Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“I didn’t have a plan. I just wanted to hook up—”
“That used surveillance camera you bought wasn’t part of your plan?” Mike asks, smirking.
After a tense pause, Jeremy groans and asks, “Does this mean I’m fired?”
“The fuck do you think?” Jonah barks.
The younger man winces. I check the time on my phone and then motion for Mike to speed up the presentation.
“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” Mike says. “Your online community is going away. In fact, this isn’t even the live site. It’s an archive. The site is gone. You can try to log in, but it won’t work.”
Jeremy sighs. “Great...”
“Furthermore, if you attempt to look up McKenzie Sommers, or Holly Larkin, on any search engine, your computer will crash and become unusable.”
Jeremy snickers. “Yeah, fucking right.”
“Go on,” I say. “Try it.”
“Fine.” He pulls out his phone and thumbs at it, then goes still. He hits the power button. “What the... The hell’d you do to my phone?”
“Turned it into a paperweight,” Mike says.
“This is bullshit!” Jeremy hurls his phone at the floor like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
“On the contrary,” Jonah says. “I think we’re being more than generous here.”
“Generous?” He laughs, but there’s no humor in the sound. “Are you fucking insane?”
“Considering Austin wanted to break both your hands?” Mike says. “I think you’re getting off easy.”
Jeremy tries and fails to stare me down. I rise from my chair and brace my hands on the table, leaning forward.
“You will stay the fuck away from McKenzie,” I growl. “In fact, you’re going to leave Knoxville. Maybe even Tennessee. Because if I ever see you again, there won’t be an HR department to protect you. I will make you regret ever having Googled McKenzie Sommers. Now pack up your shit and get the fuck out.”
I nod my thanks to Jonah and Mike for the assist and then exit the conference room. I’ve got a few minutes to kill before I need to pick up Kenzie, and I spend them in my truck, tensing and relaxing my muscle groups, trying to calm down.
By the time Kenzie climbs into my truck, I’m feeling less like a vigilante and more like the version of myself I want to be around McKenzie.
“How was your appointment?” I ask.
“Really difficult, but very necessary. I think I cried for forty minutes straight. Can you tell me what all that weirdness was about now?”
“Weirdness?”
“You know, your weird face.”
I huff, cupping her ruddy cheek. She isn’t crying anymore, and judging by the redness around her nose, I think her face could use the break.
“Tomorrow,” I say. “I think we’ve both had enough stress for one day.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I lean toward her and kiss her softly on the lips. She sighs contentedly.
“What should we do for dinner?” I ask, starting up my truck.
“Something easy, like burritos. Tomorrow we can cook.”
“Works for me.” I steal one last glimpse at her before I begin backing up. “We’ve got all weekend to do whatever you want to do, baby girl.”
“Hmm. I think I want to bake a peach pie, and blueberry scones.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Her expression turns contemplative as we pull onto the main road. “I think I want to call the journalist who’s been leaving me nice messages. Her name’s Bridget Howe. She wants to do an interview with me about my life.”
“You sure you want to open yourself up to that?”
“I think I need to. And Bridget actually seems really nice. I’m tired of other people co-opting my narrative. It’s time I told my own story, in my own words, and I want to tell it to her.”
I take Kenzie’s hand and raise it to my lips, kissing the ridge of her knuckles. I know better than to think she’s out of the woods just because she can crack a smile. But the fact that she can take pleasure in something as simple as a kiss is a win in my book. And I, for one, look forward to celebrating all of her successes, no matter how small.
“Also,” she says quietly. “There’s another roleplay scenario I really want to try with you.”
“I definitely wasn’t expecting you to suggest something like that today. Can you tell me about it?”
“No. Not yet.” She pauses. “The thing is, I don’t know when I’ll be ready to actually try it.”
“That’s fine, baby. No rush. We can talk about it whenever you’re ready.”
She rests her head on my shoulder.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
epilogue
McKenzie
One year later...
“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay staying home all by yourself, baby girl?”
I pull the covers up to my chin. “I’m sure, Daddy.”
Austin smooths my hair back from my face and kisses my forehead. “All right, then. Get some rest, baby. Daddy loves you.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.” I hear his footsteps on the stairs, growing fainter with each step. The front door closes with a thud.