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4
LEIGHTON MITCHELL
I can’t believe that River Winfrey is giving me a tour of his ranch. His home. And he’s about to show me to my bedroom.
My. Bedroom.
Where I’ll be sleeping.
In. His. House.
Shit.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, but I think my employment with River is going to be great for all three of us. It just feels right.
I follow River down the hallway to my bedroom and I’m surprised by how normal and homey his residence feels. Not at all the huge, ridiculous, formal mansion that I had pictured in my head. And I’m glad; this place feels… real.
“Did you grow up around here?”
“I did, about ten miles from here. And that’s where my parents still live.”
“I think it’s wonderful that Scarlett’s grandparents are nearby. She’ll have the opportunity to be close to them as she grows up. What about your sister?”
“She lives about twenty-five miles away. Claudia and Bram are about five miles. And Owen and Ashlyn are just down the road.”
“What do they think of you and your superstardom?”
“My family is proud of me, but I strongly suspect that they would respect me more if I quit singing and stayed here to run this ranch instead of hiring ranch hands to do it for me.”
I wasn’t under the impression that River’s family cared much about money and now I have the proof. “But you have no intention of ever leaving the music industry for ranching?”
“No. It’s not my calling.”
“You never know. I thought I’d be a nurse for the rest of my life, and look at me now. I’m twenty-seven and beginning my second career.”
“If I ever made the decision to stop performing, I’d become a songwriter.”
“Do you write your own songs?”
“I write thegoodones.” River Winfrey can be funny when he wants to be.
“Did you write ‘Everything I Need’?”
“I did. Do you like it?”
The lyrics to ‘Everything I Need’ explain the way a husband should feel about his wife in the most simplified way. He shouldn’t be out looking for anything in other women.
“It’s my favorite song. Period.”
River grins. “So you’re a fan?”
I look away because I feel warmth growing in my cheeks. “I am a fan.”
And admirer.
“Did you write ‘Everything I Need’ about Scarlett’s mother?”
“No. The song’s about a woman I dreamed up in my mind when I imagined what I’d want in a wife.”
