Page 41 of Shortcake
The lump lodged in my throat.
I haven’t heard her laugh since before my mom passed away. And she used to laugh all the time. She used to besucha happy kid.Used to be. That phrase made my heart ache in my chest.
“Are you serious?” Harper squealed.
“Yeah,” I heard Addy say, laughing as well. “I was a little hellraiser. I would sneak out of my room and shimmy down the drainpipe any time I was grounded.”
“Did they find you?” Harper asked, clearly infatuated with Addy.
God help me.
“My brothers always knew where I was. There’s this old mill that’s now a medical center. It has this incredible rooftop with the best view of Maple Grove. That’s always where I’d go. They’d give me time to cool off and then eventually Finn or Liam or Neil would come and get me.”
“What sort of stuff did you get grounded for?”
Addy snorted. “Whatdidn’tI get grounded for? To start with, I was the master of pranks. Our senior prank day was epic. We carpeted the school hallways with bubble wrap. Then we listed our principal’s house for sale by owner at 100k below market value and scheduled an open house for that afternoon. He got home from school to find like twenty cars in his driveway waiting for theopen house. I got grounded big time for that one.”
I stepped down the hall, peering around the corner to see Harper and Addy sitting at the kitchen table, painting their nails. Thank Christ, Addy was no longer in a bikini, but the outfit she now wore didn’t cover much more. A black tank top with skimpy straps and a plunging neckline paired with cutoff denim shorts.
I cleared my throat to make my presence known. “You’re lucky all you got was grounded. I’m pretty sure listing a house for sale that you don’t own could be considered fraud.”
“Are you going to arrest me, Sheriff?” Addy asked, playfully.
“Maybe. If it was in my jurisdiction.”
With an arched brow, Addy held out her hands to me. “Then take me, officer. I’m guilty. Just try not to smear my nail polish when you cart me away.”
Then take me, officer. My cock twitched at the thought of putting Addy in handcuffs. She held my gaze, challenging me without even a blink of her emerald eyes.
Harper’s voice snapped me out of my fantasy. “Calm down, Dad, it was just a prank. Plus, it was years ago.”
“Exactly,” Addy said, screwing the cap back onto the nail polish. “I’m sure the statute of limitations has worn out on that.”
I bent to press a kiss to Harper’s head. “Hey sweetheart. Any pizza left over?” I looked around for an empty pizza box, but didn’t see one.
“Addy made lunch for me.”
For the first time since I came home, I inhaled and realized the house smelled good.Reallygood. Like roasted vegetables. And… chocolate? “Do I smell brownies?”
“Close,” Addy said, hopping up from her chair. She bounced over to the oven, then pulled out a tray from the bottom rack, holding it out for me to see. “Chocolate strawberry shortcake.”
Rich notes of cocoa and the sweet scent of strawberry hit my nose. “Please God tell me one of those is for us.”
She grinned and set the tray on the cooling rack. “I made a small one just for you and Harper. But I need to take the rest to the bar. Along with my clam chowder.”
My stomach growled fiercely as I crossed to the counter and lifted the lid off the steaming crockpot. “Oh my God, I love clam chowder.”
Snap!Addy smacked my knuckles with a wooden spoon. “As I said, that’s for tonight at the bar.” Defiance flashed in her eyes and something heady and electric sparked the molecules between us to life.
The things I could do to her. The lessons I could teach.The fun we could have.
“Wellllllll,” Harper sang, hopping up from the kitchen table to sidle up to me. “We could go to the bar to eat some chowder for dinner tonight.”
I snorted and gave her a gentle noogie. “Nice try. But I think you’ve spent enough time over at Shortcakes, don’t you?”
Her smile faltered and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Yeah. I guess.”
“You’re still grounded,” I reminded Harper.
