“Is she pretty?” Evolette pushes. Ever bold, no fear. Iturn to look over my shoulder at her and let my foot off the gas.
“Why does that even matter?” I throw back as I shift to look at her in the rearview mirror instead, then wait for her to respond.
“Maybe she’s your girlfriend and you’re just lying to us to get us to like her, and then suddenly you’ll be married and we’ll have a new mama.” She spits out, hardly even taking a breath.
What in the actual hell is her mind running away with?
“Dad would never do that, Evie!” I hear Adelaide say before turning my gaze onto her instead. But my youngest always has to have the last word.
“How do you know? Lots of dads get remarried when their wives die.”
“Hush up.” I command gently. “She’s not my girlfriend and I am not getting remarried. But if thatwasthe case, I’d never try to sneak a new mom under your noses. Got it?”
I press harder on the gas to get us the rest of the way down the road and to the house. Once we’re up the porch steps and through the squeaky screen door, I call to the other room. “Blondie? Are you still in that chair?”
“He calls her, blondie…” I hear Evie whisper behind me, then groan—as what I assume is her sister’s elbow, hits her from the side.
I quickly turn and get onto them. “Would you two just…”
“I am!” She hollers back. “I obeyed—just like you told me to, boss.” Her response is dripping with sarcasm.
Good girl.
Chapter Seventeen
I hear the screen door smack and voices in the kitchen. Then he calls to me, making sure I’m still sitting in this damn chair. At first, I think about staying quiet for a minute, then finally answer. “I am! Obeyed—just like you told me to, boss.” I hope he can feel my eyes roll with every word. Footsteps come closer and I arch my neck to see who’s behind me.
“I’m Evie!” A little curly, chocolate brown-haired girl boasts as she rounds the corner.
“I’m Addie.” An older honeysuckle blonde says as she comes up next to her sister. They both look a little guarded as they stare at me.Don’t worry darlin’, I’m not here to steal your daddy.
“These are my daughters, Dixie. They’re feral as hell, but they clean up nice.”
“Hey.” They both scowl as they turn to look at the towering boulder of a dad behind them. He smiles, winks, and their smiles reappear.
“Nice to meet you both. I got busted up and your dadsays I have to stay here—probably so he doesn’t have to pay worker’s comp…” My eyes meet his and I smirk. His lips form a flat line and he folds his arms across his chest.
“I got those crutches for you.” He reaches for the set of crutches leaning against the wall nearest to him. I didn’t even notice he had them when he walked in. “Have you ever used these before?”
“Nope.” I answer honestly. Injuries are part of the life I chose, but I’ve escaped anything that prevented me from walking until now.
“Well, let’s get you out of this chair and you can try.”
My ankle’s still wrapped in the ace bandage from yesterday, but we haven’t put that boot on yet. I reach to the side of the chair and pull the handle. Keeping my fist around it so the foot drops slowly. My boss moves directly in front of me, holding the devices. “Think you can get around with these?”
I scoff. “I made it to the bathroom without ‘em last night, didn’t I?”
“Barely.” He looks less than amused.
I take the crutches from him and use them to stand. I put one under each armpit and grip the handles to steady myself. The throbbing pressure of my ankle hanging low makes me wince a little.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Think I can get some more medicine?”
He nods and tells his two henchmen to watch me while he gets it. They’re both staring at me and the silence is awkward as hell.
“So… You girls like horses?” It’s a dumb question, I know. But I had to say something.
