Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
"Full of fucking sunshine, that one," I mutter, making Chase laugh as we walk back to his truck.
Claire meets me in the foyer of the massive house when we step inside with her hand out.
I slap it like a low high-five and she just glares at me.
"My car keys?"
"They went with Boone."
"Boone?"
"He towed your car. He'll have to have the keys to figure out what's wrong with it."
"I'm going to find Madison," Chase says before stepping around me and disappearing into the house.
Claire remains silent until he's gone, watching as he leaves the room before turning her angry glare back at me.
"My house key was also there, Walker." She holds her hand up when I start to speak. "I swear if you say one word about me staying with you, I'll kick you in the shin right now."
A slow smile curls up the corners of my mouth. She is so fuckable when she's angry. I can imagine her fingernails digging into my skin as I press inside of her.
I clear my throat. This is not the time nor the place for those kinds of thoughts.
I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out the keychain that has all but her car key on it, dangling it right in front of her face.
"You said you didn't have my keys."
"I said I sent your car key with Boone," I clarify. "Is dinner ready? I'm starving."
I step around her, making sure to press a sweet little kiss to her lips before walking away.
She repays me by ignoring me all during dinner and asking Chase for a ride home when the meal is over.
Madison, always a champion of love, tells her that Chase is on bath duty with the boys tonight, mentioning that I'm heading in that direction.
Claire doesn't argue, but she also doesn't hide the fact that she isn't even close to thrilled to be in the truck with me.
She stops short at the front door when it's time to leave.
"The car seat," she growls, making Larkin, who is standing right beside her, look up at me with the same scowl her mother has.
I can just imagine the two of them teaming up against me years from now, and it thrills me, the idea of battling with this stubborn woman and her equally as stubborn daughter.
I smile at Larkin who grins back at me, but her mother isn't as easily swayed.
"I pulled the car seat from your car before Boone towed it away, and I grabbed the diaper bag too.”
“It’s not a diaper bag,” she argues, as if there's more to the story, but she doesn't elaborate. "Thank you for getting the seat."
Claire makes sure the car seat is buckled correctly, quick to praise me for getting it right, and it thrills me so much that I don't even mention that Chase, having experience with that sort of thing, was the one to do it.
The truck is already warm inside before we climb in. Although I thought of gripping her thigh if she rode here with me, I know better than to do it with Larkin in the truck.
I glance at the girl in the rearview mirror more than once on the drive to their house, and I can't help but grin as I watch her eyes droop several times before she falls asleep.
After parking in front of her duplex, I lean over to kiss Claire, but my lips meet her hand instead.
"She's asleep," I whisper against her fingertips, smiling when she pulls her hand away and looks over the seat to make sure. "Kiss me."
She only wavers for a few seconds before leaning in and brushing her lips against mine.
I climb out of the truck when she does, annoyed a little that she opened her door before I could get around to her.
"Leave the car seat. I'll pick you up in the morning for work."
She doesn't argue with me this time, and I know it has more to do with her limited options than her wanting me here in the morning. I guess I'll just have to take what I can get.
Chapter 30
Claire
I couldn't sleep last night, although that's not really a change. I'm so stressed out all the time that my mind races even while exhausted, but last night I wasn't thinking about bills and debt.
Last night, Walker managed to sneak into every thought I had.
I didn't have some eye-opening epiphany, but I know that the man is one of the good ones.
I also know that I'd never tell Larkin when she was older that sacrificing all her happiness is okay. I'd never instruct my daughter not to spend time on herself because she's making sacrifices for those that she loves. It's just not healthy. I reason that it would be different once she's older, when she has a little more independence, then maybe I can too, but that doesn't feel right either. Don't happy children have happy parents?