Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Probably not.
Pisser.
Chapter Ten
Friday morning
“Can we take some ice cream with us?” asked Callie.
“No way,” I told her, rolling my eyes. “Ice cream will melt at the park.”
“Not if we bring a bag of ice cubes with it,” she insisted, looking determined. “Mommy loves ice cream.”
“I think the sandwiches will be enough,” I told her. “And Mommy is trying to eat healthy, remember?”
Callie sighed heavily, making it clear that I was the meanest auntie in the history of time. Maybe she was right. This suited me just fine, seeing as I was also the brokest and most confused auntie, too. I’d defiantly put the $500 in an envelope and left it with Bone, determined to ignore Shade the next time he came to the bar.
Except there hadn’t been a next time.
Here we were, two days later, and I hadn’t seen or heard from the sexy Reaper, which was exactly what I’d wanted, except it was also one hell of a blow to the ego.
There’s something broken in your brain, idiot. Obviously, he’s a lot less hung up on you than you thought. This is a good thing. It’s what you wanted. Now get over yourself.
Grabbing the plastic grocery bag carrying our lunch, I gathered up the girls and herded them out the door. At three years old, the twins were big enough to walk, but it made things a lot easier if we took the stroller, so that’s what we did. Violetta’s one small park was just over a mile away, located right in the center of town across from the grocery store. It was an interesting place—possibly one of the last parks in America with a merry-go-round (made of rusty metal, naturally) and wooden slides.
The girls and I had made a habit of meeting Hannah there for lunch when the weather was nice. Her break ran from twelve-thirty to one, which gave her just enough time to wolf down a sandwich and then push the girls on the swings for a while. By the time we made it back to the house, they’d be tired and ready for their naps, which was a win for everyone.
Hannah was already there when we arrived.
“Thanks, baby doll,” she told Callie, who handed her a peanut butter and jelly that’d somehow gotten smushed along the way, despite my best efforts.
“I made it with extra love,” Callie insisted. “And some Rice Krispies, so it’s crunchy. Can I go play now?”
“Sure,” Hannah said, and the little girl took off, followed by her sisters. I leaned back on my hands, watching as they attacked the monkey bars. “So, still no word from the sexy biker guy?”
“Nope,” I replied, refusing to look at her.
“And the money is still just sitting there at the bar?”
“Yup.”
“I realize that you’re being all noble and principled,” she said slowly. “But five hundred bucks would probably be enough to get the van up and running. We’re going to need it once the weather turns.”
“It’s going to take more than that to get that thing running again,” I muttered. “They said at least a thousand, with a miracle thrown in for good measure.”
Hannah reached down, twisting her finger in the grass thoughtfully. “I talked to Heath about it. His family has a farm shop and he’s a pretty decent mechanic. He thinks he could help us out if I had the money for parts.”
I turned to stare at her.
“Heath?” I asked, raising a brow. “I thought you and the good deputy were just friendly acquaintances.”
She shrugged, refusing to meet my eyes.
“You insisted,” I continued. “You swore to me that there was nothing going on between you guys. It was a pinkie swear.”
“I didn’t want to freak you out,” she admitted, blushing. “I know you aren’t a big fan of cops.”
“No, I’m not a big fan of jail,” I said. “And if you remember correctly, that’s exactly where I’m headed if someone decides I violated my probation. The last thing I need is some sheriff’s deputy watching everything I do. If we get the van running, I’ll run a light or something, and then he’ll arrest me and I’ll go to prison and be someone’s bitch. Someone named Rhonda or Kaleee with three E’s. I can see it now.”
“The probation’s just a formality and you know it,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You aren’t even being supervised. They gave you the minimum because you were as much a victim as anyone. They didn’t even have a problem with you moving here.”
“You’re not the one who went to jail.”
“You were there for three days, and the only reason it was that long was because you didn’t have bail money. Get over yourself.”
I glared at her.
“I can’t believe you’re falling for a cop.”
“I can’t believe you aren’t taking that five hundred bucks and fixing the van,” she snapped. I looked away, feeling pissy because she was probably right. We really did need to fix the Kia and Shade obviously wasn’t in a hurry to get his money back. He also wasn’t in a hurry to see me.