Page 42 of Naughty by Nature

Carolyn looked a little appeased, but still aggravated. “Why do you always do these things to me?”

Grace shrugged, looking at her feet again.

“Carolyn, go take a shower. Grace, while the sheriff and I are out, Carolyn is going to be the one to decide if the kitchen is clean enough. Do you understand?”

Cheyenne tried not to be moved by the tears in her eyes.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There are extra paper towels in the pantry, as well as rags you can wet down to clean the cupboards. And there’s a wet Swiffer for the floor when you’re done with the rest of the mess.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Carolyn left for the shower and Grace for the walk-in pantry and the cleaning supplies, giving Cheyenne just enough time to snap a picture of the mess with her phone. She left the kitchen laughing quietly to herself and sent the picture to Payton. She would get a kick out of the girl’s antics.

She returned to her room to continue looking at the pile of clothes on her bed. She’d only packed enough for a few days, so he was going to have to see her in one of the shirts she wore for school. She had a casual white peasant skirt she could pair it with, though, and her brown sandals. Not especially dressed up, but better than school slacks.

Breakfast this morning had been a rousing affair. All of the kids, including Olivia, tried to help with the pancakes, and they ended up making more of a mess than necessary. Sheridan’s poor, beautiful kitchen was never going to recover from them. But the food was good and the companionship even better. Cheyenne found herself watching Sheridan a lot. No, take that back. She found herself watching his talented mouth all morning. At one point Olivia shoved something in front of her gaze, deliberately it seemed, to get Cheyenne to look at her. Sheridan didn’t seem to notice the little interaction, though, which she was extremely thankful for.

All she could think about was kissing him again.

But what moved her besides the physical reaction he stoked in her, was her emotional response to him. Sheridan made her feel like what she did was valued. Wade had never given her that. He’d only belittled her, no matter what she’d done. Even after he’d been injured and she’d cared for him almost twenty-four/ seven, then continued to work to keep food on the table. Thinking back now, she could see how ego-deflating it would be for a man like Wade to have to rely upon a woman for everything, but he’d been such an asshole about it.

Sheridan made her feel everything that she’d wanted to feel in a true-committed marriage, and all he’d done was kiss her. Those kisses though … damn. Did she dare believe he was as incredible as she thought? At one point she’d thought Wade was amazing too, but that hadn’t turned out the way she’d expected. Looking back, she knew she’d been blinded by Wade’s flashiness, his enthusiasm for life, his success in a glittery sport. After he’d been gored and all of that had gone away, she’d stayed in the marriage because that was what you did in a marriage, you stayed for your spouse in thick and thin, healthy or not. If Wade hadn’t eventually resorted to physical abuse and the pill addiction, there was a chance she’d still be stuck in the marriage.

A chill shuddered through her. That would have killed her. And her daughters wouldn’t be the amazing, strong young women they were.

Cheyenne looked down at the skirt in her hand, realizing she’d been standing there forever thinking about the differences in the two men. There was no comparison, not at all.

Cheyenne glanced at the time on her phone. She needed to get moving.

For her date.

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