Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
But then there’s a bang somewhere in the house, and I’m yanked back into messy, exhausting, very loud reality.
“Y’all okay?” I yell.
I hear a pair of giggles in reply.
“Thank God they’re cute.” I reluctantly let Ava go. “Thanks for comin’ over.”
She eyes me. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be all right.” I run a hand over my face. “Just wish you and I could have a little more alone time is all.”
She grins. “If it makes you feel better, I should be free next Saturday and Sunday. It’s Dan’s weekend to take June, so …”
“Guess Ella will be practicing her sleepover again, ’cause I’m invitin’ you over to my place.”
“What if you come to mine? Leave the clothes, bring the condoms.”
Heat gathers in my dick. I reach over and grab her ass, giving it a hard, rude squeeze. “Consider it done.”
In the kitchen, Ava opens some longnecks while I make the grilled cheese. The girls are busy putting on every princess dress, bracelet, pair of sunglasses, and sparkly high-heeled shoes Ella owns.
“Wow,” Ava says with a gasp. “Ella, you look just like Rapunzel, only with a maximalist twist.”
“Rapunzel is my favorite!”
“I know. We watched it at my house when you came over this week, remember?”
Junie yelps with joy. “Can she come over again, Mommy, please?”
“She’s welcome any—”
“Ow!” I don’t mean to shout. But like an idiot, I grabbed the lid of the skillet with my bare hand because I was so happy and so tired that I was clearly brain-dead.
I shake out that hand, gritting my teeth in an effort to calm—or maybe ignore—the screaming burn on my palm.
“Daddy, you okay?” Ella asks.
“Yeah, Sawyer, are you all right?” Ava’s eyes are wide.
I manage a tight smile. “Yeah. I’m good. Just—give me a minute.”
I turn toward the fridge, but Ava stops me.
“You grabbing ice?”
“I was, yeah.”
“You’re not supposed to ice a burn.” She turns on the faucet and waves me over. “Run it under water instead. Can I see?”
“I’m all right.”
Ava gives me a look. “Sawyer, you just burned yourself. Show me your hand, then put it underneath the faucet. Now.”
“You’re cute when you’re bossy.”
“I’m always cute. Now show me your hand.”
Furrowing her brow, she clucks her tongue when she sees how red my palm is. Gently wrapping her hand around my wrist, she guides it underneath the cool water.
“That feels good,” I murmur. It’s not just the water. It’s her touch. The warm feeling I get being taken care of by her.
Being near her.
Her hair falls into her face, and she tucks it behind her ear with her free hand. There’s a freckle on her chin I resist the urge to kiss. Her leg brushes mine as she continues to hold my hand underneath the water.
Didn’t realize how manic I felt until, well, she got here. Suddenly I feel calm. And very, very tired.
Stay forever, I want to say.
“I’ll be okay,” I say instead.
Turning her head, she looks at me. “You’re not okay. You’re so tired that you just burned yourself. Go lie down. I’ll feed these turkeys and take them outside while you sleep.”
“I don’t need—”
“You do.” Her gaze bores into mine. “This is what I’m talking about, Sawyer. You gotta let people help you. You’ve been up all night and I can tell you’re about to fall over. Go lie down.”
Searching her green eyes, I’m gripped by this feeling of—Christ, I can only describe it as being completely and utterly overwhelmed. Like the dam inside me suddenly gives, releasing all the pent-up everything I’ve been holding back. The joy and the frustration. The panic, the anxiety, the fear.
The hope.
Most of all, though, what I feel is tired. The kind of bone-deep exhaustion you can’t ignore.
I look at Ava. She looks back. It’s obvious she’s not going to let me do anything but go to bed.
It’s obvious she cares.
The girls are happily playing dress-up. Lunch is pretty much done. The kitchen is clean, although the dishes will need to be scrubbed after everyone eats.
“I’ve got it,” Ava says, reading my mind. She nods at the grilled cheese I already made. “Grab a sandwich and go.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.” She shuts off the water. “If you don’t sleep for at least three hours, I’m leaving.”
“Three hours?” I scoff. “I need fifteen minutes, tops—”
“Three. Hours. Understood?”
I can’t help but smile. My chest floods with relief as the realization hits me that I’m really allowing myself to do this.
I’m going to take a fucking nap. In the middle of the day. While I have guests in my house, and while dirty dishes pile up in my sink.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Good.” She holds up the plate with the sandwich on it. “Now go to your room.”
I take the plate. “Okay, when you say it like that, I get a little excited—”
“Sawyer.”
“All right, all right. I’m going. Ella, be good!”