Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“You’re gonna have to move closer to me if you don’t want to fall off.” He chuckled.
Reluctantly, I moved forward until my crotch was snug to his backside, and then wrapped my good hand around his chest, resting my casted hand on his thigh.
“Good girl.” He said right before he patted my thigh with his large hand, and then took off like a rocket.
I squealed.
His laughter didn’t bother me. I was a real girl when it came to bikes. I don’t know a thing about them, only that they go fast, they’re big, and they’re chick magnets. I’d only ridden on them with my brother and Zander, but you could see the long lingering looks that women gave them.
The wind whipped my hair every which way, and I wondered why I even bothered to blow dry it. It would’ve saved me time if I’d just done it this way to begin with. I wouldn’t have had to force myself to do it, which, in turn, wouldn’t have made my arm hurt worse.
The ride was fairly short, I knew from my many explorations through town that we were in the historical district, but it wasn’t near the courthouse as I’d assumed.
He stopped in front of a plain brick building with only a tinted glass door that had “Child Services of Rusk County” stamped on it with plain white letters. I reluctantly let my body slide from the bike, and barely held back the moan. My face was a different story, because James must’ve read something on it if the smirk that tilted up his lips was any indication.
“Thanks for the ride, James. I’ll see you later.” I said as I handed the helmet to him and turned my back on him.
“I’ll be waiting.” He yelled just as I reached the front door.
I turned to look over my shoulder. “Who says I’ll need a ride?”
Obviously the opening I’d inadvertently given him was too good to pass up, because he smiled widely and said, “Oh, baby. You’re more in need of a ride then anybody I know. Although, I’m not sure it has anything to do with a motorcycle.”
I’d barely contained the palm/forehead slap I wanted to do after that line. Barely. However, I managed it as I opened the door to my possible future.
My last thought was that I’d absolutely kill for a ride from him. In a heartbeat.
Chapter 5
If his lips are gonna be on something I made, I’d rather it be a duck call.
-Jase-Duck Dynasty
James
Cursing as the phone in my pocket stopped ringing before I could answer it, I glanced at the screen and groaned.
Twenty seconds later, it started up again. “Hello?”
“Mr. Allen? This is Lillian McBride, with Child Protective Services. Is this a good time to speak with you?” No nonsense Lillian asked.
Gritting my teeth against the irony of being outside her very building while she was calling me, I managed a stark, “Yes.”
“We’ve had another report filed against you. We would like to come out sometime in the next week to evaluate the allegation.” She said formally.
No bullshitting with this one. The woman was a hardened shell of a woman. Although, I guess she would be. She’d seen it all in her fifty something years, and then some. The sad thing was, was that most of those ‘things’ she’d seen were all about children. Poorly treated, abused children.
“What is the report this time?” I asked with a frustrated sigh.
I’d had social services, as well as police, called on me at least once a month over Janie. My ex, Anna, decided that she wanted to be a part of Janie’s life after all, and was using everything in her power to get it. What I hadn’t figured out yet was why.
A little over a year ago, Anna had tried to say that Janie wasn’t mine. Luckily, after a DNA test, it was proven that I was Janie’s father, no longer giving her a leg to stand on. Then the stupid woman tried to sue for custody of Janie. Which didn’t go well for me at all.
The judge that presided over the case was a man hating woman activist who hated me on principle. She didn’t care that Anna had signed over her rights to Janie. All she cared about was doing what was best for women.
The bile still burns when I think about the court hearing that day.
***
Six months ago
Stevens v. Allen
Family Court of Rusk County
“Ms. Allen, can you tell me why you signed away your rights?” Anna’s douche of a lawyer asked.
Anna struck a sad face and forced a lone tear to trail down her cheek. “James, I mean, Mr. Allen, told me he would force me to, and it would be best if I did it the easy way.”
What a load of bullshit. I’d never done any such thing. I’d given her two months to come back before having my lawyer contact her. She’d signed away her rights in front of a fucking judge for Christ’s sake. I didn’t force her to do anything.
Fucking bitch.
I heard Cheyenne and my mother’s sharp inhalation behind me after Anna made her explanation, and I prayed that they both held it together. This shit wasn’t easy for me either, but I was good at waiting.
A sniper had to be.
“No further questions.” Mr. Douche smirked.
Chairs creaked as the occupants of their seats shifted while waiting to see what happened next.
My lawyer, Todd Masterson, stood and made his way to the box where Anna sat. She shifted uncomfortably at the power emanating from him, and I inwardly grinned.
The man was fucking awesome. Six feet four inches of hard muscle wrapped up in a sleek lawyer’s suit. He’d been a marine for twelve years, and a lawyer for seventeen. He knew his shit, and I had every faith in him. After 9/11, he’d enlisted, and hadn’t looked back since. He’d handled my affairs for the past six years, and my mother’s before that.
“Ms. Steven’s,” Todd boomed, then flexed his hands. “Have you pursued any contact with Janie since you signed away your rights?”