Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Before I was even out of the truck, Nathan had the door open for Lily already and had helped her climb out. I had to hand it to Tanner, he was raising a good one.
When I walked over to Lily, she held out her hand for me to take. We laced our fingers together and started toward the house.
“Don’t worry, dude. You’re family,” Nathan said as he gave me a hard slap on the back. A little too hard. I glanced over at him and raised a brow.
“I’ve been dying to do that. I see my dad do it to you all the time.”
I said to Lily, “Do you believe this kid?”
She grinned but kept her lips pressed tightly shut.
Before we even got to the top of the porch steps, the door flew open and Lincoln appeared. “Thank God. We need someone to break a vote.”
She reached for my hand and tugged me into the house. Lily giggled but trailed behind us.
“We have a tie breaker!” Lincoln announced as we walked into a large family room. I knew the Shaw clan was a big one, but seeing them all in one place was downright daunting. My eyes scanned the room, taking in everyone. I swallowed the lump in my throat when I noticed they were all staring at me.
“It’s about damn time you got here, you two.”
Tanner’s voice from my right caused me to glance at him. He winked, and a part of me relaxed. A small part. Since I began dating Lily, I’d already learned that it was best I keep my guard up. We’d gotten caught one too many times kissing when her dad seemed to suddenly appear out of thin air.
Timberlynn laughed and said, “Maverick, we need to have you be the tie breaker for the game for tonight.”
“Me?”
“Yep. You’re unbiased and have no clue how these cutthroats all play, so you can pick which game we are going to play without prejudice.
“Cutthroats?” I asked, not failing to notice how my voice quivered slightly.
Lily reached for my hand once again. “Did I fail to mention how some family members take game night pretty seriously?”
I looked down at her. “Yes, you did fail to mention that.”
Nathan laughed. “If you survive tonight, Mav, you’ll survive anything with this family.”
Exhaling, I sent up a prayer that I picked the right game.
Lincoln pointed to a stack of Monopoly games. “Okay, we have a few different versions of Monopoly.”
Lily squeezed my hand…tightly.
“Then we have Pictionary. Which will it be?”
I glanced around the room, and the first person I saw was Timberlynn mouthing not Monopoly. I nearly laughed.
Clearing my throat, I said, “How about Pictionary?”
Half the room erupted into cheers, the other let out groans of displeasure.
Lily leaned up and softly said, “Don’t pick Monopoly. Ever.”
After much debate, it was decided Pictionary would be played with two groups. The women against the men.
Three hours later, it was tied, and I somehow found myself being the tie breaker once again. It was a sudden-death round and whoever guessed first would win.
“Get on up there, Maverick,” Tanner stated as he gave me a light push. “Remember, everything’s riding on this.”
I looked at him. “And by everything, what do you mean?”
He glanced at Lily, then back to me. “Do you like dating my daughter?”
“Um…of course, I do.”
“And you like working on the ranch?”
I nodded.
“Like I said…everything is riding on this. Don’t let the men down.”
Making the mistake of thinking he was kidding, I laughed. When he lifted one single brow, I immediately stopped.
“Wait. Are you seriously saying if the men don’t win, I’m going to lose my job?”
“And the girl. Don’t forget he mentioned Lily,” Ty Jr. said as he appeared out of nowhere on the other side of me.
I opened my mouth and promptly shut it.
Tanner clapped me on the back. “Get those fingers warmed up, son.”
“You’re up, Maverick!” Brock called out as he stood next to the easel that held the large pad everyone was drawing on.
Walking over, I flipped it to a fresh page as Brock handed me the marker.
“Ready for your word?” Lincoln asked, holding the hat that had folded pieces of paper inside, each with a word.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied with a forced smile.
She held it out, so I reached in and pulled out a piece of paper. I stared down at it apparently too long, because someone from the men’s side shouted, “It won’t draw itself, cowboy!”
I drew in a deep breath and turned to the paper. How in the hell was I supposed to draw trick-or-treat?
Rubbing the back of my neck, I looked out at the large group. Lily smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but grin back at her.
“Stop making eyes with my kid and draw, man!” Tanner shouted.
I cleared my throat. “It’s an activity.”