Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
But just that small action proved eating too much and not working out for the last few weeks caused him to be out of breath way too quickly.
“More, Daddy!”
“Not unless you want me to pass out.” He put her on her feet, leaning over to press a kiss to the top of her dark blonde hair. Eventually it would darken to light brown just like his. Just like her mother’s. “Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”
“No.”
He raised one eyebrow.
“Can’t sleep ’til I get my story.”
“I’m sure Nanny read you your bedtime story.”
“She didn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
Val nodded like her head weighed fifty pounds and took effort.
“Oh? Then I’ll just have to call her and ask her why she didn’t.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket
As soon as he put it to his ear, Val screamed, “No, Daddy!”
He pretended that his mother picked up the phone. “Nanny?”
She tugged sharply on his jeans. “No, Daddy! She did!”
Decker tucked the phone back away. “So, you lied?”
Val held her thumb and forefinger a fraction apart. “It was a tiny fib.”
“Tiny fibs are still fibs.”
“I want you to read me a story.”
“You should be punished for lying, not rewarded with a story.”
“But, Daaaaaaddy!”
“But what?”
She tucked the backs of both hands under her chin, tilted her head and shot him an innocent smile. “I’m cute.”
He struggled to swallow down his laugh. “Did Nanny tell you that?”
“Nooooooo.”
“Then who?”
“You did!” she squealed.
“I did?”
“Yes!”
“Well, sometimes I’m wrong.” Bending over, he hooked her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She hung upside down as he strode down the hallway and across the house to her bedroom, Val leaving laughter in their wake. “If I read you a story, will you go to sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not a fib?”
“No.”
When he got to her room, he swung her off his shoulder and held her in the air by her waist. “Ready?”
“Yes!” she said excitedly, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed.
He tossed her the few feet to her bed where she landed with a bounce and more squeals of laughter. “You keep growing and I won’t be able to do that anymore.”
“I’ll stop growing.”
“That’s not your choice, Valee Girl.”
She faked a pout.
“If you want me to read to you, hurry and get under the covers. I need to get some more work done tonight before I can get some shut-eye myself.”
As she scrambled to get between the sheets and pull the bedding up to her chin, she asked, “What did you do tonight?”
“I was working on the new assignment I told you about.”
“The one where you have to pretend to be someone else?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that fibbing, too?”
Fuck. He scratched the back of his neck wondering how to explain it without too many details. “It’s more like playing pretend.”
“Like when I dress up like a princess?”
“Yes, exactly like that.”
“That sounds like fun.”
Not in this case. “It’s work, pumpkin. I’m only pretending so I can catch the bad guys.”
“So? You’re still playing pretend. I hope I get to do that when I’m old like you.”
“Wow. Thanks for that.” He went over to the rainbow painted bookshelf that held all her books. “Now, what story do you want me to read to you?”
“Pick a long one.”
“Not tonight. How about Uni the Unicorn since you’re wearing your unicorn nightie?”
Val clapped her hands. “Yes!”
He slipped the book from its spot and squeezed onto the tiny bed next to her.
Val poked his gut and giggled. “Your tummy’s growing.”
Shit. He was still wearing the silicone stomach. He patted it. “I had a biiiiiiiiiiiig dinner.”
“What did you have?”
“Liver and onions. Peas and carrots. Squirrel and possum.” Now he was lying.
She shuddered. “Eww!”
He would’ve chuckled at her reaction but the way Val wrinkled up her nose got him in the gut. It made her look like a clone of her mother, Amelia.
He shook that thought out of his head. “What did you have for dinner?”
“Nanny cooked macaronis and cheeses.”
“Macaroni and cheese?” he corrected gently. “My favorite! Did you eat it all?”
She nodded.
He gave her wide eyes. “All of it?”
She nodded again, then slapped a hand over her smile to hide it.
“Are you fibbing again?”
She shook her head, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Dark brown just like his. Dark brown just like her mother’s.
He closed his eyes for a second remembering how he found Val that day—the last day he ever saw his sister alive—and the condition both of them were in.
After four years, he thought the pain would dull and the guilt would lessen.
It hadn’t.
He opened his eyes as well as the book and began to read about a magical unicorn who formed a special bond with a little girl.
Chapter Three
Before he entered the old, run-down brick building, he hoped like fuck it wasn’t as much of a disaster inside as it was on the outside. He understood the need for the exterior to look uninviting, but the inside…