Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
He shrugs, looking sheepish. “She says it doesn’t bother her, but I know it does. Her dad is her best friend. I know it’d mean a lot to her for us to be on good terms.”
See? Good kid.
With a wide grin, I squeeze his shoulder once more. “Let me talk to him, okay?”
Jackson lets out a long sigh, his shoulders sagging, but his eyes are not so dull anymore. “Thanks, Cap.”
I nod at him just as Wagner comes to my side. “Ready?”
I agree, and we say goodbye to Jackson before heading to the truck. Once inside, I reach for my phone and reread Skyye’s text.
Then I notice she sent another.
Skyye
I can text Pop to come get me.
For fuck’s sake, that’s the last thing I need her to do. I live at the top of Sheriff Colburn’s shit list. Not only did I get his eldest daughter pregnant and refuse to marry her, but I was arrested with his baby girl.
Not once, but twice.
Nope, Skyye can’t call him.
I shake my head in frustration, but I tell Skyye I’ll be there to get her. Then I call Missy.
She answers on the third ring. “Heyyyy,” she sings, and I hear my sister giggling in the background.
“Are you drunk?” I ask, and Missy just snorts.
“Not at all,” Sadie quips, and I can just imagine her shaking her head, her dark black curls bouncing along her shoulders. “Just being friendly. What’s up?”
“Friendly, my ass. I bet y’all are on shot three.”
“Shut up, bub. We have to drive later,” Sadie says to me, and I roll my eyes.
“Doesn’t mean shit. You’ll just call me to drive you around,” I say, and they both snicker like little schoolgirls. “Where are my nieces and nephew?”
“With their father,” Sadie throws back.
“Does he know you’re with your tyrant of a friend?”
Missy snorts as Sadie asks, “Whatever. What do you want?”
My brows pinch as the annoyance only a sibling can cause rides me hard. “I called Missy, not you.”
Missy laughs. “I’m here. What’s up, Dean?”
She sounds so happy and I hate to put a damper on that, but her husband is a dud. “Why can’t Nyle get Skyye? I’m good to get her, but I’m on call and I don’t want her waiting on me if I get called out.”
Sadie’s laughter stops as Missy lets out a long sigh. Then she screams so loudly, I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “Nyle!”
My brows pinch in tighter as Wagner sends me a look. Confused, I ask Missy, “You’re home?”
“Yeah,” she seethes, and I hear a door open.
“What’s up, bab—”
“Why can’t you pick up Skyye? You told me you’d get her.”
Nyle fumbles with his words, but then he says, “You have me doing all this crap around the house to get ready. I didn’t have the time.”
“Then you should have told me.”
“We would have gone to get her, Fartworth,” Sadie adds, and I can’t help but snort at her teasing nickname for him. “My amazing brother is on call for his community-saving job.”
I grin. It’s fun to witness my sister being a bitch to people, just not me.
“How? You two have to be at the welcome sign before she gets here,” he interjects, and now I’m super confused.
“Who? What have you got him getting the house ready for? Why do you have to be at the sign?” I find myself asking, but no one answers me.
“Skyye getting home tops getting the house ready!”
“You said you wanted everything done. I’m trying to do what you asked.”
“Skyye is part of everything. You wanted this responsibility, didn’t you?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, babe. I’ll go get her.”
“It’s fine. Her dad is,” Missy throws back, and even I can feel the bite in her voice. But the petty part of me preens at how damn sure she sounds.
“Yeah, her wonderful dad,” Sadie adds, and I roll my eyes. I can just picture Nyle’s face, all red and angry, but she isn’t wrong. I am a damn good dad.
“That’s enough, Sadie,” he grits out, and I bet he wishes he had never touched her butt. She is such a bitch to him, and she holds a grudge like no other.
“Hey, Fartworth, don’t forget, Missy doesn’t need you to be Skyye’s dad. She already has the best. You’re the one who wanted to be a stepdad,” Sadie snarks, and I swear, she’s ruthless. “So step up—or step out.”
There is silence before he bites out, “I am well aware, and again, I’m sorry. I wanted to get the house ready, and I figured she’d be fine to walk.”
“It’s not about if she can walk. We know she can, but we don’t want her to. She works hard all day, and then she skates. It’s about her knowing we want to be there for her and care about getting her home safely,” Missy explains, taking the words out of my brain.