Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
She always felt special when she heard that sigh. Like he had been restless and now he found home.
“Nope,” a familiar voice replied. “You usually call me Papa, baby girl.”
Papa? Her papa was here? She forced her eyes open. Where the hell was here? Why was her papa here? He was supposed to be in Dallas living it up.
Her papa’s face came into focus. He looked tired, lines around his kind blue eyes. His big hand came out to smooth back her hair like he had when she was a child. Oh, how she loved this man. “What’s happening?”
“Livie, you’re okay.” Her mother was here, too, and she had the worried expression on her face Olivia saw far too often recently.
Okay, something had gone wrong. She closed her eyes and tried to banish the headache that was throbbing in her head. Her thoughts were jangled and fuzzy. She’d been at The Barn. She’d foolishly sent her men off to dance and thought she could enjoy her margarita in peace, but then Scott had shown up.
“Olivia, you imbibed a drug called gamma hydroxybutyric acid.” Gigi stepped up and seemed to be checking the IV that was attached to her arm.
She was in the hospital. It was surreal. How was this happening? Where were her men? “Someone gave me GHB?”
A rape drug. What had happened? She’d been at The Barn. She’d been with friends. She certainly hadn’t gotten up and given Scott the chance to be alone with her drink. He’d sat across from her, and she hadn’t taken her eyes off the fucker.
Until she’d started to feel weird.
It came in flashes. The conversation with Miranda. Gabe being an ass about Gigi. She sent Garrett and Keane off, and after a few minutes Scott was there.
What had he said? He wanted to talk about something.
“Yeah, well, I think you might have underplayed the events of the last few days. The fire wasn’t an accident, and you never mentioned someone slashed your tires.”
Dad was here, too, and he didn’t sound thrilled that she’d tried to protect his vacation.
She tried to sit up but her papa gently pressed her back.
“You need to rest,” Papa said. “Dad will handle everything.”
She didn’t want her dad to handle things. “I took care of it. I talked to the police, and Garrett got the insurance claim going. It’s not going to affect work. I moved the meetings out to Dad’s office.”
Her dad paced the floor, his cell on his ear. “I don’t care how old she is. I don’t care that her name is on the building deed. She is my child, and I will be informed.”
Her father didn’t care about rules and laws when it came to his kids. He was in full-on freaked-out dad mode, and it would take hours to bring him down. Her dad was perfectly reasonable almost all the time. He was thoughtful and patient and kind. Until he felt out of control about the things he loved, and then he tended to lose it.
“Is he in custody?”
That made Olivia sit up straight. “Custody?”
Papa stayed calm, his deep tone soothing. “I think they found the man who was trying to kidnap you.”
Her mother blinked back tears. “I can’t imagine what could have happened.”
Oh, she was sure her mom had imagined everything. Every horrible act that could have been perpetrated on her had flashed through her mom’s mind, and probably twice for her dad. Her papa would let it go when he knew she was safe, but it would linger for her mom and dad.
It was one of the ways they worked. Papa’s emotions were shared, while her dad’s ran deep. Papa softened Dad’s edges, and they both gave her mother things she needed. Papa’s sunshine. Dad’s steady hand.
It struck her so forcibly. Garrett brought the sunshine. He was smart and quick and good with the big gestures.
Keane was quiet, far quicker to listen than to talk. He took care of the day-to-day gestures. He was the last in bed, the first one out. Not because he was eager to get to work. He got up to ensure the coffee was made. He would make breakfast for her and Garrett, and all the things they needed for the day were always settled on the bar at the back door.
It was the thing she’d tried to avoid. Marrying men who were very like her dads. It seemed weird and wrong, but her parents were happy. They loved each other. Never once in her life had she questioned that. They went through insults and being looked down on, but what they got out of it was something remarkable. They got love. They got partners who would never let them down. Partners who stayed during the hard times.
Why on earth would she not want that?
“Hey,” Papa said, his expression morphing into deep concern. He reached out and brushed away tears that were falling on her cheeks. “You’re okay. It sounds like they caught the man who did it. We’ll make sure he never comes close to you again.”