Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Well, woman.
Her blonde hair was pulled back into a thick braid and there was a spattering of freckles on her face. She had thick, full pink lips and a button nose . . . whoa.
What was he doing? He didn’t need to stare at the stranger who had given his seven-year-old son candy and was about to enter a rock-paper-scissors war over the swing that she should just give to him.
“Did you ask her for the swing?” he asked his son.
“Uh-huh.”
“Hmm, I don’t know. That doesn’t sound right to me. I think you walked up and said, ‘that’s my swing’. That’s not really asking, is it?” she countered.
“Wyatt?” Jeb asked in a stern voice.
“Well, it is my swing,” Wyatt said grouchily.
Jeb sighed. “I know you like that swing the best, but this playground is for all the children of Oddity.”
“Oddity?” the woman repeated. “What’s Oddity?”
What did she mean ‘what’s Oddity?’ Jeb glanced down at his son who shrugged, looking confused.
“Oddity is the name of this town,” he explained slowly. Was she all right?
She seemed a bit . . . off. Maybe she was confused?
Shit. Was she on drugs? He placed his hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “Son, I think we need to head back to the truck.”
“But I haven’t had a turn on my swing.” Wyatt gave him a stubborn look.
Fuck.
“Wyatt, you need to do what I say,” Jeb told him.
“Why?” Wyatt asked. “Because you’re my dad?”
“Yes, because I’m your dad. And that means you have to listen to me. Don’t think I’m going to ignore the fact that you ran off and came here on your own.” Ever since Elise’s death a year ago their relationship had been . . . fraught. Things had always been good before then. Wyatt had been his shadow. Always wanting to do everything he did.
Now he’s got attitude.
Jeb understood that Elise’s death had affected Wyatt. That it had been very hard on him to lose his mother. Especially at such a young age. It didn’t help that he had to work such long hours and that Wyatt hadn’t taken to any of the people he’d hired to look after him.
Jeb just didn’t know what to do with Wyatt anymore. He didn’t do what he was told. In fact, most of the time he did the opposite. Which is how they’d ended up here.
With the crazy lady.
Well, if Wyatt wasn’t going to leave, he’d just have to call the cops and make this woman leave.
He drew his phone out of his back pocket.
“Whoa, small man-child, you ran away from your dad? That was . . . brave.” She looked Jeb up and down.
“Why did you think he was here alone? Did you think that I just let him wander around?” Jeb asked incredulously.
She shrugged. “I didn’t know. I’ve only known you five minutes.”
“Most seven-year-olds aren’t allowed to just wander around alone,” Jeb told her.
“Why’d you run off?” she asked Wyatt.
Fuck. Jeb suddenly realized that he hadn’t asked Wyatt why he’d left. That was something Elise would have done.
“Wyatt? Why did you run off? Was it because you wanted to play on your swing?” Jeb asked, knowing that had to be the reason.
Wyatt was just determined to disobey him and cause issues at the moment.
Wyatt drew his lollipop from his mouth and glared up at Jeb. “I ran off because you were talking about hiring another nanny for me. I don’t want a new nanny.”
“Wyatt.” Jeb sighed. Shit. He almost wished that Wyatt had just run off to play. That would have been a whole lot easier. He let out a deep breath. “Wyatt, you know that you need a new nanny. I can’t be home all the time. I have a ranch to look after.”
“No, I don’t!” his son said. “I can look after myself!”
“You’re too young to stay on your own,” Jeb said, feeling defeated. “If there is a better solution, I’d be willing to hear it. But you need to be supervised in the mornings and afternoons. And I can’t do it.”
“Then Granny can.”
Jeb took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Granny can’t do it.”
“You have a Granny, small man-child?” the girl asked as she swung back and forth.
Shit.
How had he forgotten about the weird girl who was still on his son’s favorite swing? He ran his gaze over her, noting the messy hair pulled back in a braid, the crinkled red T-shirt and short skirt that she wore over a pair of black tights with holes in them. Her boots were cherry-red with black laces. They were all scuffed up.
She crunched on her lollipop, then winced.
Didn’t she know how bad that was for her teeth?
Not your problem.
Except she was hanging around a child’s playground in the middle of the day, handing out candy and likely on something. Which meant that he should do something.