Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
They smiled at each other.
“Maggie!” a voice roared, making her jump.
Uncle Willy winced. “The grouchy one has a good set of lungs on him.”
“I don’t think that’s the grouchy one,” she whispered.
And that was concerning.
The door to Uncle Willy’s room swung open and Jack stepped inside.
“What are you doing?” Uncle Willy said sternly. “You cannot just storm in here, yelling for my niece.”
Jack just glared at them both. He pointed at her. “You aren’t supposed to get out of bed on your own.”
“What? My dear, do you want to explain?” Uncle Willy asked.
Well.
This was awkward.
“I wanted to check on Uncle Willy. And you guys left me for ages. What was I supposed to do?”
“It was twenty minutes! You lasted twenty minutes!” Ian said with exasperation as he walked into the room carrying a tray of food. “I was getting you both some lunch while Jack was doing a grounds check.”
Oh.
Only twenty minutes?
“It felt like longer,” she muttered.
“Is your hip that bad, dear?” Uncle Willy asked.
She sighed. Shoot. “It’s a tad sore.”
“She nearly collapsed in pain,” Ian said, carrying a tray over and setting it beside Uncle Willy’s bed. “Jameson came to check on her and said to keep off her feet for at least twenty-four hours.”
“Maggie,” Uncle Willy said reprovingly. “You went against doctor’s orders?”
“I just wanted to check on you. I didn’t walk that far. It’s not much further than the bathroom.”
Jack came over and scooped her up. “Well, now you’ve lost your bathroom privileges.”
Her cheeks went hot in embarrassment at his words.
“Jack, you can’t say things like that,” she whispered furiously as he carried her out of the room. “Uncle Willy might have heard.”
“So?”
Dear. Lord.
“My dear? Are you all right? Let her down!” Uncle Willy yelled out.
“Stop, Jack! Stop and turn around!”
To her surprise, he did stop and turn so she could see her uncle.
“I’m fine, Uncle Willy. The guys are just being overprotective.” She wondered if he’d keep protesting. Her uncle could be protective as well. “They’ll put me down if they’re upsetting you.”
“Not at all, dear. As long as they’re taking good care of you.”
Her mouth dropped open. What the heck?
“She has a tendency to put herself last, chaps,” he continued. “Make sure you treat her like a queen. Or you’ll answer to me.”
Right. That was kind of laughable, considering the size difference between Ian and Jack and her uncle. But Ian and Jack just nodded.
“We will,” Ian reassured him. “We’ll make sure she’s very well taken care of.”
Yeah. She didn’t like the look of determination in his eyes.
“It’s time she found someone who puts her first,” Uncle Willy said absentmindedly. “Now, all of you, shoo. I’m going to have some lunch and make some notes.”
“Uncle Willy, you shouldn’t be writing anything,” she protested. “I should stay with you and take notes.”
“Nonsense, you look a touch peaky, my dear. You should go have a cup of tea and a nap.”
Great. Now, her uncle was telling her she looked like crap too.
“I am seriously starting to think about putting a paper bag over my head,” she muttered. This was getting embarrassing.
“I’d be more worried about a cushion for your butt,” Jack told her as he carried her into her bedroom.
“Jack! You are not spanking me! And you need to watch what you say in front of Uncle Willy, he won’t understand your sense of humor.”
He laid her on the bed then stared down at her.
Okay. He didn’t look like he’d been joking.
The bedroom door closed behind Ian as he walked in.
“Ian, you want to scold her?”
She groaned. Not an Ian lecture. She didn’t have enough time in her life.
“No, I’ll let you have that privilege. I’m going to run her a bath, then go get her lunch.”
“If she wasn’t in pain from her hip, I’d be doing more than scolding her,” Jack replied.
“Amen, brother.” Ian patted Jack’s back on his way past. “Just hold onto those urges until she can walk without limping.”
“I think we should start a naughty girl diary,” Jack called out to Ian, who was in the bathroom.
“Good idea. I’ll find an empty notebook.”
“Don’t worry,” Jack said. “I already bought one with this in mind.”
“No! No, no, no! No naughty girl notebook. No warning me about spankings or scolding me or saying I’ve lost my bathroom privileges.”
Jack loomed over her and she lay back on the bed. He put his hands on the mattress on either side of her head. “If you want to get off this bed for any reason, you’ll call us. No more walking. You can’t be trusted.”
“That is so rude! I am very trustworthy! If there was a poll for the most trustworthy person, it would be me.”
“Yeah? Then how come we found you in your uncle’s room when you were told to stay put?”
“I’m not sure I like being told to stay put.”