Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
She met him on the small covered porch where he stood holding the door handle.
“You ready?”
“Should I be scared?”
He chuckled. “No. For the most part Val’s a typical four-year-old. She’s a great kid, but warning: at her age, she doesn’t have a filter.”
“To be expected. They think it, they say it, right?”
“No shit and usually at the worst time and place possible.”
Sloane smiled, remembering the show Kids Say the Darndest Things.
He opened the door and pressed a large hand to the small of her back, guiding her over the threshold and into what looked like a large open living area. She didn’t want to say his touch affected her, but she’d be lying.
Before they could take more than a few steps inside, a little girl came barreling across the great room with her arms flung open and her long, dark blonde ponytail flying behind her. “Daddy!”
Daddy.
If that didn’t melt her heart.
A large orange cat trotted behind Val in a half-assed attempt to keep up.
“Hey, Valee Girl!” When Decker squatted and opened his own arms, Val ran full bore into him. He scooped her up and swung her around in a circle, the girl screaming with excitement.
Even after he stopped spinning, he didn’t put her down. With her rear end perched on his hip, she hooked her little legs around his thick waist and her arms around his neck. “Did you have fun with Nanny?”
Val shook her head. “No. Nanny fell asleep in front of the TV again. She was snoring really, really loud.” She gave him wide eyes and pressed both hands to her ears. “Do I snore like that, Daddy?”
“When you’re really tired, you do. Nanny was tired from trying to keep up with you.”
“‘Cause I’m fast.”
“That you are.”
“Swing me some more!”
“No, not now, pumpkin. Maybe later. Right now I want you to meet someone.”
“But Daddy!”
“But nothing.”
When she huffed, he echoed her, making her laugh as he set her back on her feet.
The ginger-colored cat meowed loudly and held its fluffy tail straight up in the air as it weaved around Decker’s long legs.
“Did you feed Finn?”
Val nodded.
He turned to Sloane. “I hope you’re not allergic to cats.”
“I’m not.” The huge feline came over and head-butted her shin before rubbing its body against her calf. Sloane reached down and scratched the cat under its chin, causing it to purr. “Boy? Girl?”
“Boy. He came with the name Cheddar when I adopted him from a local rescue, but I changed it to Finn after one of my fellow Blue Avengers who’s also a ginger.” He added with a smirk and a gleam in his eye, “Just to mess with him.”
Nice.
Sloane thought Cheddar was a perfect name for the orange Maine Coon cat. She wasn’t so sure about the name Finn.
“He’s Val’s shadow and even sleeps with her every night.”
“Does the human Finn know you named the feline Finn after him?” she asked.
“Sure does. I’ll never let him forget it.”
“Hopefully he has a sense of humor.”
“We all have to. We’re professional players in the sport of extreme ball-busting.”
“What’s ball-bustin’, Daddy?”
“A game big people play, Valee Girl. It’s not for little girls like you.”
Hugging Decker’s thigh, Val turned her pixie-like face up to Sloane. “Are you Daddy’s new girlfriend?”
When Sloane’s mouth dropped open, Decker quickly said, “No, she’s not. And this is Sloane. I invited her over for a visit and to have dinner with us.”
Sloane quickly recovered, hoping the heat in her cheeks quickly dissipated. “Hi, Valerie.”
Val pouted and grumbled, “I don’t like that name.”
“Oh no! Then, what do you like to be called?”
“I like when Daddy calls me Valee Girl.”
“You do? What else does he call you?”
“A pain in his a—”
“Behind,” Decker quickly cut her off, squeezing her shoulder. “And I do not.”
Sloane rolled her lips inward. “How about I come up with another name for you?”
“Like what?”
“Like…” She pressed a finger to her bottom lip. “Valerina?”
Val wrinkled her nose.
“Valentine.”
Decker’s niece giggled.
“Value?”
“Nooooo!” she squealed.
“Okay,” Sloane said, “How about I just stick with Val, then?”
“I can live with that,” the little girl agreed.
Decker’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, you can, can you?”
“Yep,” she answered with an over-exaggerated nod.
“Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up,” Sloane said with a grin.
“Valee Girl… Do me a favor and sit out here with your alphabet book while I show Sloane around. Can you do that for me? Afterwards, we’ll eat. I got you your favorite: steamed dumplings and a shrimp egg roll.”
Val squeezed her hands together and bounced on her toes. “Yummy!”
“Okay, let’s see who gets done first. Read each letter out loud to Finn so I can hear how good you’re getting with your alphabet.”
“‘Kay, Daddy.” She ran over to the coffee table, grabbed a book and jumped onto the sectional sofa, the cat following her every move. As soon as she settled, Finn climbed into her lap and began to purr. Val opened the book and started reading out loud beginning with the letter A. “A is for apple!”