Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Yeah, he wasn’t so sure about that.
“Clint, she cried.”
“Trying to get your sympathy?” Hmm, that didn’t sound like Charlotte.
“No. There were no pleas. She didn’t say anything. I had turned away to get the phone, and when I turned back, she had her legs tucked up into her chest and tears running down her cheeks.”
“Do you think she finally realized what could have happened and it upset her?” Clint asked.
“I don’t think that was it. Clint, I think she was upset because she feels like she’s let you down and that you might start to think she’s too much trouble.”
Clint swore viciously. “Fuck. And you think I don’t need to come back? Are you taking her to Archer?”
“No, she begged me not to.”
“Kent, don’t go getting soft now.”
“Look, I’ll take her if she continues to feel upset. But I don’t think you should come back. It will just reinforce this idea she has that she’s causing you trouble. She’d feel guilty.”
“Shit.” What he said made sense even if Clint didn’t like it.
“Also, I think it would undermine my authority. You’re going to go away again and she needs to learn to obey me. And she needs to know that I will enforce the rules. I think she believed I was a pushover.”
“You are a pushover,” Clint said. “I want to talk to her.”
He needed to hear her voice. He also wanted to reassure her that she was the most important thing in his life. A traumatic childhood with her bitch aunt, followed by a verbally abusive relationship had wreaked havoc with her self-esteem. She couldn’t sleep without a night light, and even then, she was an incredibly light sleeper, something that had gotten worse when she’d been forced to live in her car after her asshole ex kicked her out with nothing.
But her nightmares had been getting fewer, her sleep had been improving. She’d also gained some much-needed weight under his watchful care.
Damn it, it had been too soon to leave her. But he knew that Kent was right. If he returned now, she might take it badly.
“Clint?” a soft voice spoke through the phone.
Clint let out a breath as he heard her voice. The knot in his stomach unraveled. What would he do if he ever lost her?
“Little darling, are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said hesitantly. “I’m really sorry. I am. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry to be such a bother.” Her voice hitched on that last word and he ran a hand over his face worriedly. He’d really thought they were past this. He should have known better. You couldn’t unravel years of feeling rejected and worthless in a few months.
“Baby girl, you are not a bother. Hear me? I am not upset with you.”
“You’re not?” she asked, sounding unsure.
He sighed. “I worded that wrong. I’m not upset because I think you’re a nuisance. You could never be that. I love you. I want you to be safe. I’m upset because you put your safety at risk. If Jed hadn’t found you, then you could still be out in the dark and cold on your own. That makes me feel sick to my stomach with fear.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I don’t make rules for your safety because I want to be mean. Or for the fun of it. They’re there for a reason.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then you also know that when I get home, you and I are going to have a big talk, right?”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded small, almost childlike. He wondered if Kent had left her alone to talk to him. Probably. She didn’t like showing her Little side to anyone else. He’d been so busy that he hadn’t spent as much time with Charlotte as he would like. That needed to change. Because they both needed more time together.
“But nothing you do will ever make me let you go. You are mine. No matter what. Got that?” They weren’t the most eloquent of words. He was a rancher, not a damn poet. But he meant them.
“I love you too. I really am sorry.”
“I know, little darling. No doubt you’ll be even more sorry after a session with the paddle.”
He heard her gasp. Yeah, he thought that would get her attention. He hoped she’d be too focused on the idea of being paddled to get in any further strife.
“Not a paddling! I don’t want one.”
He could just picture the cute pout on her face as she spoke. “Then you should have taken more care with your safety, baby.”
“But Kent is already punishing me. I’m grounded. I’m not allowed to leave the house without him. I have to go to work with him.”
“That all seems fair,” he told her.
“But-but how is it fair to get punished twice!”
“That’s Kent’s punishment. But you’re mine and those are my rules you broke, which is why I’ll deal with you breaking them when I get home. You scared us both, baby girl. I’d be lost without you.”