Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“There are rumors?” I lean in closer. “About what happened in Austin?”
She frowns. “You know better than that. The people here don’t care what you did in Austin. They’re just glad you’re back home.”
The where you belong, is implied, but I can see that part in her eyes.
Maybe things in my life would be different if I had listened to her when she begged me to stay in Lindell over ten years ago. I could’ve easily attended Lindell University like she did. I would’ve married a hometown boy or maybe a guy from college who wanted this slower paced life. Sam would’ve never happened. There’s a possibility that I could have had a successful business in Lindell with an interior design degree. The cost of living is much lower here after all.
But without Austin, without Sam, without moving back and getting woken up by my parents’ headboard banging on the wall, I wouldn’t have what I have with Chase.
I clear my throat, trying to keep my mind from going there.
I have made a lot of bad choices, but when did I get to the point in life where what I have now—a boss with benefits and bags under my eyes—was worth all the heartache, pain, and soul-crushing manipulation I suffered?
“It’s good to be back,” I tell her, trying to divert her attention once again.
I love this woman, but she’s never been subtle.
“You disappeared on me last Saturday night,” she says, pointing at me as if to hammer in her point. “I saw you leave with Chase.”
“He gave me—”
“I’d rather you keep your mouth closed than lie to me, Madison LeAnne Kelly.”
I roll my lips between my teeth, my silence the same as a confession.
Her smile grows, and it’s as if I’m having to raise my chin to look up at her on that high horse. We can’t have that now, can we?
“I figured you were too enraptured by Cash to even see what others were doing.”
Her eyes narrow. She’s not as keen to get personal when it comes to discussing her messy little life.
“Did you two leave the bar together?”
She scoffs, her head shaking. It’s the tremble in her hands as she busies herself to avoid looking me in the eyes that speaks volumes.
“We brought separate vehicles. What sense would it make to leave together?”
“I rode with you, so it made a lot of sense to leave with Chase since we live in the same house.”
“Yet you ended up at the hotel out on the highway and not at home.”
My grin seems to be contagious because her lips roll upward at the same time mine do.
I shrug.
“Really? That’s all I get?”
“Oh, look at the time,” I say, despite not wearing a watch. I pull money from my pocket and hand it over for the two helpings of mocha ice cream I ate. “Gotta go.”
“You’re rotten, Madison,” she says, laughing as I walk away from her little booth.
Adalynn owns Fondante’s Inferno, the local bakery, and one thing about her is that she’s always hustling. If she can make it and sell it, she’s going to try. The town has rules about who can set up a booth at these events, and the wares for the day have to meet those requirements. Last week, Adalynn didn’t make ice cream at her shop, but today she’s selling five different flavors. She also recently got a freeze dryer because she went to the Travis Country Fair and saw people lining up for freeze-dried candy. If there’s a way to make money, this woman is going to find it.
Not wanting to hedge any more conversations about leaving the bar with Chase last weekend, I opt to head to the relief station, a small, covered tent with ice water and misting fans. Texas summers are brutal, but the town does everything they can to make sure people stay hydrated and safe.
From my vantage point, I can see almost every booth. As hard as I try to keep my eyes going once I spot Chase and the boys, it’s impossible.
The hometown hero is smiling and laughing as people greet him. They have enough manners not to bring things for him to sign, but I have no doubt that they’re mentioning them and waiting for an offer. Manners are everything in the South and Chase was raised right. I have no doubt that Rebecca Shears, Kalen and Kristina Alexander’s mother and president of the Sisters of Liberty, will have him agreeing to his very own meet and greet before the day is over. Hell, there’s a good chance the town will fit it in on its own special day despite the already bursting summer schedule.
Women of all ages surround the man, smiling and laughing when he speaks, as if they’re hearing the funniest things ever come from his perfect lips.