Dinner was a Bust - Chapter 25

The sun was setting and twilight was beginning to descend, painting the sky in vivid hues of violet, blue, and deepest red. It had been a pleasant drive along state highway 236, but James’s nerves were rising once again to the surface like a block of wood after a brief submersion in a stream. As they traveled almost directly west out among farmland and woods, their destination loomed. Eliza flipped the turn signal and pulled off into the mile-long driveway. There were horse pastures on both sides, and even a small lake off in the distance.

“Uh . . . is all this land your parents’?” James asked in bewilderment.

“Yeah.” She grinned. “Just another secret revealed.”

He took in the vast entirety of the estate. “How much land?”

Eliza shrugged. “I dunno, at least a thousand acres.”

“And all these horses are yours?”

“Mm-hmm.” She smiled at him as if the keeper of a secret. “I’m taking you riding tomorrow.”

James snorted. “What if I had told you I didn’t know how?”

“Then you’ll learn o