Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
She also missed the way he’d shoot her a random smile when she least expected it.
Since Sunday, their shared meals had been uncomfortable. Every time they sat down to eat, Taryn had concentrated on her food. In contrast, Stone stared across the table, focusing on her, even as he ate.
Of course, Sunny’s eyeballs were permanently glued to the cell phone Stone returned to her a few days ago, ignoring everyone else at the table, while Wren chatted away about everything and also nothing, clueless to the uncomfortable undertones at the table.
Tonight’s “family” dinner hadn’t been any different.
As she pushed away from the table to start clearing the dirty dishes, Sunny was out of her seat and ready to bolt.
Stone’s words stopped her dead in her tracks. “Clear the table before you go anywhere.”
“Dad,” she grumped, her expression holding a whole lot of unhappy.
“She made dinner, you ate it, you help clean up.”
She stared daggers at her father. “You first.”
Taryn pinned her lips together to keep her mouth from gaping open. Even though she worried about Stone and his brothers being a bad influence, maybe she should worry about his daughter, too. She didn’t want that bad attitude rubbing off on her normally happy boy.
A muscle ticked in Stone’s jaw. “Planned on it, but now you’re gonna do it all.”
Taryn stood in an attempt to defuse the situation. “It’s fine, I can—”
Stone cut Taryn off. “Sit down. Let her clear the table.”
“It’s—”
“Nope. Sit down. Sunny’s gonna clear the table, scrape the plates, rinse them good, and stick ‘em all in the dishwasher.” He addressed his daughter next. “Just be glad you ain’t handwashin’ them in a fuckin’ river.”
Taryn mentally groaned.
“Dad,” his daughter started again.
He closed his eyes and released a sharp breath. “Don’t got the patience for this bullshit tonight, Sunny. Taryn made you a damn good meal and you practically licked your plate. Least you can do is help clean up.”
Okay, he wasn’t a completely horrible role model. He had some good points. But it would be better if he used a softer tone and didn’t liberally sprinkle his words with cursing.
She understood the whole “tough love” thing, but—
“Why would anyone wash their dishes in a river, Mommy?” Wren whispered to her.
Taryn leaned closer and murmured, “That’s what they did before homes had running water. You had to go down to a creek or river and wash your things there, like dishes and clothes.”
His little eyebrows knitted together. “Why didn’t they have a dishwasher?”
“They hadn’t been invented yet.”
No surprise his next question didn’t have anything to do with the current topic. “Can I go play outside?”
Having him do that would be a great idea right now. He didn’t need to watch father and daughter butting heads. “Did Mrs. Landers give you any homework?”
“Nooooo,” he answered in a sing-song voice.
“Then yes. Just don’t leave the backyard.”
Stone added, “Stay away from the pool and make sure to stay where your mom can see you from the window, kid.”
“Okay!” he shouted with excitement. He quickly shoved his chair away from the table and raced outside. She grimaced when he let the screen door slam behind him.
She pulled in a deep breath and reluctantly turned her attention back to the current conflict.
Stone now sat back with his tattooed arms crossed over his chest while keeping a bead on his daughter. With her expression pinched like she was sucking on a lemon, Sunny carried a stack of dirty dishes over to the sink.
“Make sure to scrape ‘em first, daughter of mine, before rinsin’. If I gotta hire a plumber due to clogged pipes, gonna take it outta your allowance.”
Taryn stayed in her seat and downed the rest of her wine, then stared longingly at the bottom of the empty glass. She wasn’t a big drinker but now she regretted not buying another bottle.
“Sunny, you can leave the pots and pans. I’ll take care of those.” Especially since they were her top of the line set. As expensive as they were, Taryn took good care of them so they’d last since she couldn’t afford to replace them any time soon.
But telling her that didn’t stop Sunny from bashing the dishes around as she scraped and rinsed them before stacking them in the dishwasher.
Taryn figured it was best to stay out of it and let those two work it out. Riiiiight.
As soon as Sunny was done, she turned to her father. “Can I go now?”
“Yep. Thank you for helpin’.”
“Thank you, Sunny,” Taryn quickly added, plastering on a smile.
Sunny rolled her eyes and in a flash, disappeared. Seconds later, they could hear her feet stomping up the stairs with each step louder than the next.
While that conflict was over, she waited for the next battle since it was now only the two of them in the kitchen. And she’d been avoiding him as much as possible.