Page 32 of A Little Naughty

“Owen’s dad is the sheriff. They didn’t know where I was, so they asked him to find me.”

“Why didn’t they just text you?”

“I accidentally turned my phone off.”

She makes a disappointed face, and I laugh. “I know. Duh.”

We walk a little ways, holding hands. “I think it’s cool you’re teaching the kids to play jacks. That’s how we met.”

“My mom taught me to play.” Her voice is quiet.

An ache is in my chest, and I don’t know what to say to that. “It’s a great game.”

When we get to the house, I send her up to brush her teeth while I put my dinner on the counter. Then when she’s done, I climb into bed to scratch her back as she falls asleep. I sing our favorite bedtime song, and she blinks slowly, watching the stars projected from her lamp onto the ceiling.

I trail my fingers along her back, feeling like shit for making everybody worry tonight. “I’m sorry if I’m doing all this mom stuff wrong. Nobody raised me, so I’m kind of learning as I go.”

“I think you’re doing okay.” Nikki turns onto her side to look up at me. “I like it here.”

I lean forward to give her a little hug. “Me, too.”

CHAPTER8

RAIF

The trailer is dark when I pull into the drive, parking my bike beside the truck under our makeshift carport. I walk slowly to the house, thinking about kissing Jemima, thinking about her soft body in my arms in the moonlight, thinking about sliding my fingers up her thighs and what she might sound like if I made her come…

Then my jaw tightens when I think about Aiden Stone pulling us over like I’d robbed a bank or stolen precious jewels.

“You made a decision on that job yet?” My brother’s voice startles me.

He’s sitting in the darkness on that couch, smoking a cigarette.

“I’m still thinking,” I growl.

I’m about to walk past him and go inside when he stands and grabs me by the shoulder. “We don’t have forever to wait.” He’s in my face, and his breath smells like whiskey.

“Get off me.” I shrug my shoulder out of his grip, but he’s too buzzed to back off.

He grabs me again, this time harder, his nails cutting through the cotton of the T-shirt under my flannel. “I’m not waiting til the last minute for you to leave me hanging. You give me an answer by next week or you’re out.”

I grab his forearm and spin him around. I slam his chest against the post, pulling his arm up his back. “I said get off me.” My voice is a growl in his ear.

“Let me go, motherfucker.” He snarls, trying to jerk away, but I pull his arm higher up his back. “I’m going to kick your ass so hard, you’ll see stars.”

“I’d like to see you try.” I happen to know he still hasn’t recovered from the ass-kicking he got down at the docks two years ago.

He and a bunch of idiots got into a brawl, and his shoulder still isn’t set. In fact, if I pull it any higher, it’ll pop out of joint. We both know it.

“Let me go.” It’s a hoarse plea, but I hold him a little longer.

Long enough for him to know I can take him. We’re both breathing hard, and I shove him against the post before taking a step back.

The fire burning in my stomach is only partly eased from Aiden Stone leaving me feeling like trash on the side of the road.

Nothing like a Stone-family bucket of ice water in the face to remind me of our place in this town.

“I’ll give you my answer by the weekend. For what it’s worth, I’m thinking I’ll do it. I just want to check the place out first.”

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