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“I did mean it, though, Nash. I’m not in the market for a Daddy. When I agreed to go to the club with Julius last weekend, I didn’t realize it was Daddy night, and if I had, I wouldn’t have gone. When I saw the sign out front, I almost didn’t go inside.”
Something about the way he spoke told me there was more to the story than he was letting on, but he’d also made it clear that whatever he was feeling was none of my business. I was attracted to him, and I was disappointed, true. Something about Spencer screamed boy to me, and I thought a Daddy was exactly what he needed, but I wasn’t going to try to convince him that he didn’t know his own mind.
“Okay, I hear you loud and clear. So simply as a friend, I’ll say again, go get some rest. You look exhausted.”
He nodded and gave me a weak smile. “That’s where I’m headed now. I’m off tomorrow, so I’ll be fine after I get some rest.”
Spencer
I hurried back to my apartment, and as soon as the door closed behind me, I collapsed back against it. I was exhausted, and the last thing I’d wanted was to run into Nash. I knew he was just being nice, and I’d acted incredibly bitchy.
Despite what I’d said to Nash, the truth was there was absolutely nothing I wanted more tonight than to have someone here to take care of me. Ari brushed against my legs and looked up at me imploringly. “I know, buddy. You need some treats, don’t you?”
I bent over and scooped up the cat, sighing as he rubbed his head along my chin. “It’s just you and me, Ari. We don’t need any big strong cowboys to run us a bath, or fix us something to eat, or to make us a nice hot cup of tea.”
He let out a meow that was sad enough to let me know that even Ari knew how good that sounded tonight. I opened the pantry door and took out his treats. “Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds pretty good to me, too.”
I owed Nash an apology. I’d meant what I said, but I didn’t have to be so mean about it. It wasn’t like the man was offering to be my Daddy, so true or not, what I said was uncalled for, and he did work at Nolan’s place, so we would be seeing each other on occasion, and I hoped we could at least be friendly.
Any other day, I would have gone back to the coffee shop to see if I could catch him and apologize, but not today. He hadn’t been wrong. I was dead on my feet, but he also hadn’t been wrong about me needing to eat. I went to the fridge and pulled out some leftover pizza from Pete’s from a couple of days ago, tossed a slice on a paper plate, and slid it into the microwave. When the timer went off, I pulled it out and scarfed it down real quick.
I needed a shower, as well, but that could wait until morning. Right now, I needed sleep more than I needed air. I stumbled to my room, stripped off my clothes, and climbed into bed. I would make my apologies after I got some sleep.
“I can’t believe it’s Thursday. Working for Richie last Saturday has me all messed up.”
“At least this week wasn’t as rough as last week. I don’t remember when I last cleaned up so much puke.” Shay wrinkled her face, the memory of the aftermath of the stomach virus that had swept through the school still fresh.
“Ugh, I know. At least Richie’s the only one of us who got it.”
“No kidding. Oh hey, I’m going shopping over in Sweet Springs Saturday. Do you want to go?” she asked as she scanned her badge to clock out.
“I would, but I have my knitting class that morning, and since I got called in and had to miss last week, I don’t want to miss it again.”
“Gotcha. If anything changes, just let me know.”
“I will, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Bright and early.”
I’d just made it to my car when my phone rang with a call from Nolan. It had been a couple of weeks since I’d been out to the ranch, but I’d talked to him so he knew how crazy things had been at the clinic.
“Hey, Nolan,” I answered.
“Did I wait long enough for you to be off work?”
“Just barely. What’s up?”
“What are you doing Saturday?”
“Why?” I asked cautiously. I’d learned at a young age to always ask why before answering that question. More than once, I’d found myself babysitting my cousins because my Uncle Nathan asked what I was doing, and sixteen-year-old me foolishly thought he was going to suggest something fun.
“Suspicious much?” he asked.
“Let’s say experienced, not suspicious.”
He chuckled. “We’re going to have a cookout at the ranch. All Cruz’s friends will be here, and I would just feel so much better if you came.”
“I thought you got along with all the guys from the Bluebird Ranch.”
