Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 26164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
“Baby, she’d have loved you.”
“Was she like me?”
“No. She was very quiet. Reserved. She didn’t have a lot of friends. She worked a lot and when she wasn’t working, she liked to unwind in Little headspace. I don’t think she was as young as you in Little headspace.” He eyed her Cookie Monster robe. “She’d usually revert to around eight or nine. She liked playing with her dolls and dressing up.”
“Ooh, dressing up is fun! I like dressing up like a Viking princess and leading raids to steal all the chocolate in the world.”
“How do those things work together?”
“They don’t. It’s called using your imagination, Daddy.”
A grin filled his face. “I like your imagination.”
“So that’s what you do? You’re a stockbroker?”
“Yeah, I only have a few clients now. I have enough money set away that I don’t actually need to work anymore. Which means I have more time to keep you out of trouble.”
She wrinkled her nose at him.
“Right, I want you to drink your hot chocolate and rest. Understand me?” He gave her a firm look.
“I’m not tired, Daddy.”
“It’s nearly your bedtime and you’ve had a busy day. What have you been doing? Why did you stay in town for so long with a storm coming in?”
“Um, well. I got a bit sidetracked. I talked to Steph for a while. And then I ran into Jess and helped her with her kids so she could shop in peace. Then I stayed for a cup of coffee with her. Time got away from me.”
He gave her a stern look. “We’re going to need to do something about that. It’s fine to do things for your friends and the community. But not at the expense of your own health and safety. You knew that a storm was coming in and you should have been paying closer attention.”
“I know it was foolish of me. But I like helping people.”
“I know you do. You can still help people. However, you have to look after yourself as well. And if I have to make some rules to ensure that happens, I will.”
She didn’t like the sound of that.
“We can talk about that more another day. It’s time for bed.”
“It’s not even nine. I don’t usually go to bed until after midnight.”
“That’s going to change.”
She went to protest, but he gave her a stern look. She huffed out a breath. “But Daddy, nighttime is when I get my work done.”
“Rocky said you make jewelry. That’s how you earn a living?”
“Uh-huh.”
He scratched his beard, looking hesitant. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him look hesitant before. “You make enough money to live on, doing that?”
“Yep. Well, sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I often work at night because I’m usually busy doing other things during the day. Then I take my stuff to Steph. She has a shop in town. She sells it and I get a commission. A lot of it gets sold online. I make enough to live off, except . . .”
“Except what?”
She sighed. “I have bills.”
“Bills? What do you mean?”
“Medical bills.”
He sucked in a breath. “You’re sick.”
“Not anymore.” She chewed on her thumbnail.
He reached out and pulled her thumb from her mouth. “Tell me.”
“When I was seven, my dad died. Of cancer. I was a total daddy’s girl.”
“Ah, so what you’re saying is that you were spoiled.”
She gasped. “Not at all, Daddy!”
“Uh-huh. I’m sorry about your dad, baby.”
“Thanks. It was a long time ago, but I still miss him like crazy.”
“Of course you do.” He hugged her tight.
“He was an amazing person. Losing him was devastating. My mother, she didn’t cope well afterward. She’s not very good at being alone.” She leaned back with a sigh and he put his hands on her thighs. The heat from his palms was incredible.
She licked her lips. “I don’t know how long it was after my dad died that she started dating again, but it wasn’t more than a few months. She would go out at night and leave me on my own. Sometimes, she’d bring a strange man home. She’d often forget to buy food or get me to school or that I even existed. One day, I was so hungry that I went next door to ask for food. They must have called child services because I was quickly taken away from her.”
“Baby.” He looked furious, his jaw tense. “That fucking bitch.”
“Yeah, but it’s okay, though. Because I ended up here. I’d only come here to visit my grandparents a few times. My mom didn’t like coming here. They were my dad’s parents. They loved me, took care of me. Coming here was the best thing that could have happened to me. But they were pretty old even when I first arrived. My parents had me later in life. I think my mom was forty when she had me. My dad was forty-two. My grandad died when I was fifteen. My gran when I was twenty-two. I miss them a lot. But I was coping until I received notification that my mother was in a nursing home in Des Moines.”