Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Unknown
Who said I wanted a one-night stand?
My stomach tightened, and in an instant, my blood felt too hot.
I should ignore it. Block his number. Tell him how wildly inappropriate he was being using my number for personal reasons when that business card had been meant for work purposes only.
But no, instead, I foolishly glanced around all covert-like to ensure no one was around before I tapped out a reply. Apparently, playing with fire was my thing.
Me
And what made you believe I want anything from you at all?
It took all of two seconds for another text to blip through.
Unknown
Do you think I can’t feel it? The way every molecule in your body reacts when I get close? Don’t fool yourself, Shortcake.
Unbelievable.
He had to be the most arrogant man I’d ever met.
Too bad every single one of those molecules trembled right then.
Me
Believe me, Cowboy, I have zero interest.
I was far too eager waiting on his reply, staring at my phone for so long that when a text did come through, I frowned at what it said.
Unknown
Yeah. That’s what I thought.
That’s when I felt it. The stir in the air. I followed the enchantment of it, my attention traveling to the far end of the stables. In the distance, I saw him leaning against a stall, one boot kicked back on the gate as he smirked my way.
Thinking he’d caught me red-handed.
My teeth ground and my fingers flew across the screen.
Me
I’d suggest you get back to work, Mr. Cooper. You wouldn’t want to be caught slacking off, flirting with the staff. It wouldn’t look good.
I put as much spite into it as I could, an undercut of warning, even though there wasn’t a chance that I would report him.
I could feel the low roll of a chuckle that was too far away to actually hear permeate the space.
A lure.
A trap.
Unknown
You tell yourself what you need to, Shortcake. I’ll be right here when you’re willing to admit it.
I wanted to screech or maybe stamp my foot in frustration the way Maddie did when she didn’t get her way.
Because the man was infuriating.
I glanced around again to make sure no one was around before I turned back to where Cody loitered in the distance. When I found no one around, I lifted my hand and gave him the finger.
There.
Maybe he’d get the message then.
Only I could see his chest jerk with laughter, amusement shaking his head as he pushed from the gate. He turned his back to me and strode for the doors at the end of the stables.
So tall and overbearing, the ground vibrating below him.
He pushed out, and the bright glare of the sun swallowed him whole as he walked out.
One second later, the door slammed shut behind him, and metal clanked in the distance.
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from making something more of the interaction than I should.
To stop myself from letting my mind wander into what that might be like.
Letting him touch me.
Tingles raced, and I squeezed my hands into fists. I needed to stop that train right then.
Kill the idea before it started.
I looked back at his messages, not knowing if I was more annoyed or aroused.
Block him.
Block him.
It was the obvious, logical choice.
But what did I do?
I tapped on his number and saved him in my contacts as CC.
Cody Cooper.
Cocky Cowboy.
I guessed they both worked.
EIGHT
CODY
Cody’s hand was sticky with sweat where it was gripped in his momma’s.
His heart made a loud thud against his ribs, pound, pound, pounding in time with the echo of his footsteps on the shiny white floor.
His momma paused outside a door, and her face was all soft the way it always got when she looked at him, making his heart that was thundering beat even harder. She reached down and touched his cheek.
“Now remember what I told you. He’s going to look a little different than you remember, but he’s still your daddy. You don’t have to be afraid.”
Except Cody didn’t think he’d ever felt more afraid than right then, but it was a different kind of scary than when the lights were off at night. He was scared because his momma was so sad, and she kept crying and crying, and he didn’t know how to make her stop, so it made him sad, too.
He hadn’t been allowed to come for a lot of days, and his momma was gone a lot, but she’d said this morning it was a special day and his daddy really wanted to see him.
He’d been excited until they walked through the doors of the building his momma called hospice, and it felt yucky inside. Like he was sneaking into a place he wasn’t supposed to be.
“I’m not afraid,” he told her, trying to puff out his chest. Maybe if he showed he was big and strong she might not be so sad anymore.