Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49258 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
“I’ll bring in the ice cream. You go with Pippa.”
“Thanks…” Giana hesitated for a minute before adding, “Daddy.”
“Come on, Giana. I brought my stuffie to show you.”
Giana looked over her shoulder as she allowed Pippa to tug her toward the house. Koa mouthed, “Good girl,” to her. He recognized how brave she had chosen to be.
CHAPTER 10
Giana, Pippa, Aspen, and the latter’s faithful dog, Rexy, sat in the blanket fort Jerico had created for them over four lawn chairs. He’d even equipped it with a small rotating fan to circulate a breeze in the summer evening heat. The three women sat eating their concocted ice cream cookiewiches.
Rexy as usual didn’t beg for food. Aspen had explained earlier about the abuse the sweet canine had suffered from his first owner. He simply lay on the blanket close to his rescuer getting frequent pets from all three little girls.
“I love Rexy,” Giana said and took another bite of her treat.
“He’s a sweetheart. I love this dessert, Giana,” Aspen congratulated her.
“It is yummy!” Pippa agreed.
“Mmm.” Giana nodded in agreement with her mouth full.
“How are things with your daddy?” Pippa asked.
Giana held up a finger to ask for a second and finished chewing her bite. It gave her a few seconds to think as well. She swallowed and smiled. “I’m so happy.”
The others beamed back at her. “That’s awesome,” Aspen said.
“I didn’t know what having a daddy full-time would be like. I mean it’s only been a few days, but I love how much he cares about me.”
“We’ve enjoyed this break as well,” Aspen shared, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
The woman giggled at her funny expressions.
“They won’t be sent away soon, will they? I wanted to ask when I saw Koa repacking his supplies.” Their expressions answered Giana without either woman saying a word. “I was afraid of that.”
“That’s the tough part of having a daddy who’s a soldier,” Aspen admitted.
“And the best part?” Giana asked.
“The best eye candy ever,” Pippa answered without hesitation.
“Definitely,” Aspen agreed, doing that thing with her eyebrows again.
This time, their laughter was a bit louder, attracting attention from the men sitting a short distance away.
“They’re talking about us, aren’t they?” Giana recognized Koa’s voice and heard the amusement in it.
“Oh, yeah. Talking about their daddies is a favorite topic,” Zale said.
“Only because you’re so cute, Daddy!” Pippa called out to him.
“Thank you, Kitten. Are you drinking your water?” Zale asked.
Pippa picked up her water bottle he’d reminded her to take into the fort and displayed it for the others. It had maybe a few sips missing. “Yes, Daddy. I’m working on it.” She unscrewed the top and took a big drink.
“That’s my good girl,” he answered.
“He’s always on me to drink water. Yuck. It’s so boring,” Pippa said quietly so the men wouldn’t overhear.
“I’ve drunk more milk since meeting Koa than I have in twenty years,” Giana confessed. “I’m concerned. I’m starting to like it.”
“Definitely my daddy makes healthier choices for me than I do for myself,” Aspen admitted.
“Do you feel better?” Giana asked.
“I do,” Pippa piped in. “Of course, my daddy is the medic. He takes care of everything to do with my body. Even when I don’t want him to.”
Aspen nodded sympathetically. “I bet. I always feel better when Daddy calls Zale to come over and check me out. But… after the treatment.”
“Wait. Why does Zale come over to check you out?” Giana asked.
“He is the team medic. He’s a nurse practitioner—the highest level of nurse. Kind of like a doctor-light. He can prescribe medicine and have tests run. He keeps the guys healthy on missions and when they’re home, too. My daddy trusts Zale so much—and he’s great. He helped with birth control, random things like an ear infection, and when my tummy gets wonky,” Aspen shared.
“He, like, examines you? Or just prescribes some generic type of medicine?” Giana asked.
“Examines, pokes, prods, and treats,” Aspen admitted.
Giana turned to Pippa. “Isn’t that weird?” Her thoughts jumbled inside her brain as she tried to understand and not panic.
“You mean Zale seeing Aspen naked? It bothered me in the beginning, but I realized he sees the guys naked, too. He’s seen a lot of people without clothes on, and he chose me.”
That made some sense to Giana; even so, she wasn’t sure she’d be that okay with it.
“Besides, I like Aspen. I don’t want her ear to hurt or for her to be worried about getting pregnant if she’s not ready for that,” Pippa told her.
“Zale’s great. He’s better than any doctor I’ve ever had, and my daddy can stay with me, and no one thinks it’s weird,” Aspen added.
“Is my daddy going to want me to see Zale, too?” Giana asked. She tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice. Giana definitely hadn’t considered that someone she saw frequently would get to see all of her.