Operation: Chosen (Wayside Ranch Book 3) by Kari Trumbo

Author:Kari Trumbo [Trumbo, Kari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inked in Faith Publications LLC
Published: 2023-08-17T16:00:00+00:00

With one kiss, the floodgate of memory opened wide. All the things Eric had been trying to forget came back in one powerful, clarifying instant. Good and bad. Ali was composed of both, but he’d loved every part of her. She was both the overachiever and the scared teen looking for a safe place to land.

He’d wanted to give her that place. He’d sensed without knowing the particulars that her home life wasn’t great. She’d never talked about it and had always hated going home in the evening. She’d stayed out as late as possible every night, holding on for seconds past when she should’ve been rushing in the door.

At first, he’d fooled himself into thinking she just wanted to spend those minutes with him. She had, but that wasn’t the root of what had been going on. She wouldn’t talk, and he’d never pushed. Caregiving was never a natural tendency for him, and she’d made it clear that the home part of her life was off-limits. Now she’d mentioned her uncle and how awful he’d been. If only he’d known that then. He might have tried harder to be the support she’d needed, even though that concept would’ve been very new to him.

For her, he’d have learned. But they had both been too young to ever think that far ahead.

They both settled in close to each other and ate, talking through the past even though they’d agreed not to look back. By stating that he didn’t hold it against her, it opened her up. And him, to be honest. He’d have to thank Dr. Willis next time he went into the clinic.

They finished, and Ali gathered the plates off the table and headed for his sink. He’d joked that it was about the size of a gallon of ice cream. Washing anything larger than an eight-ounce cup was a trial. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll manage,” he said.

She glanced over her shoulder and raised a brow. “And how are you going to do that without getting your cast wet? It’s like ten dishes. I can manage.” She rolled up her sleeves and went to work.

He sat on the sofa and let his head fall back against it. Today had been a test for him in more ways than just the dishes. Asking Terrell to take on so much when he wasn’t used to being asked to do any of it had been stressful on both of them. But, true to his promise, Terrell had come through in every way. He’d even learned how to muck out a stall or ten—and claimed he didn’t even mind it. If he’d been lying, Eric didn’t want to know.

Eric heard the dishes clinking together and then the sound of metal pans being washed. Ali would be done shortly, and then he wasn’t sure what to do. Kissing was supposed to come at the end of a date, but they’d never done anything according to order or a proper plan. But how did he

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