Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Hooking my finger beneath the band, I gave it a tug. But… I left it. “Thanks, Fluff. Maybe some other time.”
His lips parted a little before his attention jerked toward the door at the exact time Duncan’s did too. Except my donut’s tail went up. He wagged.
“Yes,” he called out telepathically at the same time Henri raised his voice, “Ladybug?”
Agnes?
There was a pause before the doorknob turned, and a small face appeared in the crack.
I kept my expression as even as I could despite the fact my heart felt funny at the remote expression on Agnes’s features. She was so stoic for her age. Too stoic. “Come in, Mini Wolf,” I called out, waving her in.
Her body language was all serious shyness as she shuffled inside, her eyes bouncing from Duncan to me to Henri.
Whether it was Henri that reached for my fingers over the covers or it was mine that went for his, the backs of them touched, and I didn’t need Duncan’s telepathy to know we were on the same page. We both recognized why she was here.
And we both wanted her to stay.
I should not like him this much. I knew it. It was a waste of time and energy, and I had too sensitive of a heart for it. But, in that moment, telling myself not to have feelings for him, to not admire the kind of man he was, seemed like the hardest thing I might have ever done. Like telling myself to write with my left hand for the rest of my life. Like putting on mascara without squinting to do it.
“What do you need?” Henri asked, his tone kind.
Dressed in lilac pajamas with teddy bears on them, she went up to her tiptoes. “I was looking for you,” she replied, her voice quiet and very unlike the side-eyeing child who tried to bite people she didn’t trust.
“Does Sera know where you are?” he asked her.
She peeked up at us quickly before looking back down at the floor. “I told her I was going to the kitchen.”
“We talked about you disappearing on them,” he scolded her, already pulling his phone out with his free hand.
The one that wasn’t still touching mine.
“I’m sorry,” she said, not sounding that sorry at all… just hesitant.
“You’re not in trouble, Ladybug, but you can’t be doing that. It worries us if we don’t know where you are at night.” Henri unlocked his screen and pulled his messaging app up.
I knew because I was looking.
I cleared my throat and slid my gaze back to her before I got busted. “Mini Wolf, do you want to hang out with us?”
I tried not to smile as I patted the space to my right. “There’s a perfect, Agnes-sized area right here.” The movie was going to be gory, but I’d overheard kids younger than her in the nursery talking about what kind of video games they played, and they were not PG.
“Yes,” my donut agreed, his tail still wagging at the sight of his friend.
“Duncan said you should,” I translated.
An adult would have played hard to get. The child that she was, didn’t. She nodded instantly and made her way over to the side of the bed where Duncan was. Agnes petted him, giving him a kiss between those incredible ears, and with a careful avoidance of meeting anyone else’s eyes, she climbed up onto the spot I’d pointed out. I set the apple plate between us since I knew she was the only one who didn’t care for jerky much.
At least my jerky.
Pretending like I didn’t see her going for the fruit all sneaky-like a second later, I put my hands on my lap.
But I almost flinched when a fingertip grazed my cheek. I turned my head to the man beside me, trying so hard not to seem shocked by his touch. Please, body, don’t do anything embarrassing.
He wasn’t helping.
Henri’s thumb slid across my jawbone.
Thank you, he mouthed, flicking my earlobe with a rough thumb.
I didn’t dare freaking breathe.
And I was super grateful for it when he leaned over and pressed his mouth to my temple for all of point two seconds before pulling back.
I didn’t want to know what my face looked like in that moment.
While I was reeling over the fact that his mouth had touched my face, he said in a very low voice, “After high school and that year I lived in New Mexico, I moved up to Montrose to get my bachelor’s, spent two years working for the police force there afterward, and that’s when Matti’s mom died.” He paused, the silence so loud while his throat bobbed. “I didn’t know what to do, so I got Matti, and we moved here. I took a job with the county, finally took over my responsibilities, and I’ve been here ever since.”