Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 14459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
“Because you’re always up to something. Especially when I’m not there to supervise you. I knew this trip was a bad idea. I’m coming home.”
“You can’t come home. Ben wants you there.”
“Ben doesn’t always need to get what he wants,” Trent grumbled.
“Trent, you’ll have a good time if you just relax.”
“There are people everywhere here. Traffic and noise. This city never fucking stops.”
“You’ve been there one night. It’s not that long until you’ll be on the plane back. Just try to have a good time.”
“I miss you,” he said gruffly and her heart melted.
Yeah, she missed him as well.
“I miss you too, Daddy.” She wished he was here. Or that she’d gone with him. A few hours’ sleep wasn’t enough, and she was feeling exhausted and nauseous.
“Baby girl, did you sleep all right? Are you feeling okay?”
Shoot. If she told him the truth, then he’d be on the next plane back here. And Ben really had been looking forward to this trip with his brothers.
They all worked together for the family business. Ethan, the oldest, ran the company. Trent and Sammy were both project managers. Drake managed sales and marketing. While Ben was an architect. They were a close family and Ben wanted all of his brothers there. Even the grumpy one.
So she couldn’t tell him the truth. Even though he wouldn’t like it if he learned that she’d lied to him.
“I’m good, Daddy. I just stayed up a bit late working.”
He scowled. “I knew it. You need me.”
“I always need you. But I’m going to be just fine without you for a few nights. I promise.”
“You stayed up half the night working. That’s not looking after yourself properly.”
“I’ll have a nap this afternoon and I’ll be all good.”
And next time she’d take a look at herself in the mirror before she answered his video call.
He stared at her intently. “You’ll get sick if you don’t look after yourself.”
“I know, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
“What did you have for breakfast?”
“Um, I . . . haven’t eaten any yet. I just woke up.”
“Baby.” That was all he said. But it was enough to let her know he wasn’t happy.
“I’ll go eat something now.”
“I want you to take it easy for the rest of the day. Stay at home. No work. Rest. And you’re to go to bed at ten tonight.”
She hoped to be in bed far earlier than that. “All right, Daddy.”
“I’ll try and call you again tonight.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
“Love you too, baby girl. Be good.”
“Why, Daddy, I’m always good.”
Yeah, she might have crossed her fingers while she said that porker.
3
This is what she got for not being a good girl.
Fuck.
“Stay down! Don’t any of you fucking move!”
Fear filled her, and she had to bite on her lip to keep herself quiet.
“Give me the rest of the fucking cash!” the same angry voice roared.
April hadn’t got a good look at the guy when he’d burst into the corner store. Just enough to know that he had a scarf around the bottom of his face and a baseball cap pulled down low.
Oh, and he was carrying a gun.
Why . . . why had she come into town? She’d promised Trent that she would take it easy today, but mid-afternoon, she’d suddenly remembered that she had to get some of her packages to the post office. One of her customers had paid for expedited shipping and it needed to go out today.
After that, she’d made the colossal mistake of heading into the corner store to stock up on whipped cream and potato chips.
Idiot.
Now she was face down on the floor with her hands above her head while some asshole robbed the place.
What the hell?
This sort of stuff never happened in Wanton, Wyoming. Heck, the last bit of excitement was when Mrs. Matchett’s dog, Tiny, had stolen a leg of lamb from Mrs. Grown’s kitchen and run off with it. With Mrs. Grown chasing him. Dressed in only a towel since she’d just gotten out of the shower.
When she’d tripped and fallen, the towel had slipped and well . . . yeah, that had been the talk of the town for months.
But nothing like this had ever happened. It was just her luck that she was in the store at the time someone decided to freaking rob it.
Shit.
Trent could never find out about this. Not just because she’d told him she would rest and stay at home today. And not just because she was supposed to text him whenever she left the house.
Those reasons were both good ones. But mostly, she couldn’t tell him because he would completely freak out and would never leave her on her own again.
Although, at this point, she was starting to think that might be a good thing. That being alone again was the very last thing she wanted.
“Here you go.”