Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37508 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37508 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
By the time I finished with the bathroom, my back ached, and my knees were threatening to give out. Thankfully, it was time for dinner break. Baylor had been good, coloring and playing quietly while I worked, but I knew she had to be tired and hungry.
I walked over and ran my fingers through her hair. “Are you ready to get a bite to eat?”
“We’re gettin’ burgers.”
“We sure are.” I gave her a smile. “At least, I hope so. We have to go out front and see if Skid made it.”
“Okay.”
She hopped down from the counter, and after I pushed my cart into the corner, we stepped out of the room and started down the hall. When we made it to the front door, I scanned the parking lot, and it didn’t take long to spot Skid’s truck in the center of the lot. As soon as he spotted us, he stepped out, and Baylor and I walked over to him.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” He looked over to Baylor with a smile. “Hey, to you, too.”
“Hey,” Baylor giggled.
“You look different. I mean, you look good.” I’d thought it, but I hadn’t meant to say it. I felt like a complete idiot as my eyes dropped to his oh-so-tight fitted t-shirt and rugged jeans. “I mean, um… You don’t have grease on your clothes.”
“No, not this time.” He shrugged and chuckled. “I actually had time to shower.”
“I see.” He was even more handsome than I’d remembered. His dark eyes pierced straight through me as he stood there. He was so close, just a few inches from me, but my mind was still finding it hard to believe that he was there. “It’s really sweet of you to bring us dinner.”
“I had ulterior motives.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely.” A sexy smirk crossed his face as he winked and said, “It gave me an excuse to spend some time with you two pretty ladies.”
“Well, Baylor has been looking forward to it all day.”
“She’s not the only one.”
I figured he would just hand us a bag of take out and be on his way, but when I glanced in the truck, I saw that he’d basically made a picnic inside his truck. “Oh, my. You didn’t have to do all this.”
“It’s nothing. Just thought I’d keep you two warm while you ate.”
My chest tightened as we all climbed in and got settled. Baylor wasted no time tearing into the kid’s meal he’d picked up for her. She dug into the fries like she hadn’t eaten in days. “Hey, missy. What do you say?”
“D’ank you,” she muttered with her mouth full.
“Welcome, kiddo.”
Skid offered me my bag of food, and the smell of it made my stomach growl. It had been a minute since we’d had takeout, and the thought of it had my mouth watering. I opened the bag and pulled out my burger as I told him, “Thanks again. For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.” He waved it off like it was nothing, but it was far from nothing. This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me. “I owed you a warm meal after making you ride in my dirty pickup.”
“It’s far from dirty, and at least it’s running.”
“You’ve got a point there.”
He chuckled, low and rough, and for the first time that day, I didn’t feel so anxious. And it was nice. Really nice.
We talked between bites, sharing little things about ourselves. I told him about Baylor’s love of rabbits and how she hated vegetables. And he told me more about his motorcycle club and how they treated each other like family. He told me that his father and a couple of the brothers taught him how to work on engines, and there wasn’t much he couldn’t fix if he tried hard enough.
At some point, Baylor held up a fry and offered it to him with a big grin. “You want one?”
“Absolutely.” He took it without hesitation and shoved it in his mouth. “Hey, wait a minute. Why do yours taste better than mine?”
“I don’t know.”
“You sure about that?” he teased. “You didn’t add some bunny magic to ‘em?”
“Bunny-B did it,” she giggled.
“Ah, so the bunny’s behind it. I see how it is.” Skid motioned his head towards the stuffed animal. “He and I are gonna need to have a chat.”
“Bunny is a she.”
“All the better.” He gave her a wink. “I can do some sweet talkin’ and figure out her secret.”
Seeing Baylor giggle at him hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It all came so easy, so natural, with him. There was no judgement. No expectations. Just warmth and kindness, and the low hum of his truck engine keeping us warm.
Overcome with emotion, I looked out the window and whispered, “It’s been a long time since anyone’s done something nice like this.”
“Then, it’s about time someone did,” he answered softly. “And I’m glad that someone was me.”