by Jane Henry
“Linus doesn’t carry lean ham, Gavin,” I said. “You know what he carries. Standard breakfast sausage and bacon. And I’m not your baby.”
Gavin frowned. “All those nitrates. Is he at least carrying free-range eggs yet? Or still in the dark ages?”
“Dark ages.”
He shook his head and reached for my hand. His fingers were cold, his palm clammy, and I yanked my hand out of his.
“I’m working, Gavin,” I chided. “Let me put in your or—”
But he was too fast. His hand snaked to my waist and pulled me to his side. “I know you’re working, baby,” he drawled. “But why don’t you meet me for dinner tonight? I’ll take you to a new little sushi restaurant over the bridge in town. We can drown our woes in sake and get to know one another a bit more.”
“I don’t like fish, and I despise sake,” I lied. Though it was true I hated fish, I’d never tried sake in my life.
He frowned, his pretty blue eyes looking hurt. Damn him. “How could you not like fish?” he said, with a shrug. “ It’ll help you keep your girlish figure even after you bear children, you know.”
My jaw dropped open. “Bear children? I’m only twenty years old, Gavin!”
He shrugged a shoulder, scoffing. “That’s perfect. The younger you are when you bear them, the quicker you’ll snap back into shape. Why not give it a whirl?”
I pulled away from him. “Putting in your order,” I said, ignoring him as he continued to extrapolate on the benefits of women of childbearing years eating fish.
Lucy sidled up to me. “Can I spill his coffee on him?” The reminder of my early morning accident had me groaning out loud.
“God, don’t remind me,” I moaned.
“Remind you of what?” she asked, but just at then two things happened at once. My phone buzzed in my pocket at the very moment I heard a horrible screeching sound outside the diner, followed by shattering glass, wrenching metal, and shouts coming from outside. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. A text from my sister.
Mom is missing.
A feeling of dread pooling in the pit of my stomach, I tossed my notebook in my apron pocket, and ignoring shouts from Linus and pleas from Gavin, I ran outside with Lucy to see what had happened
My heart stuttered in my chest.
Just around the bend where I’d run into the huge jerk this morning were two cars twisted sickeningly, and one of them I knew all too well: my mom’s old navy Buick, the one I’d carefully hidden the keys for the night before. The other? The most expensive-looking car I’d ever laid eyes on.
I raced to the scene of the accident as sirens screamed in the background and onlookers crowded around the cars.
“Mom!” Was she okay? God! She wasn’t supposed to drive. She couldn’t be trusted not to hurt herself, or anyone else. The dash was demolished, and windshield shattered. Oh, God. If she hurt herself…if she hurt anyone else…
“Annabelle!” My mom’s wobbly voice came from the left, and when I turned, my eyes widened in disbelief. No way. No how.
God, NO.
My mom stood next to the man whose coffee I’d spilled this morning, his white shirt still drenched with the dark brown liquid. My mother rushed toward me, as his eyes narrowed on mine, his enormous arms crossing his chest.
“Mom, are you okay?” I asked, looking over her frail body. She was still wearing her pale blue pajamas, and a pair of slippers, her gray-streaked hair tied back in a messy ponytail, no glasses in sight. God. Where was Melody?
“I’m fine,” my mom said, with a wave of her hand. “But this one over here thinks it’s fine to run stop lights. He ought to be put in jail!” She glared at the man, whose eyes narrowed even further. His jaw clenched as he glared right back at her, pulling his phone out of his pocket and putting it up to his ear. He pointed one angry finger at me, commanding me to stay right where I was.
There was no need. I wasn’t going anywhere.
As police cars pulled up with flashing blue and red lights, I grimaced, and a stranger stepped up to me, an elderly woman with a raincoat pulled tight about her. “She’s at fault, ma’am,” she said. “I saw the whole thing.”
“You hush your mouth!” my mom began.
I put a placating hand on her arm. In the early stages of dementia, my mom was in no position to be driving, let alone giving an accurate account of what happened, which was why I’d hidden the keys to begin with. My sister was supposed to be on duty.
“Mom, please be quiet,” I whispered, trying my best to keep my cool, when the big beast of a man shut off his phone and stalked over to us, joined by two police officers and a paramedic crew.
His deep voice commanded the situation, as all eyes went to him. “The light turned green, and I began to drive,” he said, “when this ancient piece of junk slammed right into my passenger side.”
“How dare you call me an ancient piece –”
He held up a hand. “I’m talking about your car, not you. Please do not interrupt me. Fortunately, I was alone and it appears no one was truly hurt. The cars, on the other hand, are totaled.” His eyes narrowed on me. “Am I to presume that you are the one responsible for this woman?” His gaze wandered over her pajamas and slippers.
I swallowed, embarrassed by my mother’s display, horrified at the damage she’d caused, but furious at his dismissal of the one person I loved more than anyone in the entire world.
“Yes,” I said, through clenched teeth. “This is my mother.” I glared back at him, defying him to insult my own flesh and blood. His eyes narrowed on me, but he said nothing.
“Annabelle,” Officer Jones said gently. I went to school with this guy, and knew him well. With a sigh, I looked at him and nodded. “We’ve talked about this before, okay? Allowing your mother to drive like this, without supervision, is very dangerous.”
“Matthew,” I began. “I—” but it was too late. My mother heard all.
“How dare you talk about me as if I’m a child?” she said, her voice carrying over the crowd as my hand goes to her arm, attempting to calm her.
“Mom—”
“I am no older than your mother, Officer, and I am perfectly capable of driving. If this one over here hadn’t been driving like such an idiot, we wouldn’t have gotten into an accident!”
I sighed with practiced patience. “Mom, calm down. We need to get you examined,” I said, hoping to distract her. I looked to Matthew. “Can we give a report at the hospital?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Of course, Annabelle. I think they both should be checked out. Mrs. Symphony, try to relax, and we’ll bring you in to make sure you’re okay.” He turned to the big guy who was still glowering as if he were ready to breathe fire. “And you, let’s get you looked over as well.”
I turned my back to both of them, closing my eyes as the paramedics looked over Mom.
His car was worth more than my entire house. How would we ever get out of this?
Read more here: Beauty’s Daddy: A Beauty and the Beast Adult Fairy Tale
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Jane Henry pens stern but loving alpha heroes, feisty heroines, and emotion-driven happily-ever-afters. She writes what she loves to read: kink with a tender touch. Jane is a hopeless romantic who lives on the East Coast with a houseful of children and her very own Prince Charming.
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Other titles by Jane you may enjoy:
Contemporary fiction
The Billionaire Daddies Trilogy
Beauty’s Daddy: A Beauty and the Beast Adult Fairy Tale
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p; Mafia Daddy: A Cinderella Adult Fairy Tale
Dungeon Daddy: A Rapunzel Adult Fairy Tale
The Boston Doms
My Dom (Boston Doms Book 1)
His Submissive (Boston Doms Book 2)
Her Protector (Boston Doms Book 3)
His Babygirl (Boston Doms Book 4)
His Lady (Boston Doms Book 5)
Her Hero (Boston Doms Book 6)
My Redemption (Boston Doms Book 7)
Begin Again (Bound to You Book 1)
Come Back to Me (Bound to You Book 2)
Complete Me (Bound To You Book 3)
Bound to You (Boxed Set)
Black Light: Roulette Redux
Sunstrokes: Four Hot Tales of Punishment and Pleasure (Anthology)
A Thousand Yesses
Westerns
Her Outlaw Daddy
Claimed on the Frontier
Surrendered on the Frontier
Cowboy Daddies: Two Western Romances
Science Fiction
Aldric: A Sci-Fi Warrior Romance (Heroes of Avalere Book 1)
Idan: A Sci-Fi Warrior Romance (Heroes of Avalere Book 2)