Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 554(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
“Sure, she’s getting a ton of intel from her tea parties with the McNamara-O’Malley girls,” Henry snarked. “My baby girl will get into intelligence ops over my dead body.”
Max huffed and pointed Henry’s way as though he’d made his point. “And that’s exactly what you would say if you were a spy.”
“Little Poppy is welcome,” Mel intoned. “She won’t cause any trouble at all, but we do need to talk to you, son.”
If anyone but Mel had called him son, he would have challenged them. But Mel had been the one to take him hunting when his grandfather’s grief had gotten to be too much and he needed to be alone. Mel had taken Sawyer and his brothers camping and fishing. He’d sat up and listened to them talk about Mom.
Mel got all of his respect. Which meant he needed to take this whole thing with some seriousness. “All right. If you’re going to warn me off Sabrina, you should know I already tried. I explained how I am and why it won’t work. I didn’t like try to be charming to fool her. She got a full dose of me, and she’s still here. She’s…tenacious.”
“We’re not here to warn you off her.” Mel sat down, adjusting his ever-present ballcap. Sawyer could only see the smallest piece of foil poking out. Cassidy had gotten good at tucking it in for him. “We’re here to make sure you don’t screw this up.”
Well, he hadn’t expected those words to come out of Mel’s mouth. Did they understand?
“My wife will torch the town if she loses Sabrina,” Rye said with a shake of his head. “I’m not joking. Sending Paige to school has made it so much easier to handle the boys. All of that sweet sanity flies out the window if Sabrina runs back to civilization because some asshole breaks her heart. She views Sabrina as a saint and one she will defend bodily if she has to.”
“I don’t think she would leave town if we broke up.” Sawyer was pretty sure she would stun him and explain the town was hers now and he should be the one to leave.
Max leaned over. “Hey, you should warn Wyatt about small, unnamed children who might be out to kick him in the shins. I fear the day Paige gets big enough to kick a man in the…you know…”
Why was Paige going to take out Wyatt’s shins? Before he had a chance to ask, Talbot was taking his seat next to the mayor, Rafael Kincaid.
“Sawyer, we felt after what happened last night, we should talk. I know what happened was violent, and you might think Sabrina seeing you forced to attack those men might frighten her. You’re probably thinking about taking a step back,” Stef began in an oddly soothing tone.
“That would be a mistake,” Rafe advised.
“Rookie mistake,” Max added.
“Women are more than capable of making their own decisions,” Henry counseled sagely while Poppy drooled on his shirt. “Nell was scared the first time I had to kill a couple of assassins in front of her, but we talked about it and she handled it. Our women are stronger than we think.”
Rye’s eyes rolled. “Dude, you had to sleep on the couch for three whole seasons.”
“Guest room,” Henry corrected. “She needed some time to think, but the point is I didn’t walk away in shame. Sawyer, I know you would never admit it, but I suspect you’re actually quite sensitive.”
“I’m not.” He wasn’t in any way. Well, his dick was sensitive to Sabrina walking in a room, but that was about it.
Henry ignored him entirely. “So you’re probably feeling shame at having to expose a woman like Sabrina to such male brutality. You have to talk to her. You have to let her know this isn’t who you are in your normal life, but the need to protect her brings out your inner beast from time to time.”
Sawyer looked to Wright, who was sitting back. He was in jeans and a T-shirt today, a smirk on his face.
“You didn’t tell them?” These men were under some misconceptions.
Wright shrugged. “I thought it was your story to tell. They’re worried you’ll think Sabrina’s too delicate to handle all the violence she saw last night.”
“I didn’t touch any of those men,” Sawyer admitted. “I was way too busy trying to get Sabrina out of the line of fire. She’s slippery, though. She got away and used a stun gun on two of them. Also, she bashed one of them with the tequila I use to make Jen’s margaritas when she and Stef decide to pretend she’s a hooker or something.”
“Uh, sex worker, thank you,” Stef argued losing his smooth tones and sounding more like the Stef Sawyer knew. “It’s a little role play, and you have to admit your bar is on the seedy side. It doesn’t work at Trio because Zane is impossible. My wife has some specific fantasies, and getting paid is one of them. I’ll replace the tequila.”