Page 46 of Moon Blind Hearts
“Or forever,” Sawyer mutters, so low I almost miss it.
“I don’t know . . .” I say, knowing that I can’t exactly stay in one place for too long. And that comment still haunts me. Whether it was truly a threat or someone exploring their daddy/little kink, I have to keep it in mind. Daddy misses you. It’s proof that I have to be on guard, that I can’t stay longer than my contract, but Sawyer and Cash are looking so eagerly at me and I don’t want to upset them. It’s good money. I know it is. I could use it, but . . .
“Can I think about it?” I say.
Oak’s brows furrow and he looks between the others and me. “It’s a large amount of money. I’m sure you could use it as much as we could.”
“Of course. Everyone needs money,” I reply, looking away. “I just don’t do longer contracts usually. I’ll think about it.”
Silence hangs between us, silence that breeds suspicion. I can’t have them start asking about my past, digging when they shouldn’t. That’s how I get found out. That’s how things can go south fast.
“Of course,” Cash finally says, glancing at Oak as if to tell him to lay off. “Take all the time you need, Jules.”
I nod and stand. “Congrats on the new subs. I need to go get Genie ready for bed. See you tomorrow.”
And then I leave them and their silence in that overly comfy house, desperate to get away from their prying eyes.
Chapter 25
Oak
I go looking for her the next day. It’s clear that I made a mistake trying to force this into just business. Just by the way that Sawyer looks at her, the way that Cash does. Hell, the way I try not to. Clearly, we’ve gotten in way over our heads, but something doesn’t sit right with me. We haven’t talked about that comment again, but it stays at the forefront of my mind. Cash couldn’t find anything about the person who made it. Neither could Sawyer. And I certainly don’t know enough of the computer stuff to look, so instead, I’d asked them to look more into Jules despite the contract stating we can’t. All it has is her name, Juliet Ward, but it should be enough to search. They’d both been uncomfortable with it, instinctually refusing, but something tells me we need to be worried.
For us, anonymity is purely based on not getting ousted in a small town. For Jules, it seems to go much deeper than that.
If it’s a jealous ex-boyfriend, that’s not a big deal. We can help with that. Maybe Genie’s birth father? She hasn’t spoken about him. Maybe she’s a criminal on the run? Whatever it is, it’s best to know about it before it bites us in the ass.
So, I find myself looking for her to see what kind of information I can fish from her. But I don’t plan on approaching her empty-handed. Literally. I have a picnic basket in my hand with a lunch fit for three, preparing to bribe her to spend time with me.
I can’t imagine she’d want to otherwise after our last interactions.
After searching, I find both Jules and Genie out at the pasture, petting the dairy cows. Genie immediately sees me and comes running toward me. Jules doesn’t look nearly as happy.
“Hey, little monster!” I say to the excited little girl. My chest tightens at the bright smile she wears, at the bright blonde hair. She reminds me so much of?—
“You going on a picnic?” Jules asks, gesturing to the basket.
I grin. “I was hoping that you two would join me.”
Her eyes narrow in suspicion and I don’t blame her. Last she heard, I was claiming this was only business. Now here I am asking her to eat a picnic with me.
“That seems awfully unprofessional,” she says, watching me carefully.
“Co-workers have lunch together all the time,” I argue.
“Yeah, but they don’t sit down on a blanket with a picnic together,” she counters, her brow raising.
I shrug, not wanting her to get too suspicious. “It doesn’t have to be anything other than business. I just thought you two would be hungry.” Genie reaches for the basket and I hold it out of reach, laughing. “Patience, little monster.”
“Fine,” Jules finally relents, still clearly suspicious. “Where at?”
“Right here is fine. The ladies won’t mess with us except to bum a bit of food from you if they see the apples.”
Reaching into the basket, I pull the blanket out and immediately go about spreading it on the grass before setting the basket in the middle and taking a seat. I gesture to the blanket and Genie plops down followed more slowly by her mom. As I start to pull everything from the basket, setting it out, she sits there tensely. She only starts to relax once she sees the options I brought for Genie until finally, she takes the plate I offer her.
“Thank you,” she says, before handing one of the apple slices to Genie. The little girl immediately bites into it.
“So . . .” I start, watching as she raises her brow.
