of settling, Zoe? How long distance is long distance?” There was no humor in his tone, none of the warmth that had been there before.
“Well I was thinking of New York, but Washington is still an option too. I don’t know yet. I’ll do a little more research while I’m here.”
He nodded. “Research is good. You might change your mind about your options.”
She shrugged. “I might. There’s always California, but I don’t really think I want to go there. I don’t know. There are a lot of states, but not all of them will be good for business.” She shrugged again and continued to rinse him off in silence. He was lost in thought and so was she. She had a lot to think about.
Before, New York seemed like a great place to get started, but then Washington was a state that was free of state taxes so at least she wouldn’t have to worry about state taxes. New York was heavy on the taxes, especially in the city,
“You’re drifting,” he said after some measure of silence. She figured he was silent because he knew the words he wanted to utter could be taken negatively. She would admit she was hurt. But he was right.
“You have to find steady ground at some point; preferably sooner.”
“I know,” she huffed. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’m lost, Dean. I lost a lot within a short time span and I wasn’t prepared for that. I’m trying to find my way, okay? I know what I want I just don’t necessarily know the best way to make it a reality.” Everything she thought might work always turned out to be a dead end.
The reality show was going to be her ticket because she knew if she got in she could make it work, she could win that thing, or at least get close enough to the finish line to have it make a difference. Starting her own shop with that show on her portfolio would be a great business public relations builder. But then she got lost, then she had that accident and then she had to figure out what the backup plan was. There was no backup plan because that was the backup plan. She never thought she would be out of the kitchen. She had been working for as long as she could remember, yet after the Enrique issue she hadn’t been able to get another job in the Keys. She lost her condo because the owner decided to sell. Her boyfriend married her mother, and she just felt alone and lost. The only backup plan she had for the disaster that had become her life was that reality show. She didn’t have a backup for the backup.
“So stay here and figure it out.”
44
A Rancher’s Love ~ Capri Montgomery
“I can’t stay here forever. Like you said, I’m drifting and I need to find steady ground.” She shrugged. “We should get out of these wet clothes and head back to the house.”
“Go on in,” he gestured to the shed. “There are two robes in there. Neither has been worn yet.”
“Okay, thanks.” She left him outside while she went in to strip off her wet clothes and change into something dry. She didn’t realize how difficult getting wet clothes off could be. Those clothes were clinging to her body as if they wanted to become a permanent part of her body. Eventually she managed to get everything off, feeling a little cold from the combination of being naked and wet. She felt vulnerable. She felt lost.
Dean stood outside the shed waiting for Zoe to finish. His thoughts were going from one topic to the next, but all of those topics involved Zoe. He shouldn’t have said anything, but he had. He was angry that she still wanted to leave him. When he told her he loved her he wasn’t implying that they should figure things out. He already knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to make her a part of his family, a part of his home. Hearing her talk about leaving just reminded him that she would soon be gone again, to a place where he wouldn’t know how to contact her if her cell phone had trouble again. She would be lost to him, and that thought had his heart beating double time. He needed to be with
“Well I was thinking of New York, but Washington is still an option too. I don’t know yet. I’ll do a little more research while I’m here.”
He nodded. “Research is good. You might change your mind about your options.”
She shrugged. “I might. There’s always California, but I don’t really think I want to go there. I don’t know. There are a lot of states, but not all of them will be good for business.” She shrugged again and continued to rinse him off in silence. He was lost in thought and so was she. She had a lot to think about.
Before, New York seemed like a great place to get started, but then Washington was a state that was free of state taxes so at least she wouldn’t have to worry about state taxes. New York was heavy on the taxes, especially in the city,
“You’re drifting,” he said after some measure of silence. She figured he was silent because he knew the words he wanted to utter could be taken negatively. She would admit she was hurt. But he was right.
“You have to find steady ground at some point; preferably sooner.”
“I know,” she huffed. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’m lost, Dean. I lost a lot within a short time span and I wasn’t prepared for that. I’m trying to find my way, okay? I know what I want I just don’t necessarily know the best way to make it a reality.” Everything she thought might work always turned out to be a dead end.
The reality show was going to be her ticket because she knew if she got in she could make it work, she could win that thing, or at least get close enough to the finish line to have it make a difference. Starting her own shop with that show on her portfolio would be a great business public relations builder. But then she got lost, then she had that accident and then she had to figure out what the backup plan was. There was no backup plan because that was the backup plan. She never thought she would be out of the kitchen. She had been working for as long as she could remember, yet after the Enrique issue she hadn’t been able to get another job in the Keys. She lost her condo because the owner decided to sell. Her boyfriend married her mother, and she just felt alone and lost. The only backup plan she had for the disaster that had become her life was that reality show. She didn’t have a backup for the backup.
“So stay here and figure it out.”
44
A Rancher’s Love ~ Capri Montgomery
“I can’t stay here forever. Like you said, I’m drifting and I need to find steady ground.” She shrugged. “We should get out of these wet clothes and head back to the house.”
“Go on in,” he gestured to the shed. “There are two robes in there. Neither has been worn yet.”
“Okay, thanks.” She left him outside while she went in to strip off her wet clothes and change into something dry. She didn’t realize how difficult getting wet clothes off could be. Those clothes were clinging to her body as if they wanted to become a permanent part of her body. Eventually she managed to get everything off, feeling a little cold from the combination of being naked and wet. She felt vulnerable. She felt lost.
Dean stood outside the shed waiting for Zoe to finish. His thoughts were going from one topic to the next, but all of those topics involved Zoe. He shouldn’t have said anything, but he had. He was angry that she still wanted to leave him. When he told her he loved her he wasn’t implying that they should figure things out. He already knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to make her a part of his family, a part of his home. Hearing her talk about leaving just reminded him that she would soon be gone again, to a place where he wouldn’t know how to contact her if her cell phone had trouble again. She would be lost to him, and that thought had his heart beating double time. He needed to be with
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