Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“Daddy! Today’s the day! Today’s the day!”
I reached up and yanked him to me, causing him to laugh. He snuggled in beside me and we both stared up at the ceiling.
“Do you think we’ll find a new house?” I asked him.
“I hope so. Will we be able to get horses like Ms. Emeline has?”
“We’ll absolutely be able to get horses, and you know what else I was thinking?”
He turned and looked at me. Those big blue eyes were filled with excitement. “What?”
“A dog, and maybe even a kitten.”
Rhett flew back to his feet, a huge smile on his little face. “Daddy! We can get a puppy and a kitten?”
“We sure can.”
Rhett started to jump for joy, and I laughed, pulling him back down before he fell off the bed. Caroline had never wanted animals. She said she didn’t want to deal with all the fur. But this was going to be our place, and I’d grown up with a plethora of animals. I wanted Rhett to have the same experience. He loved going out each morning with my mother and feeding the chickens and goats, so maybe that would be in our future too.
“I’m so happy!” Rhett said.
“I can see that,” I answered as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched. “Let’s go get dressed and head down for breakfast, okay?”
He hugged me, then did a big jump off the bed. Before he walked out of my room, he faced me. “Is Ms. Emeline coming with us to look at houses?”
Things had been going great with Emeline. We’d gone out several times…a little more with Rhett than I’d wanted to, but trying to find alone time was proving difficult. I was picking up more patients at the clinic, and that meant working more, and she’d just finished their second camp session. I did another presentation with the campers, but I hadn’t been able to help out as much with the day-to-day as I had during the first session.
My mother had brought Rhett out a couple of days, though, and he was declared the camp’s youngest volunteer. I would forever be grateful to my mother and Emeline for letting Rhett help out. He made even more friends, which was a win-win.
Hopefully, once Rhett and I get our own place, I’d be able to see Emeline more often.
I heard my son running down the hall as I pulled a shirt over my head. “I’m going to see Grammy!”
I quickly followed. “Don’t run, Rhett. What have I told you before? You’re going to end up falling down the steps. Walk, please.”
He dropped to his ass and went down the steps that way, causing me to shake my head and smile.
“Grammy! Grammy! We’re gonna get a puppy and a kitten!”
My mother looked up, brows raised in question.
“When we get our own place,” I reassured her before placing a kiss on her cheek. “Morning, Mom.”
“Good morning, and that’s good to know.” She pointed to the table. “Sit down, Rhett, I’ve got pancakes and bacon for us this morning.” She flipped a pancake and then looked my way. “You’ve got freshly squeezed orange juice in the fridge.”
“Wow, what did I do to deserve that?”
“Being the best son a mother could ever want.”
I paused at the fridge and turned to look at her. “Why are you buttering me up?”
Sighing, she glanced at the counter, where the newspaper sat. It struck me as odd that most people in this town, including my parents, still had newspapers delivered.
“The Daily Dirt?”
She nodded and looked at Rhett, then back to me. I poured the orange juice and grabbed the paper. Opening it, I gaped at what I was seeing.
“What in the hell?” I asked as I glanced at my mother. “Where are they getting all these pictures of me?”
The picture in The Daily Dirt was of Emeline and me in the vet clinic parking lot. Emeline was leaning against her car, and I was talking to her. Nothing wrong with the picture, but the headline read, Trouble in Paradise?
“Logan?” my mother asked.
“This was taken yesterday. Logan scheduled a day off to go out of town with a couple of her friends. There’s no way she could have taken it.”
“Why do they think there’s trouble between you? You’re just talking.”
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Rhett asked, looking up from where he was eating a piece of bacon.
I placed my hand on his little shoulder. “Nothing, buddy. Nothing at all.”
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I had a feeling I knew who it was going to be. Pulling it out, I met my mother’s gaze again.
“Emeline?” she asked.
Nodding, I swiped to answer. “Good morning.”
“Did you see the paper today?”
Sitting down at the table, I grabbed a couple pieces of bacon. “I did.”
“Who’s taking these pictures? And why is Janet putting us in The Daily Dirt so much?”