Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I narrow my eyes on her and then turn back to Daisy and cup her little face in my good hand.
“How do you feel today, Princess?”
“It’s sore,” she says. “But Mommy gave me medicine. We match!”
I look down at the sling that I’m wearing and then smile at her. “Looks like we do. Your mom has her hands full with us.”
“And her broken washing machine,” Daisy adds.
Now I slowly turn back to look at my woman, who’s biting her lip. Millie’s laughing her ass off.
“I have to get over to the coffee shop,” Millie says and hugs Abbi close. “Don’t worry, he was his grouchy, annoying self all the way home. Totally fine. Call me if you need me.”
She grins at me, and then she’s off.
“What happened to the washing machine, Abs?” And why the hell don’t I know about any of this?
“One of the big machines at the shop broke and leaked water everywhere.” She sighs, and I can see the fatigue in every line of her gorgeous body. “Come on, let’s have the tacos I made, and I’ll fill you in on everything. And I want to hear about what happened yesterday, too.”
“That’s fair.” I pick Daisy up with my good arm and kiss her cheek, making her grin, and carry her to a stool at the kitchen island. When she’s seated, I bury my nose in her hair and breathe her in. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Daisy agrees as Abbi fixes her plate. I wander around the island, into the kitchen, and do the same for myself, having a hell of a time doing it one-handed.
“I can do that for you.” Abbi moves in to reach for the spoon I’m holding.
God, she looks so tense. Every muscle in her body is tight, and her jaw is clenched, so once she’s set Daisy’s plate in front of her, I take the spoon from her, set it aside, and just pull Abbi to me, hugging her close and rocking her back and forth.
“Let it go,” I whisper into her hair and feel her sag against me. “Let it go, baby. Everything’s okay.”
She lets out a sob, and then she’s crying in earnest, clinging to me almost desperately. I look over at Daisy, who hasn’t touched her taco and is watching us with serious brown eyes.
“It’s okay,” I murmur, still looking at Daisy so she knows that I’m talking to her, too. I nod at her reassuringly, and Daisy’s lips tip up into a hesitant smile. “Your mama’s just overwhelmed, sweetie. It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry,” Abbi cries against me, sniffling. “It’s just been the worst two days of my life. Or, at least, close to that. And then I got that call last night, and I—”
“They shouldn’t have called you.” I kiss her head again and rub my hand up and down her back. “It wasn’t that serious.”
“Yes, it was,” she disagrees, “and they should have called, but I’d just gotten home from the hospital with Daisy, and it was just bad timing. I didn’t handle it well, and I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry.”
“Yes, I do.” She pulls back and stares up at me with tears running down her sweet cheeks, and it makes my heart ache. “Because you don’t need me to be hysterical when you’re hurt. I need to be the strong one. I need to pull my weight when you can’t.”
“You’re allowed to be scared and worried,” I remind her. “And it’s okay to cry. I’m just fine.”
She nods and wipes at her tears. “I’m not very hungry. I’ll fill you in while you eat.”
I don’t like that she’s not going to eat with us, but I’ll get something in her later. So, I finish building my taco and sit next to Daisy. Before I pick up my dinner, I lean over and kiss Daisy’s head, breathing in her fresh shampoo once more, as if to reassure myself that the kiddo really is safe and sound.
I hate that she got hurt when I wasn’t here to help.
“Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay,” she says and bites into her taco.
“Tell me what happened yesterday,” I say to Abbi as I pick up my taco and take a bite.
“Well, it all started with a freaking nightmare. Then the stupid washing machine.” She tells me about finding the flood in her shop and the plumber coming out to take a look. Having to wait for days for parts and then getting the call about Daisy. “I knew she was going to be okay. Lucky didn’t sound panicked at all, and I knew that if something catastrophic had happened, Erin would have either called an ambulance or brought her into town herself. So, I didn’t panic. I really just felt bad that she hurt herself.”
“Falling off of a horse hurts,” I say, turning to the little girl, who nods. “They’re really tall.”