Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
“Don’t worry about my parents. I’ll deal with them,” he promised.
CHAPTER 16
Maisie wondered what was going on when Beau did not take her to speak with his parents. She knew they didn’t care for her family and considered her below Beau’s social status. Reminding herself repeatedly that only Beau’s opinion mattered, she thrust them out of her mind.
Walking out of her office the next evening, the apartment was quiet. “Daddy?” she called. When there wasn’t an answer, she checked her phone.
Go sit down and put your feet up. There’s a big vote here on the floor and I’ll be here for a while.
She texted him a frowning face as she dropped onto the couch, slouching against the cushions. He responded with a kissy face icon, making her smile. Quickly, she sent the same one back to him.
Turning on the TV to make some noise, Maisie couldn’t ignore her growling stomach. There was no way she could wait for her Daddy to get home to make dinner. Dragging herself off the couch, she headed for the fridge and found a casserole with all sorts of healthy veggies. She pushed it aside and found a container of dip. After searching the pantry, she returned to the couch with a bag of chips and the small tub of yumminess.
It’s vegetables and dairy, right? Maisie concocted her defense as she unwound, watching a scary movie the others on her team had discussed. She rarely watched anything scary but decided to try it while she had control of the TV.
By the end of the show, Maisie was hiding behind the fancy cushions. She needed to see how it would end. To be able to sleep ever again, it was important that she see the bad guy get killed or sent to a fortified jail cell forever. The crescendo of the music was at its most dramatic moment. Maisie peeked over the pillow, hoping with all her will that the heroine would sense the approaching danger.
“Little girl.”
“Ahhh!” Maisie screamed into the room as she threw two pillows in rapid succession.
“Maisie. It’s Daddy,” Beau rushed to assure her as she ran for the kitchen to grab something more lethal to defend herself with.
“Daddy?” She whirled in her tracks and froze for one second before racing back to jump in his arms.
“Daddy! I’m so glad you’re here. There’s an awful movie on TV and I couldn’t stop it. I had to know they stopped him. Quick. Let’s watch the end.”
She pushed against his chest, trying to get away as she twisted around to see the credits running over the screen. “Oh, no. You scared me and I missed it. I’m never going to sleep again.”
Beau controlled her movements easily and held her close. “First, we turn off the TV.”
“Wait. Maybe we can rewind it to see the end,” she pleaded quickly.
“It’s not a video, Little girl. The station isn’t set up for you to rewind it,” Beau explained, dropping the remote to the couch as the screen went black.
“But I don’t know he’s not out there,” she wailed.
“Tell me about the movie,” he asked, moving the empty potato chip sack out of the way to sit down with her on his lap.
“There was this creepy-looking guy who hung out in this old motorcycle repair shop. People kept breaking down in front of it and he killed them all in gruesome ways. The girl was just getting ready to pour a jug of acid on him.”
“Look at this with your scientific mind. How did this guy survive in this remote location? He would need food and water,” Beau pointed out.
“There was a scary creek in the back. That’s where he found water. I bet he had a lifetime supply of canned meat to gnaw open every day with his ragged teeth. That’s probably where he damaged his teeth so badly.”
“How many people broke down in front of the store?”
“Lots and he killed them all,” Maisie rushed to assure him. A faint voice in the back of her mind started raising red flags. “Motorcycles always break down.”
“That often?”
“Okay, maybe that was a stretch. But he killed them all when they went into the shop looking for tools or parts.”
“That was a very scary movie. No one called for help?”
“They all thought they could fix it quicker than the repair place would take to get to them,” Maisie explained. “They could see the parts through the window.”
“Okay, an abandoned motorcycle shop just happens to have parts displayed that haven’t been stolen along with a mentally unstable man who eats canned meat and drinks contaminated creek water. He’s about to get killed by a lady holding acid in a plastic jug over his head. Wouldn’t that acid eat through the plastic?”
Maisie stared at him in astonishment. “Well, when you put it all like that, it seems stupid, doesn’t it?”