Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 71015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Instead, I was too busy screaming my ass off and kicking at the man who had hold of my foot.
The man was laughing like a fucking loon.
Heart pounding in my throat, I finally worked my foot loose and looked up, only to see the ladybug who belonged to me nowhere in sight.
What I did see was the front door open, and all of the other kids now with their parents.
All the kids except my niece.
“She went inside, mommy,” Pandora, Rowen’s favorite friend, yelled loudly.
“Fuck,” I hissed and started running towards the front door.
I stepped inside, surprised that the interior was so cozy.
I heard my niece’s voice jabbering away in the kitchen, and froze halfway in the living room.
“Hello?” I called out.
“In here,” a familiar sounding voice called from the kitchen.
I walked in slowly, unsure of what I’d find, and froze when I saw who occupied the kitchen.
“Tru! Look what I found! A firefighter!” Rowen crowed loudly.
She sure as fuck, did.
She found my firefighter!
“What…what?” I shook my head, confused.
“I seem to have an intruder,” Grayson rumbled from his seat at the table.
He was wearing his BFD, Benton Fire Department, uniform.
Across the table from him was a tall man who was standing against the wall instead of sitting, and next to him was the old man, the president, of The Dixie Wardens MC, Silas.
They all watched me with blank expressions, as if I (or Rowen) had interrupted a very important conversation, at a very inopportune time.
“I’m so sorry,” I gasped as I reached for Rowen.
“No!” Rowen cried loudly, hugging Grayson around the neck with all her little armed might.
Grayson blinked, surprised at the move, and then winked at me.
“I seem to have a friendly intruder,” he amended.
I snorted. “The kid doesn’t know a stranger. We were just trick or treating at your door, and some bozo grabbed my leg and scared the crap out of me. When I looked up, she was already inside.”
“Prospects,” Grayson answered. “Not Bozos.”
I blinked. “Who?”
He waved his hand. “Never mind. You have a daughter?”
I shook my head. “Niece. My sister had to work. She made me come.”
His eyes dropped down to the outfit I was wearing, and I felt a blush rise up my face and completely devour my face. Goddammit, I knew nothing good would come of this outfit.
He nodded and stood, walking towards me with an insane amount of grace for such a large man.
He looked better today. A little more tired, but he wasn’t pale like the last time I’d seen him.
I’d known something was wrong immediately after he’d gotten back from where he’d been. Instead of prying, I’d left him alone, knowing that whatever had been upsetting him, was something he wasn’t willing to share.
Not that he should’ve shared with me. I wasn’t anything to him.
Reaching for Rowen, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of Grayson’s arms before she could protest, eliciting an ear piercing scream from her.
“No!”
I winced at the decibel, as did the three men.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I turned. “I’ll be going.”
“Does your sister live in this neighborhood?” Grayson asked my back.
I turned and nodded. “She’s at the corner. For another week, at least, and then she’s moving to Kilgore.”
I said as I made my way outside.
My group was gone, as was the wagon. And the candy.
“Shit,” I said. “The wagon’s gone.”
“Someone took it,” a man said from beside me.
I jumped, as did Rowen. “God!”
The man chuckled. “Sorry about that. I have someone going after it already. I can bring it back to you.”
I blinked, surprised. “Thanks.”
That was nice of him.
He shrugged. “No problem. I recognized you from the bar the other night. Didn’t figure Torren here would be too happy that I let that slip away.”
“You’re right,” Grayson rumbled. “I wouldn’t.”
I turned to Grayson in surprise. “It wasn’t his fault.”
He shook his head. “I know. Sterling’s men will find it.”
Sterling was a pretty name. However, by the look of the man’s face, even covered in zombie makeup, looked like he wouldn’t appreciate me expressing that opinion.
“That’s okay. If you find it, just let me know. The only thing it had were the keys to my place. But those won’t get him very far without the address,” I explained.
“It won’t get him far at all,” another voice rumbled from the darkness. “We’ll find it.”
Silas.
He sure was kind of scary, but there was also something about him that made me feel safe.
Why he was worried about a child’s wagon, when there were so many other things in the world to worry about, was beyond me, but whatever.
“Walk her home, Torren,” Silas ordered.
“Way ahead of you, old man,” Grayson grumbled as he held his hands out for Rowen.
Rowen went to him happily, throwing herself into his arms and wrapping her hands around his neck.
I shook my head.
No devotion whatsoever in that little girl.
None at all.
All the girl needed was a set of arms and she was happy.
“I’ll walk you. I’ll bring the wagon back to you if we get it,” Grayson rumbled as he grabbed my hand and led me out of his yard.
I didn’t protest, and also never tried to get my hand back.
In fact, I kind of liked that he had a hold of my hand.
His hand was rough.
I could feel a scar that ran along his palm, and his fingers were large and wide. You could tell that he worked with his hands.
“I almost moved into your sister’s house when I bought my own, a couple of years ago,” Grayson said. “But I didn’t like the corner lot. So I chose mine instead.”
I nodded, understanding completely. “My sister nearly had someone go through her kitchen window earlier this year. He would’ve, too, if my dad’s truck hadn’t been parked across the front walk as it was.”
Rowen laid her head down on Grayson’s shoulder, snuggling in as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
She’d be asleep before we got back.
“I remember that. We responded to that call,” he said. “Never put two and two together, I guess. I was extremely glad I hadn’t moved there after that, though.”