Page 78 of The Body Checker

“What’s college?”

Rachel glances at me and I shake my head. “Chatty Cassie,” I say.

I open the door to the back seat as Rachel grabs her backpack from her car. “In you go, kiddo.”

Cassie climbs into her car-seat and buckles herself in. “Good?” I ask.

“Good?” she says and picks up her mock iPad and turns it on. As music blares, Rachel slides into the passenger seat. Once we’re all buckled up, I back out of the driveway and head to Cassie’s school.

Rachel casts me a glance. “You have your hands full.”

I scrub my chin and flick on my signal. “Yeah. She’s definitely a full-time job, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Rachel shifts restlessly beside me, and I don’t miss the curiosity in her big brown eyes. “What?”

“It’s not my business, but I take it her mom’s not in the picture.”

I stiffen and grip the steering wheel tighter, and Rachel holds her hands up, palms out. “Sorry, none of my business. I wasn’t trying to pry.”

“No, it’s okay. I just…” I pause, not wanting to divulge too much about myself. “You’re right, her mom’s not in the picture. She left a couple years ago and we’ve not seen her since. It’s just Cassie and me.”

“I’m sorry, Jaxon.”

“Yeah, me too,” I say, and clench down on my jaw.

“I was thinking…”

I cast her a quick glance, note the way she’s playing with the straps on her purse. “About?”

“That you could use a little help around your place, and with Cassie. Everyone needs a break once in a while right? You’re giving me one with my car.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“That maybe I could help you around the house. Cook, clean, babysit, teach you how to braid Cassie’s hair,” she says with a grin. “Although I hear you make a mean Nightmare Moon.”

I laugh at that. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. What’s the going rate for something like that?” I ask. I’m not hurting for money. I have a very successful business, and have been thinking about hiring someone to help me with the house. I just haven’t found the time to look more into it. That, and I don’t trust too many people with my belongings—time in juvenile hall will do that to you—or with my daughter.

“Well, I was thinking, instead of money, I could spend the next couple weeks working off the repairs to the car. You’re helping me, I’m helping you.”

“Tit for tat?”

Shit, now I’m thinking of her tits.

“Yeah, exactly.”

I mull that over as I pull up to Cassie’s school. I jump out as she unbuckles herself. The second I open her door, she hops from the car and is about to take off until I bend to give her a hug and kiss. “I’ll see you later, kiddo.”

“Bye, Daddy. Bye, Rachel,” she says and I wave to the playground monitor as Cassie runs to catch up to her friends. I slide back into the car and pull in to traffic.

“Okay, so tit for tat. I like it.”

I like it a lot. Which is a real fucking problem.

“Um, just one thing you should know, Jaxon.”

“What’s that?”

She continues to twist the strap of her purse. “What you heard this morning…from my friends.”

I shake my head and laugh. “I heard a lot from your friends.”

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