Page 23 of Hard Wood Daddy

Then I take the kitten food into my cabin.

Every step I take, Rutger’s eyes are on me. He waits outside his pickup with his arms folded, one eyebrow arched, and his mustache curved into a frown.

His stare is so intense, I swear he can even see me after I’ve gone through the door.

Frida Kahlo is happy to see me. She gets up and wraps around my ankles, meowing excitement.

For once, she’s right to be excited. I haven’t totally screwed up our lives by getting arrested for shoplifting. And I can even feed her real food. I tap a can out onto a plate, and she jumps onto the plate before I can even put it on the floor. She unhinges her little kitten jaw to eat like a freaking snake.

“Good girl,” I say, patting her head.

Then I blush, remembering Rutger saying the same thing to me.

He’s the only thing I want to think about. He fills my mind in the shower, when I get dressed again, when I’m cleaning Frida’s plate.

When I go to the life drawing class, wearing nude-colored underwear and a drape, I’m still just thinking about Rutger. The idea that he might be watching me makes my nipples get all tight, and they seem directly connected to my innermost core.

His thick beard, his soulful eyes, the tanned skin of a man who always works out in the sun—they’re waiting for me every time I close my eyes.

“Can you pose for me?” Lindsay asks playfully, moving me into position.

“Sure,” I say.

But really, I’m posing for Rutger.

Every movement of my body belongs to him now. When I stretch out, I feel aware of my skin in a way I’ve never felt before.

I think I see him watching me through the window.

It’s hard to tell the difference between the forest and Rutger, though. It could have just as easily been shadows dancing from the breeze. He’s thick as a tree trunk. His hair wild like brambles.

For him, my poses are sultry. I toss my hair. Show off my neck. Lift my knee to reveal a little thigh.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so cute,” Lindsay says excitedly. She’s taken an easel of her own to draw with the students as well. “You are such a great model.”

“It helps to have such a great audience,” I say.

Nobody knows I mean Rutger—the audience of one. The only audience I care about.

The time passes in a blur. Then we’re cleaning up and moving on. I find myself wiggling into jeans as the last couple of people are still wiping down the floor and tables.

“How’s your car?” I ask Phil as I get the jeans into place and fasten the button.

“Towed to a mechanic,” he says with anguish. “Did you get what you needed?”

I blush. “Y-yes, I got food for my cat from the store in town. Thank you.”

“Have you thought more about posing nude?” Lindsay asks, washing the charcoal off her hands in the sink. “A few of the students told me about asking you, and they could really use you. They pay an extra fee for it.”

“I could use the money,” I say slowly.

But Rutger wouldn’t like it. He doesn’t like people looking at me, because I belong to him.

I can’t ask him for too many favors though. My mom always made it clear I’m a burden, and I haven’t forgotten. I’m so afraid of hearing that sharp tone of judgment again.

You got a ratty little cat when you can’t even take care of yourself?She was so disgusted with me.If you’re going to be an idiot, you should be an idiot alone. Stop leeching off of me!

Rutger already had to interrupt his day to take me into town. I get the feeling he isn’t the kind of guy who goes into civilization much.

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