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Garrett suddenly took it from my hands, drawing the large swath of material from the table, and Huck placed a large bowl of steaming stew on the table in front of us.
“Cedi needs to eat. Her stomach has been grumbling since she woke up.”
When I attempted to stand and resume my spot across the table, Bo pulled me back to his knee. “I like you right where you are. I can feed you.”
“I can feed myself, thank you.” I unwrapped my arms from his neck. “You need to worry about feeding yourself. I slept all day while you menfolk worked hard. Honestly, I’m not even all that hungry.”
Garrett groaned. “Now you’ve done it.”
“Done what?”
“Let your brat out to play,” Bo replied. “I will not tolerate lying, little girl. Did I not say that the first night we met?”
“I’m not lying,” I whispered, feeling a sense of rising anxiety at his frowny face.
“So Huck is lying about your stomach?”
My mouth dropped open. Fuck.
“Naughty girl.” Bo scooped a spoonful of stew and brought it to my lips.
“I wasn’t lying,” I huffed, crossing my arms. “I was being polite.”
“Mm-hmm.” He tapped my lips with the spoon. “Open.”
With an exaggerated roll of my eyes, I relented and allowed him to feed me.
When the flavors hit my tongue, I lost all will to fight and eagerly opened my mouth for more. I moaned in appreciation of the delicious combination of savory meat and mouthwatering spices.
“It’s amazing,” I muttered between bites. “Our food was really good in the city, but never like this.”
When I’d swallowed the last bite, I sat back, full, content to listen to the men chat about things that needed to be done on the farm. The gentle lull of their voices had me sleepily snuggling tighter against Bo’s chest.
“Ugh. I hate that I’m always so tired now,” I complained at myself between yawns.
“Stress fatigue,” Bo murmured in my ear. “Don’t fight it. Your body is exhausted. You’ve been through a lot.”
“I’ve been having nightmares,” I admitted as I sat up. “Please let me go so I can help clean dinner and go take a nap.”
“Straight to napping,” he insisted as he straightened me on my feet. He smacked my ass to get me going.
Though the skirt of my dress was between my skin and his palm, I could still feel the heat. It made me smile. I mumbled my thanks, gathered my new blanket, and cuddled up in it on the bed.
Chapter Twelve
I was disoriented when I opened my eyes to darkness. So much for a nap. I slept the whole evening away.
There was a solid arm wrapped around my waist, and my bladder screamed at me for relief, especially since the extra weight pressing on it made the whole issue that much more urgent.
Using care, I slowly removed the forearm from my waist and slipped out of the bed. Glancing out a window, I saw that the moonlight was bright, and thanked the universe that I wouldn’t need to wake up the guys to light a lantern for me. I made a mental note to learn how to do that myself for nights like this when I needed to pee.
I tiptoed across the cool floor, cursing that I had no idea where the men put my slippers or my new boots. I would have to go barefoot. I imagined about all the gross things I might step on—worms and frogs and snakes. I shuddered.
Hoping for the best, I opened the cabin door as quietly as possible. After carefully closing it behind myself, I ran across the yard to the little shed-like building on my tiptoes. The grass was damp and cold, and the soil spongy.
“Ew, ew, ew,” I chanted to myself.
However, I knew I had fucked up when, after opening the bathroom door, I was greeted with a pitch-black interior. “Well, doesn’t this just effing suck.” I looked longingly at the cabin and wondered if I should just get a lantern.
