Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
“I just passed him on his way out,” Austin says. “Haven’t heard his bike though, so he might still be in the lot.”
“Shit.” I jog out to the parking lot in time to catch Mike as he’s revving up his Harley. I ask about the tattoo scene in our area, and his go-to artist, then remind him it’s his turn to bring dessert.
I lock up my office and say my goodbyes to the crew. My plan is to pick up a new smartphone, grab some groceries and then head straight home to Teagan. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her sweet smile and those wide eyes, counting down the hours, minutes, seconds until I can pull her onto my lap and get her scent all over me.
Phone and groceries acquired, I drive past a busy shopping center, and a filthy, despicable idea roots itself in my mind and grows like a weed. I turn my truck around and park, then hustle into two very different kinds of toy stores. By the grace of all that’s unholy, they have exactly the toys I’m looking for.
With Teagan’s naughty surprise taking up half my truck’s backseat, I head back to the house. Entering through the garage, I call out to make sure Teagan isn’t anywhere close by before I sneak upstairs to hide her presents.
When I do find her, she’s on the living-room rug working on a drawing, her perfect ass and those gorgeous legs spread out on my floor. I can see she’s gone and bought herself a nice array of colored pencils. The knowledge that I helped facilitate this investment in her dream fills my belly with warm satisfaction.
Sensing my presence, she rolls over and hits me with that gorgeous smile. "Hi, Daddy."
Fuck yeah. I could get used to coming home to this.
“Hey, sweetheart.” I join her on the floor and rest my hand on the small of her back. “Did you have fun shopping?”
“I did.” She crawls into my lap, and I scoop her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead first, then her lips. “How was your day?” she asks.
“Much better now that I’m home with you. What’re you working on?”
“Nothing. Just some color swatches.” She plays with the ends of my hair, her gaze turning serious. “What you said this morning, about me working for you. Do you think I could start tomorrow?”
“If you want to, sure. But why the rush?”
She shrugs. “I guess I just want something to do during the day.”
“You’re welcome to work for me, but have you ever given thought to becoming a tattoo artist?”
“Not like, seriously.” The way her lips perk up at the corners tells me I’ve landed on something precious—a chest of buried treasure in the form of a future she only let herself imagine in secret.
“I talked to one of my guys who has some ink, and he told me about a studio in Vestal owned by a woman named Raven. I thought we could go down there, get you your first tat, see if you like the feel of the place. If you do, we could talk to her about an apprenticeship.”
“I thought you didn’t want me working for anyone else.”
“If tattooing is your dream, then I’m going to do everything in my power to make it come true.” Teagan nuzzles closer as I give her body a light squeeze. “I have a surprise for you, angel.”
Her eyes light up. “What kind of surprise?”
“The kind you can’t have till after dinner.”
She jumps to her feet like a kid who’s been told they can’t have chocolate until they’ve finished their peas. “So, what’s for dinner?”
I put her to work chopping onions and garlic while I put a pot of water on to boil. In less than an hour, we’re sitting down to heaping plates of spaghetti with meat sauce, topped with copious amounts of cheese.
“Sorry to spring this on you, angel,” I say between bites, “but I’m supposed to host a barbecue this Saturday for folks from the office. I can postpone if you’d rather not have a bunch of strangers around this weekend.”
She licks red sauce from her lips, her expression cautious. “They’re people you work with?”
“And their families. Good people, all of ‘em, and I know they’d love to meet you.”
Teagan pokes at her pasta. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet, too.”
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“My Uncle Craig.”
My fork freezes halfway to my mouth. Since when does she have family in the area? “Your uncle lives around here?”
“In an extended stay a couple of blocks from my last group home.”
“Has he always lived there?”
She shakes her head. “I found out he was back in town about eight months ago. He used to come around when I was little, but he took off right before my mom died.”
Since she brought it up, I figure it’s okay to ask, “How did she die?”