Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 25071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“I’ve got your phone,” Duke said as he walked into the room. “I heard it beeping in the living room. Looks like you’ve got some messages.”
She held out her hand, but he shook his head. “I don’t think you should be looking at a screen right now.”
“But I don’t have a concussion.”
“Still. Might be better to stay off your phone for a few hours. Most of these are on the group chat from the girls wanting to make sure you’re all right.”
“What? How do they know what happened already?”
“Hack was at Ink’s place when I called him.”
“Sugar. Can you text them all that I’m okay and will call them tomorrow?”
“Yep.” He frowned as he glanced at her phone. “You got a call from an unknown number earlier? Who was that?”
She groaned, and he gave her an alarmed look. She waved her hand at him. “That wasn’t a groan of pain. Well, not physical pain anyway. The call was from my mother.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What did Serenity want?”
“Well, she wasn’t calling to RSVP anyway,” she said bitterly. “She didn’t even know I was engaged. In fact, she thought I was still married to Jeff.”
“Jeff?” he asked, looking puzzled.
“Doesn’t matter. Long story short, she had no idea about the wedding and she doesn’t care. Oh, but their RV broke down and got towed and impounded. And she needs about fifteen hundred bucks to free it and who knows how much more to fix it or they’re coming to live with us.”
“Like fuck they are!” he snapped.
She winced.
“Shit, sorry, baby girl.” Contrition filled his face. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, just a bit of a headache. The painkillers will help soon.”
“So that’s why you wanted to sell the bike.” He sat on the bed beside her, placing her phone on the nightstand. “For money to give your parents?”
“Yeah. I didn’t have anything else to sell that might give me that sort of cash.”
“Sunny,” he groaned. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“I was going to tell you as soon as you got home. I promise.”
“Baby, you don’t need to sell your bike. We have an emergency fund.”
“Which is for emergencies.”
“If the threat of having your parents move in with us isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is,” he muttered.
“Yeah, total catastrophe.”
He smiled down at her, brushing a finger over her cheek. “Baby girl, this isn’t something for you to take on yourself. We’re in this together.”
“I know. I really was going to tell you. But I thought if I had a solution, it might help. Selling the bike would solve everything. Only I fucked that up.”
“Hey.” He frowned at her. “I don’t like you talking like that.”
“I didn’t say I was the fuck up. Just that I messed up.”
“First of all, you need to watch your language.”
“You said fuck,” she protested.
“Extenuating circumstances. Also, you didn’t mess anything up.”
“The bike isn’t scratched?”
He sighed. “Yeah, it is. But you don’t need to worry about that. We’re going to use the emergency money.”
“What about the cost of fixing the RV?”
“Let’s worry about that later, okay? I’ll get Razor to fix the scratch on your bike.”
“But what’s the point in keeping the bike if I’m not ever going to ride it?”
He sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that. I think I might have been a touch short-sighted.”
“You?” she gasped theatrically. “Never.”
“Watch it, brat. You’re still in trouble for getting on the bike and starting it without me being here. And without a helmet on. You could have given yourself a concussion.”
“But I wasn’t expecting it to move!”
“Doesn’t matter. Safety first. That’s one punishment.”
Uh-oh.
“You’re going to spank me, Daddy?”
“You should know better than to get on a bike and start it without your helmet, so yes. You’re getting a spanking once you’re completely healed. Like Hack said, I might have to start keeping a notebook for once you’re feeling better.”
“You know, I never liked that Hack. Always thought he was filled with jibber-jabber.”
“Jibber-jabber, huh? That’s a new one. And I liked his idea of a notebook. I have a feeling there’s going to be a few spankings earned over this next week.”
“But, Daddy, I’m a good girl.”
“Course you are. But good girls still break the rules.”
“I’ve kind of gone all gooey inside. Of course, that could just be the painkillers. Or hunger.”
“You’re hungry?”
“Not really.”
“You still need to eat. I’ll order some Chinese. Now, where were we?”
“Your short-sightedness toward me riding my bike. And also, toward forgiving punishments earned.”
He just shot her a look.
Right. Might be time for her to be quiet now.
“Maybe I should have taught you to ride that bike. If I had, then this never would have happened. But I didn’t want you to ride it, because I was worried about you getting hurt. And because the Fox bought it for you.”
“Duke, you know the Fox is just a friend, right? He’s like that weird uncle that you dread inviting to your birthday party because you know he’s going to say something outrageous and insult everyone.”