Page 49 of Pretend

So fucking adorable.

“It’s probably nothing,” he said, hoping it would be enough to get her to go back inside.

“There might be more than one of them,” Morgan said with a firm nod as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.

“And they’re probably quivering in fear knowing that you have that hammer,” Eric said, debating carrying her back inside and locking her in a closet.

“Probably,” Morgan murmured with a nod as she gestured with the hammer for him to lead the way.

Sighing heavily, Eric closed the truck door and muttered, “You really are a pain in the ass.”

“A pain in the ass that has your back,” Morgan said, earning a glare that she easily ignored.

“It’s probably just kids,” Eric said as he gave up waiting for her to go back inside and made his way around the house.

“In that case, I’ll try to hold back,” she said, making him sigh because he was definitely going to end up spanking her adorable ass.

“That’s very generous of you,” Eric drawled as he quickly took in the back porch, the windows, and the two trees that he was cutting down first thing in the morning before he shifted his attention to the rest of the backyard and-

“The tree,”Morgan whispered when they heard it again, the telltale snap of a twig.

Pressing a kiss against her forehead, Eric whispered, “Stay here,” before he turned around and-

Wondered why her parents didn’t spank her ass when they had the chance as he watched her adjust her grip around the hammer, nodded to herself, and moved to step around him. Sighing, he picked her up, kissed her forehead and placed her on the ground behind him before he made his way to the trees, ignoring her adorable grumble as he searched the backyard and-

Sighed when he heard the soft meow.

He should have fucking known, Eric thought as he searched for the cat, knowing that Morgan wouldn’t be able to go back inside until they made sure that it was okay. After a minute and five more soft meows, he gave up, deciding that it could find its way back down on its own and turned around, only to find Morgan standing there, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

“No,” he said when she opened her mouth, already knowing where this was going.

“What if he’s hurt?” Morgan asked,

“He’ll be fine,” Eric promised her, moving to leave when she said, “A kiss.”

For a moment, he stood there, considering her before he glanced back at the large oak tree and…

“Five,” he said as he handed her the flashlight and turned around, resigning himself to climbing a fucking tree at two in the morning. God, the things he did for love, Eric thought as he grabbed hold of the branch above his head and pulled himself up.

“I would have given you ten,” Morgan called after him, making him mutter a curse as he pulled himself up before reaching down for the flashlight.

As soon as she handed it to him, Eric reached up and grabbed hold of the branch above his head, careful not to drop the flashlight and stood up, hoping to find the owner of that soft meow so that he could go back inside and finish what he’d started with Morgan. He couldn’t believe how fucking good she felt or the fact that she thought about him.

It also made him wonder how he’d missed the signs, Eric thought, sighing heavily when he didn’t see anything. Resigning himself to climbing one more tree, he moved to climb down when he heard it, a soft rustling above him.

Shifting the flashlight, Eric tilted his head back and-

“Oh, shit…”

CHAPTER27

“I’m fine,” the stubborn man that just took ten years off her life said as he paused on the stairs so that he could bend over and-

“Fuck.”

-groaned.

“Maybe we should go to the hospital?” Morgan said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched the stubborn man level a glare on her before turning around and muttering, “Stupid kitten,” as he made his way upstairs while she was forced to bite her lip to stop from doing something that he really wouldn’t appreciate at the moment.

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