Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Someone tell me what happened before I lose my shit.”
“We were at the gas station,” I say. “I fueled up, and he went in for snacks for the day. Hey, you didn’t get your snacks.”
“It’s fine.” Aiden won’t look at either of us. He just stares at the floor.
“When he didn’t come back outside, I went in looking for him and found him in the middle of a fistfight. I ran toward them, the kids turned, and I caught an elbow to the chin.”
Ryker’s eyes burn with anger, but his hand is gentle when he reaches over and tips my head up so he can have another look. His simple touch is warm and soothing. “How do you feel now, Trouble?”
“Sore. I saw stars for a minute. How did you do that for a living?”
“I didn’t get beat up every night,” he says with that crooked smile that sets my heart on fire. “Only some nights.”
Now he turns to Aiden.
“Who was the kid, and why did he deserve to have his ass handed to him?”
My boy’s gaze whips up to Ryker’s, and his cheeks go red, and I just want to hug him.
“He was running his mouth,” Aiden replies.
“About what?” Ryker asks, holding up a hand to me when I would jump in, as if telling me to let Aiden talk.
So I do.
Aiden’s eyes jump to me, and then back to Ryker. “I don’t know.”
“Sweetie—”
Ryker shakes his head and steps forward, sets his hand on Aiden’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “What the fuck did he say? You can tell us. You’re not in trouble.”
“He said shit about Aunt Wills.”
My heart stutters to a stop. “What? Me? Why?”
“And we don’t disrespect her,” he continues, watching Ryker closely, and I’m quite sure I’m about to have a stroke. “I told him to shut it, and he wouldn’t. So I shut it for him.”
“Good.” Ryker nods, then turns to me and skims his hand from my shoulder to my fingers, and then holds on. “It doesn’t matter what the kid said—he had your name in his mouth, and your boy was having none of it.”
Without thinking twice, I hug Aiden. I just wrap my arms around his middle and squeeze him. It takes a few seconds, but then his arms come around me, and he pats my back awkwardly.
“I’m not in trouble?” he asks.
“No, you’re not in trouble for the reason behind it. But you need to learn to walk away. You were in a public place, where people could have been hurt, Aiden. We need to talk about self-control. Not to mention, you should have told me what happened when I asked you. Don’t be that kid that only opens up to men, Aiden. I raised you better than that.”
I open my eyes and see Ryker grinning at us, but I’m suddenly so damn tired. I haven’t been sleeping well because I’m afraid I’ll miss my alarm. Driving four hours a day is exhausting, and I’m worried about Aiden, and I have so much of my own work to do. I’m overwhelmed.
Suddenly, I can’t take it anymore, and I bury my face in Aiden’s chest and start to cry.
“Whoa, don’t cry.” He pats my back a little harder, as if that will help. “I don’t . . . you don’t . . . help.”
Ryker pries my hands apart from around Aiden, and then I’m in his arms, and he’s holding me close, kissing the top of my head.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re both fine.”
“I know.” I swipe at my tears. “It’s just been a really crappy week, and I can’t sleep well, and I’m so tired.”
“I told you to just let me stay at the bunkhouse,” Aiden says, his voice almost desperate. “I’ll be fine out here. Honest, Aunt Wills, I don’t mind at all.”
I shake my head. “No. You need to be where I am at night.”
“Okay, take a breath.” Ryker frames my face in his hands and rubs my tears away with his thumbs. “Deep breath for me, Willow.”
Willow. He hardly ever calls me by my full name. It’s always Wills or Trouble.
I follow his directions, and when I’ve calmed down a bit, he surprises me.
“I want both of you to move out here.”
I shake my head. “I would love to spend the summer here, I really would, but I have a job, and I can’t work just anywhere. I need my booth and my equipment. I need my soundproofed room, Ry.”
“It’s time I showed you the project I’ve been working on since you came out here a few weeks ago and asked if I would give Aiden a job.” He kisses my forehead so softly that it boggles my mind, and then he laces his fingers with mine and gestures for us to follow him. “Come on, both of you.”