Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
She chattered at me without her usual intelligible language. I understood about a quarter of her words at best, but I was overjoyed to see she was plenty comfortable and happy with Silas, Way, and Jo.
I declined Silas’s offer of coffee but accepted the offer of bacon from the leftover slices resting on a paper towel.
Way glanced my way from where he was finishing his breakfast at the table. “Dev giving Indigo a hard time?”
I swallowed the salty bacon and reached for another piece. “Don’t think so. He calmed down last night after we got home.” Suddenly, I realized what I’d said. “Back! After we got back.”
Way tilted his head at me, Silas made a funny noise in his throat, and Jo looked up from where she’d been helping Lellie with her cup.
I played it cool by choking on the bacon and gasping for breath.
They all continued to stare at me until I calmed down. I made sure to keep my eyes averted. From everyone.
“The two of you slept together!”
Shockingly, the exclamation came from Jo. Silas, Way, and I swiveled our heads in her direction as I tried not to choke again.
“Aunt Blake!” Way cried with a laugh.
“Jesus,” Silas muttered before turning to me. “She’s right, though, isn’t she?”
“Don’t answer that.” Dev’s voice was cool and collected, coming into the room like a serene tide. “And I apologize for my friends.” He said the last word with a hiss as he shot each of them a glare.
None of them looked repentant in the least.
Silas studied him. “You’re looking relaxed,” he said dryly. “And if I had to guess, I’d say you’re looking more relaxed than you’ve looked in… oh, say… two years?”
Bacon shot up my nose, and I tumbled off the stool. Thankfully, Dev grabbed my elbow to keep me from hitting my head on the counter as I coughed.
“Cut it out,” he snapped at his friends. “Or I’m about to tell Jo what really happened in Vegas.”
“What happened in Vegas?” Jo and I asked at the same time.
Way’s cheeks turned pink, but it was Silas who held up a hand. “Fine. Save the details for later if you insist, but if you won’t tell me, you’ll sure as shit tell Landry.”
“Give me more credit than that,” Dev said, reaching past me for the last slice of bacon without removing his hand from my elbow.
Way shook his head. “Even I know that man can get any gossip out of anyone. He has magical methods.”
“It’s called tequila shots, and it only works on Silas,” Dev said before muttering, “And Kenji.”
He squeezed my elbow before walking toward Lellie. As soon as she noticed him, she squawked. “Dah!”
“Hi, precious girl,” he said with a big smile, leaning over to pull her out of Jo’s arms. “How’s my favorite tiny human today?” He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her messy curls. She shoved her cup at him proudly, causing him to praise her for drinking her milk like a good girl.
As he took her over to the large kitchen window to show her what a pretty day it was outside, I noticed I wasn’t the only one staring. Way, Jo, and Silas were all watching him intently.
“She belongs with him,” Silas said softly so only I could hear.
“Yes.”
“How do we convince him?”
I opened my mouth to say he was keeping her, it was already decided, but then I snapped my teeth closed. It wasn’t my place to say, and I knew firsthand how critical it was to keep someone’s confidence in private matters. “We give him the support he needs to see he can do it,” I said instead. “We help him see it’s possible.”
Silas turned and met my eyes. The man’s gaze was intense. It would have been intimidating if he’d held any power over me, but he didn’t. “You’re on his side,” he said as if the news surprised him.
Technically, I was supposed to be on Lellie’s side. But I’d come to realize that was the same thing.
“Yes,” I said softly.
He tilted his chin down before looking back at Dev.
“Good.”
The two days of roundup passed in a whirlwind of activity. Somehow, the morning after Trigger’s emergency visit, Dev managed to talk to Indigo enough to learn he was better with kids than ranch horses. After a quick shift in duties, I saddled up and rode with Dev, Way, and Natana while Indigo and Jo watched Lellie and Silas and the new hire from the vet’s office checked out stock and loaded trailers.
It was crazy busy, exhausting, and wildly entertaining. Natana was a trick rider in the Majestic rodeo, so she had stories and stunts for days. Somehow, I’d missed that Way was also the mayor of Majestic, and a national news organization had caught wind of it and came out to do a feature story on him. The photographer and reporter had stayed to get some coverage during roundup, which ended up bringing other Majesticans out of the woodwork as well.