Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Hey, sweetie,” Hazel said.
Violet was nowhere to be seen, which meant she was in the back taking stock of the delivery. Her mother was going through some paperwork.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Did you have a good time last night?” Hazel asked.
Ava nodded. “Yeah, I did. Are you upset with me?”
She watched as her mother frowned and then lowered the paperwork she was reading. Ava held her breath as she waited for her mother to say or do something.
Finally, Hazel looked toward her. “Why would I be upset with you?”
“Because ... I don’t know. The party, and being with Pat, and the fact he’s in an MC club, and you know more about that club than I do.”
Hazel sighed. “How does Pat make you feel?”
She opened her mouth and then closed it.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Tell me.”
“Like I’m the only person that matters to him. The world, to me, seems to fade away, and I want to know he’s okay and that he is happy.”
Hazel smiled. “Look, your choice of a man might be dubious. I’m not even going to pretend about that. Pat has a history, but I am not going to get in the way when my daughter is falling for a guy. He is older than you, and that does concern me. I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to do.”
“He’s a gentleman, Mom,” Ava said.
Her mother looked doubtful.
“With me, he is. Trust me, I wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want to do.”
Hazel nodded. “I know as long as he treated you right and was a good man, your father wouldn’t have a problem. Your father would of course have threatened him.”
Ava laughed. “You think so?”
“I know so. When Violet’s prom date, Ryan, came to the house, your father was conveniently cleaning his shotgun.” Hazel laughed and then Ava saw the sadness return. “I miss your father.”
“I know,” Ava said. She was not going to say she did as well.
She missed her dad. Hazel missed her life partner, her lover, her everything.
She went to her mother and held her tightly. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. All I want to do is make sure you girls are safe and loved, and that you find men who make you feel like a queen, because you’re good women. You’re good girls.”
Chapter Eleven
Pat didn’t have time to hunt down Ava. She had snuck out of his room. This was an entirely new experience to him. No woman in all his years had ever snuck out of his room. Only, Ava was not just some woman. She was the one woman he wanted more than anything in the world.
He wanted to go and find her, to make sure she was okay. Last night had been the best experience of his life. To top it off, he hadn’t expected to fall asleep, only to his surprise, he had fallen deeply to sleep.
He’d woken at seven-thirty, as most of the club was waking up, to an empty bed. The only remnants of Ava being in his room were the torn panties she left behind in his trash bin. She wasn’t answering her cell phone.
And Bull asked him to help recover a stranded vehicle, which he already had done. It was a single mother and her car had just stopped. At the garage they offered towing as part of the service. He’d loaded up the car, dropped the mother and child at home, and taken the car to be worked on.
So far, he couldn’t see why the car had broken down. Everything seemed to be in working order. Pat was staring at the car in confusion when Rusty made his way inside the garage. He wore his overalls and looked like he had just gotten out of bed.
“Rough night?” Pat asked.
“You could say that. Uh, can I ask you something?”
“If it is anything medical, I’d rather not.”
Rusty sighed. “Look, my balls are fine. Seriously, a guy makes a few mistakes and you think that’s all I want to ask you?”
Pat looked over and waited for him to keep ranting.
“Fine, fine, I made mistakes. My balls paid the price, but can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What does it mean if a chick sneaks off in the morning?”
Pat did not like this. “Why are you asking me?”
“Look, just wondering. You know, asking why they do it? I mean, does that mean they like, look ugly in the morning, or are just getting themselves together? Does it mean they regret what happened that night? I mean, is there some kind of girl code?”
“I’m guessing someone snuck out on you and it’s not club pussy?” Pat asked.
“Yeah, you guess right.”
“You want to tell me who it is?”
“No,” Rusty said. “I do not.”
Pat rubbed the back of his head and blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I don’t know why a woman does it, or what her reasoning is. When you figure it out, let me know.”