Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“So you’re going to ask him?” I wondered. “Just straight up?”
She smiled. “No. But I will worm my way in there.”
I grinned, leaning sideways to drape myself against the support pole. “Sheriff Graydon is going to be a problem.”
As in, a major problem.
I had a feeling I was about to see that problem in the very near future.
Once he knew that I was out, he wouldn’t waste time in making his way to my place, trying to throw his weight around and act like he was an actual sheriff.
“Sheriff Graydon needs to get a fuckin’ clue.”
I tipped my head back and stared at my daughter who’d uttered those words.
I grinned and held out my hand. “What are you doing up so early?”
“Heard a man talking.” She winced. “Wanted to see who it was. I forgot you got out last night.”
I smiled when she snuggled close, practically shoving herself into my body as close as she could possibly get. “You sleep good?”
She’d been a rough sleeper ever since the incident. A few years ago, we’d had to start her on a low dose of a sleep med that could help her sleep.
“Actually,” she breathed deeply, then blew it out slow. “I slept great. I forgot my med and everything.”
I wanted to say it was because I was finally out, that she finally got to sleep at night knowing she was safe now that I was able to get to her. But what the most likely culprit was her being tired as hell from the how-many-ever-hour drive she had to do yesterday.
Another shuffle from the door had me turning to look and I smiled at my sister’s mini-me.
“Bowie.” I grinned. “You’re up early.”
“Y’all talk really loud,” he explained.
I chuckled and moved over more so that he could squeeze into the spot left by Danyetta and Lolo.
He snuggled deep, then surprised me by leaning on me and my arm around Lolo rather than Danyetta.
I lifted my hand and placed it around the boy’s shoulders.
I hated that I missed out on so much of his life, too.
“I see that Tex got to make his rounds after all,” Bowie surmised.
I looked up to find a pig ear in Tex’s mouth.
“That’s why he’s so fat, isn’t it?” I asked curiously.
“That’s why he’s so fat,” all three of them confirmed at the same time.
I threw my head back and laughed.
It was only after the kids were back inside, getting ready for school, that I looked over at my baby sister.
“How are you really doing, sis?” I asked.
She sighed. “I’m making it. It would be really nice if I had help at the restaurant, though.”
She batted her eyelashes at me for added effect.
I snorted. “You know that I won’t. I hate going over there. It’s loud and obnoxious, and your food, though to die for, tears my stomach up.”
Or, it had years ago.
Fried anything was really confusing for my stomach after having my gall bladder out fifteen years ago.
And, sadly, DJ’s didn’t have a goddamn thing on their menu that wasn’t fried in some way.
Perfect for vacation goers. Not so good for people that lived here and had to try to maintain a somewhat healthy lifestyle.
“Hey, speaking of,” I said, completely changing the subject. “Do you know a girl named Dutch Panchek?”
My sister blinked. “It sounds familiar. Why?”
I licked my lips.
Then shrugged, going for it.
“Feel her out for me,” I said as I lifted my body off the porch step and turned to look at her. “If you feel like she’s sincere I want you to bring her here. I want to see her.”
“Some chick is not going to want to come see you just because you look cute.” My sister groaned.
Me looking cute had nothing to do with why I was bringing her over.
Her wanting to know how to kill a man, and me giving her the information, had everything to do with it.
Yet, my sister didn’t need to know that detail.
“If you do this for me, I’ll help you find someone at work. Someone you can actually trust to leave it with them for more than a few hours,” I offered.
She was up and off the porch steps so fast that I blinked.
“You promise?”
Okay, so she really needed help.
“I promise,” I said. “I’ll start looking now. Got a buddy of mine that does a little side work with cyber space to do some digging. We’ll find you someone.”
She wrapped her arms around me. “Thanks, Wake.”
I hugged her back tightly, said my goodbyes to the kids as they got on the bus a few minutes later, and then walked back home with a dog that not only had one pig ear, but two.
I sort of felt bad for taking the second one away from him.
CHAPTER 8
Don’t believe everything you think.
-Dutch’s life lessons
DUTCH
Months later
“I hate when you act like you’re too good for McDonald’s,” I snarled. “Your self-righteous ‘I care about what goes into my body’ act is a fuckin’ joke. You forget. I see the men that you used to date. You most certainly don’t care about ‘what goes into your body.’”