Page 31 of Don't Leave Me

“What’s that response for?” He chuckles and slips an arm around my waist, tugging me against his body.

“Gray sweatpants are like men’s lingerie. It’s mean to put that on right before I leave. And you’re shirtless! I’ve been dreaming of the day I got to see you shirtless in real life!”

I drop my head to his chest and skim my fingers over his abdomen. His muscles contract beneath my touch and he sucks in a sharp breath.

“You’re killing me, baby,” he murmurs.

This is the second time he’s called me baby tonight, and I love it. I’ve never really had a boyfriend. Sure, I’ve dated, but never long enough or seriously enough to use pet names. This is something I could get used to.

“It’s not fair. You got to touch me for almost an hour. Shouldn’t I get to do the same?”

“Not at all.” He chuckles, making my gaze snap up to his. “If you touch me any more, I'm going to get myself into trouble. I guarantee if your dad knew the things I was thinking about his little girl, he’d already be on his way here to murder me.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I blink up at him.

“Probably not. Let me grab a sweatshirt, then I’ll walk you out.”

“You couldn’t have put a sweatshirt on before you came out here?” I grumble under my breath. “You could’ve saved us both some pain and misery.”

“Pain and misery? All because I'm shirtless?” He ducks his head and steals a kiss. “I'm sorry, baby. I’ll stay fully clothed from now on.”

“Well, hey now! No one said you should do that.”

Chapter 13

Pecker

“I don’t know what else to do,” Colt sighs and runs a rough hand through his hair.

“I think the best thing we can do is wait this out and protect the girls the best we can.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” Colt growls. “If something happens to Leslie or Sophia, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“We won't let anything happen to them.” I tap my fingers on Colt’s desk, trying to think of another idea.

We spent our entire morning going from one business to another. We showed Jimmy’s photo to everyone in town and no one has seen him.

“Are you sure Snow couldn’t have seen an animal and it set her on edge?”

“No. Snow will bark if she sees an animal, but she doesn’t react like she did last night. I’ve never seen her behave like that. It freaked me out.” He scrubs a hand down his face and sighs.

My phone lights up with a text. I swipe it off of the desk, hoping there’s a lead on where Jimmy could be. I agree withColt, Snow wasn’t flipping out over an animal, but I was hoping it was a possibility.

Sophia: I miss you.

My fingers fly over my screen as I type out my response. I know a big goofy grin is probably spread across my face, but I don’t care.

Pecker: I miss you too. When do I get to see you again?

Sophia: Maybe tonight?

Pecker: Can we turn that maybe into a definitely?

Sophia: I guess that depends on how quickly I crank out cookies. Skylar’s basically running a sweatshop over here and I'm the sole employee.

Sophia:

I chuckle at the pictures coming through. There’s one image of cookies spread out on every flat surface in Skylar’s kitchen. Another of Sophia smiling, then one of her sticking her bottom lip out in a pout. The last is her with Riley, Tucker and Skylar’s little girl. They have flour smeared across their cheeks like war paint and they’re making funny faces at the camera.

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