Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Daphne stared at her daughter and was pretty sure her jaw was on the floor. That genius-level IQ was biting Amelia in the ass, and she was here for it.
“I will not pay another dime for your education,” Amelia announced. “I won’t help you out in any way. You won’t get anything from me or your grandfather. You can live with what your mother can provide.”
“Cool.” Lou gave her grandmother a thumbs-up and turned to run down the hall, likely to her room to grab her things.
Amelia shook a finger Daphne’s way. “You ruined her.”
“No. Someone ruined you, and I can’t fix it.” It was nothing less than the truth. “She’s amazing, and I’m proud to call her my daughter. And we’ll be fine without you.”
“We will.” Lou had a big grin on her face and her suitcase in hand. “And seriously think about backing off, Amelia. My friend’s dad is scary, and from what she tells me he can hold a mean grudge. The only thing scarier is her mom. She was a Russian mob assassin.”
Daphne could practically see the steam coming from Amelia’s ears.
She took her daughter’s hand. “You ready to get home?”
Lou nodded, and they started out of the suite. “Yeah, I gotta debrief the girls. This has been a successful op. Also, I’m going to burn the beret on Saturday because I don’t think I’m going to Hanover anymore.”
The door slammed behind them. Yeah. That decision had definitely been made. “I’ll sign you up at the high school on Monday. Unless you want to go back to junior high. You know you could do that. You could be around kids your own age.”
Lou shook her head. “Nope. I’m good. I’ll be in the same class as Kala and Kenz. I’ll take all the tests they need me to, and I’ll even promise to do the mathlympics. I’ve checked, and the team has some weaknesses I can address. Don’t worry about it, Mom. I got this.”
“Yeah, we’re going to talk about blackmail, too.” She might need to sit down with Charlotte and discuss how to survive Lou’s new passion for spying. “Although you should send Boomer those recordings. He can keep them in case we need to use them.”
Lou stopped, frowning. “Mom, what happened with Boomer? I sent him some pictures I took of a couple of cute dogs I saw today and I got a weird message back from him.”
Daphne pulled out her cell. She should let Boomer know she had Lou and was on her way back home. “I was rough on him about something. I’m going to apologize, and we’ll sit down and talk, but first, sweetie, I need you to understand that your grandmother has caused a mess, and having Boomer around could potentially make things more difficult.”
Lou’s eyes went wide. “Mom, I don’t care. Unless you don’t love him anymore.”
That was an easy answer. “I love him. I really love him, and I think I want to marry him someday.”
“I love him, too,” Lou replied. “Family sticks together. It doesn’t matter if things are difficult. We’re a family. He’s part of our family.”
Daphne felt tears pool in her eyes, and she needed him so much. “Yes, he is. I’m not going to hide anything anymore. You should know that sometimes Boomer stays over.”
“Yeah, he’s not quiet when he leaves,” Lou said with a laugh. “He should just stay. I can handle it. But why did he tell me I shouldn’t text him anymore and that he would always care about me?”
Daphne felt her stomach twist, and she pressed the button that would connect her to him. She’d been hard on him, but she’d also told him why. She’d been scared and in a corner, and she’d needed a little space. She certainly hadn’t needed him to dump her.
His phone went straight to voice mail.
“He’s not answering.” She needed to slow down. Boomer wouldn’t dump her. He wouldn’t have said I love you and then walked away. What all had she said to him? It was kind of a jumble in her brain.
“Mom, could he think he’s the problem?” Lou asked.
She dialed the number again and stayed on the line when the prompt to leave a voice mail came. “Hey, Boomer. I wanted to let you know that I have Lou and I’m on my way back, and I really want to see you. I’m so sorry if I seemed cold. I love you very much, and I was trying to keep it together. Please, call me back. I need to hear your voice.”
“We need to hear your voice,” Lou shouted.
“We need to hear your voice,” she corrected.
She hung up the phone and started for the parking lot.
It was time to go home.
Chapter Ten
“You know this is a horrible mistake,” Big Tag said.
“Horrible mistake. Dumbass. Dumbass.” Molly put her two cents in as well. The bird had immediately perched on Tag’s big shoulder the minute he’d walked through the door, along with his girls.