Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
He tilted his head toward a quaint arched doorway that was directly across from the front door. “That takes you right into the living room.”
Ready to see more, I walked into the next part of the house. The overstuffed green sofa was the only seating in the room and sat against the far-right wall, just underneath the windows. A coffee table and a twenty-inch television that was on top of what I think used to be the bottom half of a vanity table were the only other pieces of furniture in the room. The rug in the center of the room covered most of the hardwood.
“Rug is new. Maeme had me bring it over this morning. The hardwood gets fucking cold in the winter. The house doesn’t sit on a concrete slab, so the cold air blowing under the house can freeze your feet when the temps drop.”
I figured King was exaggerating, but I appreciated the fluffy blue rug nonetheless.
Just like with the arched doorway, there was another one directly lined up with the front door. If you stood at the front door in the kitchen, you’d be able to look right through to the back door of the house. King motioned for me to continue on as he picked up my suitcase and started that way.
It led right into the bedroom. A white iron-framed queen-size bed with a chenille coverlet—which had pink, blue, and yellow daisies on it—was in the middle of the room under two windows that overlooked miles of green grass, a building out in the far distance, and horses. There were several horses. I walked over to the windows to see the horse closest to me in a round pen with a man out there with him. They seemed to be circling each other. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. The dark brown horse was huge.
“That’s the ranch. Shephard Ranch, to be exact. Thatcher’s family owns it. You’ll see them out there, working with the horses, pretty regularly,” King informed me.
“The horse is gorgeous.”
King chuckled. “Thoroughbreds are beautiful creatures.”
I studied the rest of the room. In the far-right corner sat a claw-foot tub with a showerhead and a curtain that wrapped all the way around it. A pedestal sink and white wicker shelves for bathroom supplies were to its left. Thankfully, there was a closed-off corner with an actual door that held the toilet. The idea of using the bathroom in my bedroom, even if no one else lived with me, would have been odd. Another window air-conditioning unit was in the bottom half of the window that looked into the backyard.
The other side of the room had a white dresser with three drawers.
King walked over and opened a small closet on the opposite side of it.
“This won’t fit much, but you have the extra rack space there.” He nodded toward the clothing rack that stood beside it. On each side of the bed were round tables. One held a lamp, and the other was just the right size for a book to sit and maybe a glass of water at night.
The back door to the house was on the other side of the clothing rack. King unbolted the lock and swung it open.
“Wood is right there,” he said, then stepped back for me to look out.
There was a concrete stoop with three steps, and to the right sat the small shed that held the wood. Behind the house were more lines of pecan trees, then a wooden fence stopped them about one hundred yards away. More of the Shephard Ranch, I assumed.
“You think you can be happy here?” King asked me.
I looked out over the property. It was stunning. I would be tucked away in my own little haven.
“I love everything about it,” I said, feeling so many emotions that it was almost overwhelming.
“Good. I’ll go get the rest of your groceries,” King replied behind me.
I listened as he walked back through the house and took another deep breath of the fresh air before stepping back inside and closing the door. I looked at the bolt, and although I felt like I was safe out here, I wouldn’t be leaving the doors open for the breeze. I locked the door back up firmly, then headed back to the kitchen.
King brought in two more bags and was heading back to his truck. He couldn’t be getting more. I’d given Maeme a very short list of necessities. They would have fit in one bag. The eighty dollars I had left with the list wouldn’t have covered three bags full of groceries.
Opening the first bag, I looked inside to see the blueberries that I had put on my list, along with apples, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and grapes, which had not been on my list. All this fruit alone would have cost almost eighty dollars. Frowning, I turned to the next bag to find my egg whites and wheat bread I had put on the list, along with a dozen eggs that I hadn’t.