Faithful: Age Gap Small Town Romance (Whiskey Run Book 1) Hope Ford (the gingerbread man read aloud .txt) 📖

Austin

“What was that?” I ask her. I knew the minute I saw her exactly what she was thinking. If I was anywhere else, I’d take her over my knee right now.

She lifts her chin. “What was what?”

I thread my hand through her hair and hold on to the nape of her neck. “What were you thinking when I walked in with my sister?”

She looks back at me stubbornly. “You don’t want to know what I was thinking.”

“Yes, I do.”

She tries to pull from my arms, but I’m stronger, and she doesn’t get far. I edge my leg between hers and cage her in between my arms. “No, let’s get this out in the open so we can put it behind us.”

“Fine. I saw you hugging your sister in the parking lot. I thought, well, you were together.”

Well, fuck. “Obviously, I’m doing something wrong here.”

She shakes her head. “No, this is not on you. This is all me. I’m the one with all the insecurities. I know what kind of man you are, and I should never had let my head go that way.”

Her voice is so sad, I know she regrets it. I swear if that Mike was still in town, I’d whoop his ass again.

I bring her over to the couch and sit down, pulling her into my lap. When she’s completely settled with my arms around her, I look into her eyes.

“Millie, I love you.”

It’s the first time I’ve said the words, but I mean them. I’ve probably loved her since the day she came to the ranch when I was hurt. “I only want you, sugar. I can’t even imagine looking at another woman. It’s you. You’re the one. I promise that I will always be faithful to you. Nothing will ever come between us.”

“You love me?”

I laugh. “Yes.”

“I love you too, Austin. So much.”

I lean in and seal my lips to hers. My sister will just have to wait.

Epilogue

Violet

Standing at the counter of my diner, I look around with pride. Besides how busy the restaurant is, I’ve actually made quite a difference in some of the patrons’ lives. I’ve never seen Millie so happy, and I’ve known her almost her whole life. She’s still young and deserves happiness more than anyone I know. She’s having dinner with Austin and his sister, and I could watch them all night. The protective way that Austin looks at her is stuff that dreams are made of. I don’t know if I’m the reason that Austin and Millie met and got together, but I like to think so. If I hadn’t told him she worked there would he have stopped and talked to her that day or bypassed her office, not even knowing she was there? I like to think I’ve done something to help make my friend happy.

“Excuse me, are you Violet Jennings?”

A young woman walked up to the counter while I was daydreaming. She’s timid and obviously shy. Her clothes are clean, but she looks so frail, I instantly want to fix her something to eat. She has a large bag over her shoulder and it looks like it weighs more than she does. “Yeah, I’m Violet.”

“Hi. I’m Heather Bates. I went to the Sugar Glaze Bakery to apply for a job, but they weren’t hiring. They suggested I come here.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’m not hiring, but something stops me. “Well, Heather, it’s nice to meet you. Have a seat. What can I get you to eat?”

She looks taken back. “Oh, I’m not going to eat.”

From the look on her face, I know exactly why she’s not going to eat. I’ve seen it before. There have been many people come through Whiskey Run, and if they don’t have any ties here, then they’re here because they’re running from something. I’ve never seen Heather before, so all I can assume is she’s definitely running.

“I’ll be running around, and it will actually make me feel less guilty during our talk if you are eating than just sitting here waiting on me. What about a burger and fries?” I don’t wait for her to answer, instead I ask her, “You want everything on it?”

She looks like a deer caught in the headlights. “Uh, no onion.”

“I got it. And a milkshake too? You like strawberry?”

She nods, and I walk away to put her order in. I’m talking to Eddie and watching the restaurant. Heather is looking around, and I see her gaze stop on something a few feet away. I follow her gaze and see she’s looking at Brett Barrett. At that exact instant, Brett looks at the counter and sees Heather. For just a second, I can see the chemistry sizzle between them, but just as quickly it fades when Heather whips her chair around and puts her head down as she picks at the napkin in front of her.

I join her again and am wiping down the counter as we talk. “So what are you doing in Whiskey Run?”

There’s fear in her eyes. “I’m looking for somewhere... to live. I needed to move, and I ended up here.”

“What kind of experience do you have?”

She shakes her head. “Not any. I wasn’t allowed... I never had a job before, but I’m a fast learner and a hard worker.”

Brett gets up from his booth, and there’s no doubt he’s heard our conversation by the way he’s looking at the small woman in front of me.

He hands me his check card. “How you doing tonight, Brett?”

“Good,” he grunts, and when he does, the woman jerks and wraps her arms around her middle.

Brett and I both notice it, and Brett’s face turns hard. That’s one thing about Brett Barrett: he’s a good man. He doesn’t talk to a