Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“Yes, you are,” Harlow said very solemnly. “We’ll all be there to witness it too, so if you ever decide you want to kick him out, it isn’t going to happen. We won’t let you.”
“Nope,” Vienna agreed. “We’re going to remind you how hot and dreamy he is.”
“We’ll get you drunk,” Zahra said. “That’s all it would take for you to be all over him.”
Stella laughed. “Sam isn’t the type of man to let me get so upset with him that I’d want to kick him out, but thanks for wanting to support us in our marriage. That’s why I love all of you so much. I know you’ll stick by us. You let Sam be part of us, and that means so much to me.”
“We love Sam, Stella,” Shabina reassured. “He wormed his way into our affections very early on. He’s a man of few words, but he’s someone we know we can always count on.”
Vienna realized that was true. Sam had a quiet strength about him. He didn’t talk much, in fact sometimes he went hours without saying a word, but he was a man of action. If something needed doing, he just did it without any fanfare. He didn’t wait to see if anyone was paying attention. He didn’t want accolades. He just got the job done. That was Sam. And he always watched over them.
“Most importantly,” Raine contributed, “he loves animals. Especially dogs.”
“Hey,” Vienna protested. “He loves cats too.”
“He used to love cats,” Zahra corrected. “Until your haughty high-and-mighty Princess raked all the skin from his arms when he had to rescue her out of the tree she was clinging to after she escaped the leash on one of your nonsense walks.”
Vienna groaned and threw herself sideways, lying down on the groundsheet to look up at the stars. That had been a terrible day. Princess had refused to walk on the leash. Vienna was trying to train her by taking her out daily. She allowed Princess to lead and sort of ambled around while she followed behind, keeping the leash loose, but the Persian cat despised the entire idea and wasn’t in the least bit shy about letting Vienna know. The cat had persisted in lying down and when Vienna would go to pick her up in surrender, Princess would hiss her displeasure and show her claws and teeth.
“Don’t remind me. And the walks weren’t nonsense. I read all about training the cat to enjoy walks with their person. I thought if I could get her to like that, she could be outdoors a bit. Cats are supposed to want to be outdoors. She was deeply offended every time I took her outside.”
“Your cat is not normal, Vienna,” Shabina said. “You know I love you, but it has to be said. Princess is a devil cat. She’s of the devil.”
Harlow nodded her agreement. “At least a demon.”
“Sadly, I have to agree,” Raine said. “Her eyes even glow red, and she takes on a demonic appearance when a dog gets into the house. She chased poor Daisy around the house until Daisy nearly died from exhaustion and fright. She’s a Jack Russell, for heaven’s sake. Nothing can wear out a Jack Russell.”
“With the exception of my naughty little Persian cat.” Vienna sounded more proud than embarrassed.
“You weren’t thinking she was so great when she bolted up the tree and then clung to the peeling bark and cried pitifully,” Stella pointed out.
“Who you gonna call?” the women shouted out in perfect harmony.
“Sam Rossi!” they all answered together.
“Poor Sam,” Stella said. “It’s a wonder he even wants to stick around. He came right away and got torn up like you wouldn’t believe. Even his manly chest.”
There was a collective groan.
“That’s it, Stella,” Vienna said. “Go to bed. We have to break camp super early and hike our butts off tomorrow. It’s going to be a long, hot day. Just sleep and don’t dream about punching bears.”
Stella looked a little embarrassed. “He wanted our campsite, and I wasn’t going to let him have it,” she muttered as she stood.
All of them laughed. “You weren’t alone,” Raine pointed out. “Everyone joined in. It was a regular MMA fight against the nonexistent bear.”
* * *
• • •
The second day the women expected to hike around nine miles. Quite a lot of the trail, with switchbacks going up steep, was exposed rock. The highlights were the breathtaking views of the river on one side. It was far hotter than expected this time of year, and they encountered only one other group of hikers heading back toward White Wolf Trailhead in the first two hours.
The little family stopped to talk to them. The father was worried because they had left their car on the side of the road without a permit and hiked in the evening before. They were hurrying back down to the beginning of the trail in order to make sure their car wasn’t towed. Vienna didn’t point out it was clear he knew he wasn’t supposed to park there without a permit and more than likely the car was gone.