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)
A woman with light brown hair, or maybe it was dark blonde, was holding a broom and singing into the handle as she bent down toward a black and white cat who was sitting on a hay bale, seemingly enjoying the impromptu show.
Leaning against the nearest stall, I reached up and gave a beautiful paint horse a rub on the neck while he or she also watched. The woman’s voice was actually pretty damn good, and when she spun around, her ponytail did a little swish.
I had to bite down on my cheek to keep from laughing when a goat suddenly jumped up and stood next to the cat.
“What in the hell?” I whispered, as I noticed the goat was wearing Christmas pajamas that matched the ones she was wearing. He joined in on the song and dance, while the cat, totally not impressed, started to clean himself.
Turning to the horse, I asked, “Does this happen every night?”
He bobbed his head, and I let out a laugh.
A small shriek came from the direction of the dancing woman, and I whipped my head around to see her now standing there, with the broom pointed at me like a weapon.
“Who are you?” she shouted.
I held up my hands and slowly walked over to the small blue Bose speaker that was sitting on a stall door. I hit pause and looked back at her.
My breath caught in my throat as I took in the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen—and trust me, I’d seen plenty.
She was standing too far away for me to see the color of her eyes, but what I could see made my body take notice. A voluptuous body, a round doll face with the cutest button nose I’d ever seen, and from what I could tell, light eyes that demanded I got a closer look at them.
“Mackenzie Reeves?”
Frowning, she put the broom down and gave me a once-over. “And who are you, pretty boy?”
My brows shot up. “Pretty boy?”
With a hand on her hip and the other still gripping the broom, she said, “If you think you can try anything, let me give you a fair warning.”
“A warning…?”
“Yes. I will stick this broom into parts of your body that will prohibit you from walking correctly for the rest of your life.”
I was pretty sure my mouth had dropped damn near to the barn floor.
She flashed me a smug grin. “That’s right. So if you value that pretty face of yours, and the tool between your legs, you’ll walk away right now.”
A bark of laughter slipped free. “The tool between my legs?”
She let out a small growl. “Do you have to keep repeating everything I say? If you don’t leave in the next thirty seconds, I’ll call the police to report someone trespassing on private property.”
“And until they get here, you’ll use the broom to injure me?” I asked, trying not to sound smug, but knowing I was being a complete ass.
“Yes! I will. Now get out of this barn and off this farm. You’re trespassing.”
I walked closer and she held up the broom again. The cat had taken interest once more. The goat had somehow fallen asleep, understandable since he was wearing his pajamas. “I’m not leaving.”
A look of fear swept over her face, but it was gone as fast as it came. She took out her phone and said, “All I have to do is call one person, and a dozen ranch hands will show up and kick your ass.”
Stopping before I got too close to her, and still out of range of the broom, I motioned toward her phone. “Go ahead. Call. But I think you’ll find no one will be kicking my ass or asking me to leave.”
She lifted her chin. “And why is that?”
I folded my arms over my chest, and I watched as her gaze swept over my body, then met my own directly.
“Green,” I said softly.
“Green? What does that mean? Is it your last name?”
I grinned. “Your eyes. They’re green.”
She frowned, but only for half a second. “And yours are…” She took a step back.
“Some people say they’re black. My mother calls them onyx.”
Mackenzie dropped the broom and took a few more steps back until she ran into the haybale. The goat woke up, the cat let out a plaintive meow and jumped down, and the beautiful woman dropped to her ass on the bale and let out an oof.
“You okay?”
She quickly stood. “Who are you?”
Reaching my hand to shake hers, I said, “Bradly Littlewood.”
She closed her eyes and appeared to curse under her breath. I was pretty sure she mumbled motherfucker.
“And you are Mackenzie, correct?”
The fierce look was back when she opened her eyes, and she stared at my outstretched hand without taking it. “Mackenzie Reeves.”
I dropped my hand and let out a soft laugh. “What brings you out here to the barn on Christmas night, during a snowstorm, to sing to the animals?”