Page 35 of Daddies' Little Troublemaker

She’s facing away from me, covers shoved down around her hips. She looks small and fragile like this, and a longing to protect her nearly causes me to stumble.

“You came in late last night,” I say. “Feeling okay?”

Evelyn rolls over and faces me with her eyes still shut, grumbling. “I feel like shit, thanks.”

“You should, going out and getting drunk like that. Lucky for you I trust Caleb to take care of you.”

She opens one eye and focuses a blue glare in my direction. “And if you didn’t trust him?”

“I’d have driven to that bar myself, and collected you.”

“That might have been interesting,” she says.

“Why?”

She shakes her head, then winces. She must have a splitting headache.

“You can go back to sleep,” I say. “I just talked to your dad so I thought I should check on you.”

“I’m fine. I should get up.” She sits up slowly, breathing through her nose.

I hurry closer and hand her the glass of water. “Pain meds?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I check the dose information and hand her two pills, then hover like a nurse while she swallows them down. “I’ll bring you some toast.”

She waves a hand at me in impatience. “I can take care of myself, you know.”

“I’ll be back in a minute with some toast.”

* * *

Lincoln

After I’ve raised my voice twice at the inept assholes who fucked up an entire section of the build, Caleb drags me outside.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asks.

“They don’t know a two-by-four from a screwdriver.” I glower at the side of the building, as if I could see through it to every dumbass inside.

“They do, and you know they kept getting misinformation from Holding. Ease up.”

“This job is never going to get finished?—”

“This isn’t like you,” he says. “What the fuck is really wrong?”

I grit my teeth, shake my head. I want to fucking punch something.

“It’s Evelyn,” he says. “That’s what’s wrong with you.”

“I don’t see her anywhere around here,” I say.

He gives me a look, like I’m some sulky, smartass teenager he’s trying to reason with. “She’s in your head.”

“I talked to Mark again. He’s glad I’m taking care of her. And I don’t feel like I’m taking care of her when she’s out there drinking and then calling you to come get her, and I know what you want to do with her.”

“She was drunk,” he says. “I didn’t touch her, no matter how much she begged.”

---