Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
They pulled over about twenty minutes later after he made a quick call to Donovan who was driving behind them. She didn’t know whose vehicles these were. It was different from the other one he’d driven around Angel. Maybe they’d rented them for the drive.
“Wait in the car until Daddy helps you out,” Hayes ordered before climbing out of the vehicle.
Devi blushed. He didn’t expect her to call him Daddy while they were in public, did he?
She watched him walk around the truck, his gaze on his surroundings. Was he expecting something bad? Was it possible that Fury was following them?
That was unlikely right? Would he really go that far just because she’d blabbed to the cops?
Devi swallowed heavily. Maybe.
He opened the door and grabbed hold of the pillow, putting it on the floor before undoing her seatbelt and drawing away the blanket.
“We don’t have to stop if it’s dangerous,” she said as he lifted her down from the truck.
“I’d never stop if it was dangerous,” he told her. “But it pays to be vigilant just in case.”
All right then.
He wrapped an arm around her back and walked with her into the service station.
“Donovan is staying outside but he wants snacks,” Hayes said as they stopped in the aisle with the potato chips.
Yummy.
“Right. Pick a bag for us and for Donovan,” he told her before they moved onto the chocolate aisle. By the time they finished they had more snacks than three people could really eat.
“Are you sure?” she whispered to him as they headed to the counter.
“Baby, it’s a road trip and your first one. We have to do it properly. Besides, you’ve lost more weight and I don’t like it.”
Those last words were said grumpily but she didn’t take offense.
He just wanted to keep her healthy. When they walked back out, she managed to trip over something by the door and he quickly picked her up, managing to put her on his hip, the bag in his other hand.
“Daddy!” she cried quietly. “You can’t carry me like this!”
“Is your arm all right? Did you jolt it? Hurt it?” he asked.
Her arm was in a sling to protect it and it had barely moved.
“It’s fine.”
“You’re not lying?” He set her down by the car to open the door.
“Of course not! I don’t lie.” Much. Only when really necessary.
He huffed out a breath. “You do lie. But not to me. You always tell me the truth. That’s a rule.”
“Gonna need a list of all these rules. They’re confusing.”
“I can do that. We can talk about them on the way to Sanctuary Ranch.”
Oh, goody.
That sounded like so much fun.
When he opened the door, she saw Coco sitting there. Who had gotten her out of the trunk?
“Donovan got Coco out. You don’t have to worry about hiding your Little from anyone on Sanctuary Ranch. They’re all in the lifestyle. There are a number of Littles on the ranch. Some of whom get into quite a bit of trouble. You will not be one of them.”
So. Bossy.
He got her comfortable again, putting the blanket over her, then doing up her seatbelt.
“Oh, I won’t?” she asked in amusement.
“You won’t.”
He shut the door and took Donovan his snacks. When he returned, he opened a packet of chips and some of the candy.
Yummy.
She took a couple of chips, not wanting to eat too many. Hayes was a big guy who needed a lot of fueling.
“Don’t know what I was thinking letting you walk on your own,” he muttered. “Should have carried you into the service station. Should just carry you everywhere.”
Dear Lord.
She needed to put a stop to this before he really started to think that this was a feasible possibility.
It wasn’t.
“You can’t carry me everywhere.”
“Sure, I can. You’re light as a feather. Drink some water. You haven’t been drinking enough. And why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like your snacks?”
“Of course I do. But you need to have some too.”
“They aren’t for me, baby.”
“But . . . but . . . you can’t have bought all of these for me.”
He shot her an incredulous look. “Of course I did. I’ve got to keep myself fit. I can’t do that by eating all this junk. Donovan has youth on his side, I don’t. Now, eat some more. And drink your water.”
“You are so bossy, Daddy.”
“Well, I have to be. I have a Little girl to take care of.”
Devi wished he would take care of her all the time. That she could be his Little girl forever. It was going to be so hard to go back to being just Devi. To doing everything for herself.
Sitting back, she tried to get comfortable as The Wiggles sang their happy songs. She especially liked the one about the potato.
36
Hayes snuck a look over at Devi as she slept.
He couldn’t believe that she was coming home with him. He was going to be taking care of her all the time.