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“I’d do about anything for you, Ace. You can believe that, but I’m not about to risk life and limb when there’s a door downstairs.”
“You can’t use the door. Don’t you understand the hell that will be unleashed if Mom knows the two of us are playing mattress mambo?”
“Shit, you’re cute,” he says.
“Listen, I know I’m asking a lot, but I can promise I’ll make it up to you.” I grab a pair of jeans and slip them on. I can feel his eyes on me, watching my every move and when I look at him, hunger begins to burn in my stomach.
“What are we talking?” he asks, and there’s a glint in his eye that should make me nervous, but it doesn’t. It makes me happy. That might be why I utter the words I truly never meant to.
“I have a bunch of vacation time saved up. I could take a couple of weeks off…”
“You will spend those weeks with me and in my bed.”
“If I say yes, do we have a deal?” I ask, as I pull on my sweater
“Oh yeah, Ace. We have a deal.”
“Great. I’ll call you later today after I talk to HR about scheduling time off,” I promise going over to him and placing a kiss on his lips. I start to pull away, but Slater has other plans. He doesn’t let me go, instead he pulls me back into his naked, warm body. His lips are back on mine and his tongue slides into my mouth, claiming me completely. My heart flipflops in my chest and for a moment I lose myself in the moment. Eventually, however, I force myself to pull away.
“Talk to you soon, Bat-Boy.”
“Yeah. Soon, Ace,” he says just as I walk out the door. I smile as go down the stairs, my steps lighter.
I was saving vacation time to cash them in for a check right before I quit. Taking a couple of weeks might hurt the bottom line…
But it will be more than worth it.
CHAPTER21
Marigold
“I thought you were going to sleep the day away,” Mom chastises as I enter the kitchen. My heart is beating a million beats per minute. I have no idea what I’m doing, I just know whatever I do I need to keep Mom and Dad inside until Slater has a chance to escape. I might also keep them out of the front room—just in case. It’s not that I don’t trust Slater, it’s just that I saw his face when he looked at the window. I can’t say as I blame him. He’s a big guy. Just getting through the window could be an issue.
“That’s funny. I don’t know how you expected anyone to sleep with the racket you’ve been making,” I huff. I hate that I sound breathless and full of nerves. I try to cover it up, but my mother has a sixth sense about this kind of thing. I can’t help feeling like disaster is just around the corner. There’s a shoe hanging over my head waiting to drop and it’s a freaking heavy shoe—full of impending doom.
“That’s what I love about you Marigold. You’re always so full of sunshine in the morning,” Mom responds snidely.
I wince. “Sorry. I think the long shifts at work are getting to me. I walk to her and kiss her cheek.
“I’m worried about you working so hard.”
That comes from Jansen. I smile and walk over to the table where he’s sitting, eating eggs, bacon, and toast.Damn they really have been awake for a while.
“I like my job,” I respond. It’s a familiar argument but the concern I see in his face never fails to warm me. I walk to him and kiss his temple. His arm comes around me and he hugs me close for a minute.
I love all my family but Jansen’s love for me and the fact that he made me his daughter completely when he didn’t have to, sustains me. He’s always been my hero. I remember when I was only ten and the school was having their annual father and daughter dance. The mean girls at school—led by big-mouth Reba Thacker—took great pleasure in taunting me and telling me that I couldn’t come because I didn’t have a daddy and that Jansen was just staying around because of my mother. The person I am today would have throat punched her. Back then, I wasn’t that person. I was tall and gawky compared to the other kids. I was overweight at the time and about as graceful as a bull in a China shop. Jansen not only came and danced with me. I didn’t see him much before the dance. Mom said he was working hard on a special project just for me. I had no idea until the night of the dance. Mom led me outside on the porch. At the bottom of the steps was Jansen. He was wearing a suit with a brand-new white Stetson and holding a beautiful corsage of red roses that to this day I still have pressed in my favorite book. Until that day, I don’t think I’d ever seen him in anything but faded, dusty jeans. I knew he went to the extra effort—all for me. To a little girl who fell through the cracks in all the hustle and bustle that was my crazy family it was like a dream.
He put my corsage on my wrist and told me how beautiful I looked. His eyes twinkled and pride was bare on his face. It was so prevalent on his face that even at ten, I could see it. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful. I’d always loved Jansen but that was the moment that I knew he truly felt I was his daughter. From that moment on, he was and always will be my dad.
I thought the night couldn’t get any better. That was until this large horse and carriage pulled up. It was white and blue and covered in twinkling lights. It looked just like Cinderella’s carriage. I knew right away what Jansen had been doing. We all knew how good he was when it came to building. He built me that carriage. I knew he had. I didn’t have any doubt. I remember just standing there, taking it all in. I could tell he had bathed and groomed the best horses we had on the ranch, and they were beautiful. Their manes and tails had been braided in an intricate mermaid braid with these sparkly diamonds woven in. Later, I found out that he had asked Mom for help with that.
I felt exactly like I was part of a fairytale and overcome with emotion and gratitude, I threw myself into Jansen’s arms. He held me there on that step, kissing the top of my head, asking if his princess was ready for the ball. We rode in the back of that carriage down our driveway, waving at everyone.
The night only got better when we pulled up to the school. My superhero, football star brother, White, was dressed as a coachman. He “drove” us there. Once we stopped, Jansen got out and told me to wait. White jumped down from the carriage to help me out and put my hand into a waiting Jansen’s. The icing on the cake was to see the way big-mouth Reba and her entourage stood around watching with their mouths hanging open.
I danced the night away in the arms of my hero.
My dad.
