“Hon, your car sounds kinda bad. You wanna drive mine while I’m gone and we can put yours in the shop?”
She rolled her eyes. “You are always on about my car.”
“It sounds like there’s a beehive under the hood and anytime we hit a pothole, it feels like something’s going to fall off!”
“Don’t talk so bad about her!” she quipped. “She can hear you!”
“Jessie, I just want you to be safe.”
“I know, Daddy,” she said, patting my leg. “I just got an oil change and they didn’t say anything.”
I threw out my arms. “Because you go to that janky place on Pine! They barely keep you street legal!”
“Just because I’m frugal doesn’t mean I’m getting bad service,” she huffed.
I sighed. “You are stubborn as a damn mule, Jessalyn. If I ever meet your parents, I’m going to have some words.”
She grinned a little. “You wanna meet my parents?”
I hesitated, my stomach swooping. “I guess I did say that.”
“Look at me! I got the commitment-phobe to want to meet my parents!” she cackled. “Call the L.A. Times. They’ll want to do an exclusive.”
“You are the biggest brat, Jessalyn Welsh.”
“Yeah, you like it.” She pulled into the lot at the arena and turned to me. “You gonna miss your little brat?”
“So fucking bad. You’ll be good while I’m gone?”
She just smirked at me, her little dimple popping out.
I took her chin in my hand and traced her lips. “The correct answer is ‘yes, Daddy.’”
“We’ll see,” she said with a giggle. “I’ll miss you. Tell your mom and Lori hi for me.”
“I will, hon. Kiss for Daddy?”
“Get over here, Jockey.”
Chapter 40
Jessie
Work was absolute hell while Mikey was gone.
Irina seemed to be protesting my very existence by decreasing her contributions to almost zero. I asked her to help me on Tuesday during a particularly hectic scene change and she told me I’d never learn if I didn’t do it myself. Then she had the nerve to saunter off to eat lunch, when I hadn’t even had a chance to eat breakfast.
I FaceTimed Mikey when I finally got a minute for lunch. “Hey, Sweet Cheeks.”
“Hey. Sorry, I’m stuffing my face.”
“S’okay, hon. They working you too hard?”
I lifted my lip in a snarl. “Fricking Irina.”
“My threat still stands,” he said. “I’m sure the grocery store has some manager’s special seafood I could take off their hands.”
I giggled. “How’s Columbus?”
