Page 7 of Gunner

I gulped, looking down at my hands once more. “Uh, well, I maxed out my emergency credit card rather quickly. I did work at the coffee shop for a while, but I got mad when some dude named FICA kept stealing my money. I quit so he wouldn’t take anymore. The only money I had left was the...”

Mom narrowed her eyes. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I had no choice!” I cried. “I was hungry, then Chanel came out with this awesome new bag. I knew you wouldn’t let me go to Europe when you learned I wasn’t in school anymore, so I thought you wouldn’t mind if I spent the trip money.”

“Pumpkin, we never got a letter from the school.”

“I know,” I nodded. “I changed my home address to a P.O. Box here in Rosewood. All the school mail goes there.”

“So that’s why we got a bill from the post office,” mom muttered.

Turning to my dad, I cried. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I really tried but I hate school. I’m not smart like Mike Jr. I never was. Please don’t be mad at me. I’ll pay you back the trip money. I swear I will.”

Dad sighed, pulling me into his arms.

I loved my dad. He was the best. I always felt safe and loved when I was around him. He understood me better than anyone else.

“Oh, you will pay us back,” Mom grinned. “Every penny.”

Sniffing, I looked at mom and whispered, “Okay.”

“You will work in the coffee shop with me, five days a week. Open to close. You will not complain. You will do everything your dad or I ask of you, and you will do it happily. You will also enroll in an online college and take remedial classes to get caught up. You will pay for those classes with what you make at the shop. There will be no social media, Sarah. I mean it. You spend way too much time on that crap. It isn’t healthy. You need to learn that life doesn’t revolve around snapchat and Instagram.”

“But my followers,” I gulped. “They need me.”

“No, they need to get a life, too.”

“But mom!”

“No buts, little girl. You are turning nineteen this fall and it’s time you grew the hell up. Welcome to adulthood, Sarah. It sucks!”

Chapter Three

Gunner

Saturday...

Stumbling out of my room, I raced down the stairs. From the second I woke up, I knew today was going to be one of those days. Wasn’t sure if it was going to be good or bad, but I knew it was going to be something. I could feel it in the air. My body hummed with excitement, ready, eager to discover what the day had in store for me. I didn’t have days like this often, but when I did, I knew it was going to be monumental.

A day I will never forget.

However, if I didn’t get my ass in gear, my day was going to be toast because I was going to be late and King was going to kill me.

What else was new?

Jumping the last two steps, I landed, pulling my shirt over my head, when I heard Bailey say, “Gunner, your garage door is open.”

Looking up, I saw the annoying woman sitting at the bar with some of my other brothers drinking beers. It was nothing new. With this month’s shipment of my brother King’s special whiskey delivered, there wasn’t much to do. However, I was supposed to be with Frank out at the distillery, helping him with some new blend he created.

I hated working with Frank.

Had love for the weird brother, but he freaked me out.

Walking over to the woman who had my brother wrapped around her little finger, I leaned against the bar. Bailey, also known as Venom in the tattoo world, was a pain in the ass. For the last few months, she took my brother on a merry chase that damn near eviscerated their relationship. Both stubborn to the core, neither one wanted to break, but after the baby scare, my brother handed her his balls.

Bailey now owned his ass, lock, stock, and barrel.

“Good afternoon, trouble.”

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