Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Left shattered by the revelation that his ex-wife only ever loved his money, Barren Rose heads to Rawhide Ranch in search of the Little girl he’s always wanted.
And leaves disappointed yet again.
Until he spots an adorable woman with blonde pigtails broken down on the side of the road. From the moment he lays eyes on sweet Phoebe, he knows she’s the Little girl he’s dreamed of.
Even knowing he’s twenty years older than her isn’t enough to change his mind once he decides to claim Phoebe as his own.
He just has to be sure she wants him for all the right reasons. So he keeps his wealth a secret, determined that this time will be different.
But Barren isn’t the only one with something to hide. And when his and Phoebe’s worlds collide, and the truth of who they both are finally comes to light, the love they’ve found at Rawhide will be put to the ultimate test…
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
PROLOGUE
Smash!
The bottle landed against the wall with a satisfying crash, glass falling on the floor.
Hmm. He should clean that up.
Why? There’s only you here in this huge house.
A house that Barren had spent the last twenty years living in with his wife. Only, she wasn’t his wife anymore. He glanced down at the divorce papers on the coffee table. It was official. They were divorced. He was single.
And that fucking scared him.
Was he going to spend the rest of his life alone? He’d been married to Krystal for twenty years. Did he know how to be on his own anymore?
You’ve been on your own these last ten months since she left you.
Yeah, but a part of him had hoped she would change her mind. That she’d decide that her new, younger man wasn’t right for her and come back to him. He let out a sour laugh. That wasn’t happening. Krystal was gone and his life was falling apart.
Barren glared over toward the front door as someone knocked on it. Who could that be?
Maybe it’s Krystal.
Fuck. What if it was?
He was sitting here on his own, a complete and utter mess. He’d drunk half a bottle of vodka and now moved onto beer. The world definitely tilted as he got to his feet.
Don’t open the door. You can’t let her see you like this. You haven’t showered in days.
Go to her. Beg her to come back to you. You can’t survive on your own.
Fuck.
Opening the door, he stared blurrily at the person standing there. “You’re not Krystal.”
“Nope, I’m not,” replied Eliot grimly. “And you’re a mess. Why didn’t you call me?”
“Was I supposed to?” He didn’t remember that.
Eliot sighed. “Yes, you idiot. When you need me, you’re supposed to call and tell me.”
“I don’t need you.” What was he talking about?
“You don’t?” Eliot asked. “So you’re fine?”
“You got it.” Barren tried to smile, but he wasn’t sure he succeeded. “So, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home with your Littles?” Eliot had two Littles, Isla and Marcus. The lucky bastard. Not that he was jealous or anything.
Sure you aren’t. You’re not jealous over the fact that he has two Littles and you have none.
And now you sound bitter.
Eliot deserved to be happy after losing his wife, Anna. They’d been so in love and Barren hadn’t expected his friend to ever find someone else. Let alone two people to love.
“Because I came here to check on you. Melly called and said that the divorce papers came through. And you’ve stopped answering your phone.”
“Melly should mind her own business. I’m her boss, not her friend.”
“Melly cares about you,” Eliot said firmly. “And I dare you to say that to her face.”
Yeah, he wouldn’t be doing that. Melly scared him. “I told you that I’m fine.” He was getting sick of saying it, if he was honest.
“Walk in a straight line and I’ll believe you.”
Barren spun around to do just that. And found the floor coming toward him. How the hell had the floor moved like that?
Suddenly, Eliot wrapped an arm around him, holding him up.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Yep,” Eliot agreed.
“I’m in a bad way.”
“You are. But I’m here now. Let’s get some coffee into you and then tomorrow we can have a chat about what comes next.”
Fun. Talking was the last thing he wanted to do. Yet he knew Eliot was right. He couldn’t continue to drown his sorrows in vodka and beer.
Something had to change.
“What the hell was I thinking?” Barren moaned the next morning as he sat at the kitchen table. His head was thumping and he felt queasy. The smell of food cooking wasn’t helping. Nor was Eliot’s cheerful whistling. He loved the guy, but he needed to shut up.
Now.
Eliot placed a plate of toast in front of him along with a cup of coffee.
Barren took the coffee gratefully. The toast could wait until he knew it wasn’t going to come back up.
“You’re hurting,” Eliot told him. “I get it. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”
And now he felt like a complete asshole. Because Eliot’s wife had died. She hadn’t left him for a twenty-something nightclub DJ.
God.
How was this his life?
“I’m sorry,” he told Eliot.
“Why?” Eliot sat across from him with his own cup of coffee.
“For acting like an idiot and causing Melly to get so worried that she called you. Did you bring Isla and Marcus?” He hadn’t met Eliot’s new boyfriend and girlfriend. It was still hard to wrap his head around Eliot being with a man and a woman.
Two Littles.
Lucky bastard.
“Nope. They’re back home.”
“You left them alone?” He raised his eyebrows. He couldn’t imagine ever leaving his Little alone. He had the feeling he’d be so possessive and overprotective that they’d rarely be allowed out of his gaze.
And you’d probably cause them to run from you. Just like Krystal.