Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
“Wow.” She glances back at Alfie. “That’s brave.”
“It would be brave if he tried it on Peanut or Butter. Jelly is just as silly as Alfie, so they’re a fun pair.”
“I like their names.”
“Thanks. I guess I was hungry when I picked them up.” I walk her to Jelly’s stall.
He comes over, his nose working overtime as he sniffs her. “Jelly, this is Roxanne.”
“He’s so big.” She looks up at him, her eyes going round. “Can I–”
“Of course. He won’t bite.”
She lifts her hand, but she doesn’t move any closer. “I don’t know …”
“May I?” I take her hand, the feel of her skin so soft against mine. “We’ll go slow.”
She stiffens for only a second, then relaxes as I move her hand toward Jelly’s snout. “He’s not scared?”
“No. He’d have his ears back if he was apprehensive. He’s as unconcerned as he can be.” I press her palm against his snout.
He steps closer, leaning into her touch. I don’t blame him. I do the same, cradling her hand in mine even though I could’ve already let go.
“This is wonderful.” She beams as she strokes his snout, her hand still in mine.
“I’m glad you think so.”
Butter nickers, and Peanut paws as the ground in her stall.
Roxanne looks at me questioningly.
“They’re just jealous.” I shrug.
Alfie jumps up and prances along the front of the stall, trying to get her attention.
“And they’re not the only ones.” I pop his hind quarters lightly, and he twitches his tail.
She pulls her hand away.
I should let go. Now I’m just standing with her, holding her hand.
She looks up at me, pink coloring her cheeks, but she doesn’t pull away. Fuck, why does that one simple thing strike me as nothing short of life-changing? I don’t know, but I don’t want it to stop.
After another few moments, she clears her throat and steps back, taking her warmth with her. “What about the rest of the place?” She looks around, her eyes shrewd.
“Want to see the house?”
“I’d love to,” she answers quickly. “I mean, um, sure. Yes.”
“Okay.” I walk at her elbow, watching her from the corner of my eye. She watches me right back. It heats my blood, making me think all sorts of things that are entirely out of place for two people who just met.
Then again, I’ve never met anyone like Roxanne.
9
MAGGIE
I try to take in as many details as I can as I go through each room in Owen’s house. He doesn’t try to rush or stop me. He and Alfie trot behind me, letting me do what I want. I would make a really terrible spy, but who in their right mind would think I’m a spy? Because I’m not. I shouldn't be here at all, but I can’t help myself. I never can. I can try and fight the things that pull at me, but I always lose. Sometimes I wonder why I even waste my time fighting.
Everything is clean and perfectly placed. It gives me a calm feeling. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that a room is, however, missing. The scan we did over Owen’s showed there should be something between this living room wall and kitchen. At a glance you’d miss it with the hallway and think there might be a pantry in the kitchen, but there isn’t. Something is off, and it’s driving me nuts. My eyes linger on a bookshelf in his living room. I run my fingers along it.
“Do you enjoy reading?”
“When I have the time.”
“And when is that?” Did Owen ever tell me what he did for a living? Is he a farmer? I pull out one of the books. It’s about agriculture. I slide it back between two other books that have the same color binding. I pull a few others out and replace them the way I want them as well.
“This place can be a lot to take care of alone.”
“Hmm.” I agree as I keep going. “There.” I step back from the bookcase. All the books are put back so the bindings match from size to color. For some reason, this brings me great pleasure.
“Feel better?” I spin around to see Owen leaning up against the far wall, merely watching me.
“Sorry, I ah—” How long have I been reorganizing his books? “That was rude.” I shift on my feet. “Right?” I know I wouldn't care for the idea of people moving things around in my home.
“It looks better. I shove books in there at random.”
I nod, relaxing. The whole point of inspecting the bookcase wasn’t to organize it but to see if there was possibly something behind it. But once I got started and realized it was a dead end, I couldn’t help but put them back in some sort of order.
To be honest, I was hoping it was one of those super cool bookcases where you pull the book back and a magic door pops open. I’ve always wanted one of those. Sounds badass. I bet Ocean could build me one. That girl can do anything with her hands.