Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“I live with my grandparents in Willow River.”
“I’ve lived in this town my entire life, and I’ve never seen you around.” I know damn well I would have remembered her.
“I just moved here. I was in school, but—” She glances back at Ada. “—life happens.”
“What about your parents?” I ask her.
“They’re—not helpful. They disowned me when I refused to end my pregnancy. They said that I was ruining my life.” Her eyes break away from her daughter and come back to me. “My daughter is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I withdrew from school and got a cheap apartment, but I was struggling to make ends meet. My grandparents insisted Ada and I come and stay with them. A fresh start, I think they said.” I see her eyes go wide before she turns to the window, realizing she just revealed her family history. I have a feeling she didn’t mean to blurt all of that out. Something inside her must have wanted me to know that she’s trying. That she may seem helpless, but she’s doing the best that she can. She also more than likely doesn’t want me to think she’s taking advantage of her grandparents.
“Who are your grandparents?” I ignore the other part, because the anger I feel on her behalf is brewing inside my chest.
“George and Harriette Gunderson. They own—”
“Gunderson’s Hardware,” I finish for her.
“Yeah. You know them?”
“I do.” She seems to relax even further in her seat at the realization. “Good people.”
“The best,” she says, emotion filling her voice.
Glancing at the clock on the dash, I see that I’m really late. “Hey, I have a small thing I was supposed to be at for my sister-in-law Jordyn. She’s opening a boutique. Do you mind if we stop there before I take you home?” The offer is out of my mouth before I can take it back. I could drop her off at her grandparents’. Their place is at the other end of town, but it’s maybe ten extra minutes. However, I think Stella needs some happy in her life, and today is definitely about the happiness with the boutique opening. Besides, I’ll introduce her to my sisters-in-law. She’s new in town, and I’m only helping her meet new people.
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“No intrusion. I promise. There are a lot of us. The more, the merrier.”
“What about Ada?”
“Are you kidding? I have lots of nieces and nephews, and don’t be shocked if someone steals her away for some baby snuggles. There are a lot of us, and not enough littles for all of us to get snuggles at the same time.” I hope that the smile I give her eases some of her worry.
“We’re at your mercy, Maverick Kincaid.”
My cock twitches. I know that’s not what she means, but damn, this sexy siren and her words and that fine ass of hers is all kinds of temptation.
It’s been an hour since Ryder called, but I’m finally pulling into Kincaid Central. It’s a huge building where we will now have family get-togethers with a table big enough for all of us and more. It’s something that my sister-in-law Jordyn insisted on when she recently came into an inheritance. It’s also the location of her boutique. Today is the soft opening for family only, even though we’ve all spent a lot of time here during the build, helping out where we could.
“Ready?” I look over at Stella.
“You sure about this? Won’t they think we're—together?” she asks.
Her cheeks are the lightest shade of pink, as if she’s thinking about the two of us together. I have to fight to hide my smirk.
“Nope. They would already know if you were mine.” With that, I grab my keys and slide out of the truck. I open the back door and unbuckle Ada from her car seat, just as Stella rounds the back of the truck.
“I’ll take her so you can spend time with your family.”
“You’re hogging the baby snuggles, darlin’. That’s not going to work in there.” I point over my shoulder to the massive building. I quickly transfer Ada into her arms. “Come on.” Reaching in, I pick up the diaper bag and toss it over my shoulder. With my hand on the small of her back, I lead them inside.
“Hey, everyone.” I wave. “This is Stella, and this little cutie is Ada. Their car broke down, and I gave them a ride into town after calling Dec’s shop to tow their car. I told her the more, the merrier.” I rattle off an explanation, partly so that Stella will feel more comfortable and partly because my family is all looking at me like I’ve grown a third arm since the last time they saw me. It’s not like they’ve never seen me with a beautiful woman before.