need bowls.”
“On it,” he replied, as he reached up and grabbed two bowls. “Here or in the dining room?”
“I’m okay eating here on the island.”
“You were saying why you stopped by my folks’ place.”
“Right. Sorry. Did you happen to see the newspaper today?”
He shook his head. “Can’t say I have. I’ve been working on a tractor nearly all day, then rode out with Gatlin to check some of the fences. We’ve got some high winds coming in with the next storm, so I want to make sure everything’s good with the fencing.”
Sliding the paper toward him, I said, “Here’s some light reading for you, then.”
I watched carefully as he picked it up. He narrowed his eyes as soon as he saw the photo, and his jaw twitched as he read.
He dropped it onto the island and looked at me. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, and we knew it would come out sooner rather than later. To be honest, I’m surprised it took Janet this long to print something.”
Caden stared at me, then let his gaze drift away.
I grabbed the large fork and spoon and dished out the salad, then took a spatula and cut a piece of lasagna for me.
“How big of a piece do you want?” I asked.
Caden had begun cutting the bread. He glanced up and said, “That’s good.”
We both sat down at the island.
“Wine would be so nice right about now,” I said with a sigh.
“Did you stop by to ask my mother if she’d talked to Janet?”
Setting my fork down, I wiped my mouth. “I did. She told me it wasn’t her who’d convinced Janet to hold off.”
His gaze lifted and met mine—and I had my answer.
“Thank you, Caden. Thank you for wanting to protect me…but you didn’t have to do that.”
He shrugged, then took a large bite of lasagna.
“What did you have to do in return for her to keep it quiet?”
Caden sighed and sat back in his seat. “Does it matter, Lili?”
“Yes. It does. I found out today that your mother withdrew from the spring pie contest. From what Emeline’s told me, she’s won nearly every year with her cherry pie. But this year she withdraws? Seems a little strange to me.”
He stared at me for another few seconds before picking up his fork and eating once again. “She wanted me to convince my mother not to enter this year. And she gladly gave it up so that you could have a bit more peace before the whole town started talking about you.”
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. “She didn’t have to do that.”
Staring at the plate, he replied, “She did it for me, because I asked her to.”
Confused, I asked, “Why would you do that? Caden, I knew when I moved into your house that people would find out and gossip would start. I was prepared for that.”
He pointed back to the newspaper on the island. “Tell me how you felt when you saw that earlier today, Lili? Did it bother you?”
It was my turn to look down. “Yes, at first it did. But I’m a big girl, and I can handle it. Now your mother won’t get a chance to enter her pie, and it’s my fault.”
He reached out and took my hand in his. “You’re part of this family now, Lilibeth. We take care of family.”
I blinked back my tears, nodded my head, then cleared my throat.
Caden squeezed my hand, then let it go. We ate in silence for the rest of dinner.
“You go rest. I’ll clean up.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, feeling exhausted suddenly.
He smiled, and my heart lurched in my chest. I swore the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes made them brighter.
I started out of the kitchen and then turned to look back at him. “Caden?”
“Yeah?” he asked, as he loaded the plates into the dishwasher.
“Are you avoiding me?”
He paused, but didn’t look at me. “Why are you asking that?”
“Because this is the first time we’ve eaten dinner together since I’ve moved in. You’re gone most days when I wake up, and you get home late. The few times you’re home while I’m still awake, you go to bed early. The only time we’ve spent together is at my OB appointment the other day. So, it kind of feels like you are avoiding me.”
Caden finally turned and looked at me. He wore an angry expression, and I found myself taking a step back. This was the Caden I’d first met. The angry version.
“This is the life of a rancher. I get up early and work until the sun goes down. I’m sorry if you feel neglected, Rachel, but—”
I held up my hands. “Whoa. Wait a damn second, Caden. First of all, my name is Lilibeth, not Rachel.”