Ink ran his hand over his face. “We’ll find a school with security. I don’t think it’s a good idea to home school them. They’re too…energetic.”
That was one word for it.
“I’ll get some contractors in to see about renovating the back of the warehouse behind the garage. It just houses my gym, but there’s enough room for two large bedrooms and a bathroom.”
“Really?”
Seemed that he’d been thinking about the future when she hadn’t.
“Of course. They can’t keep sharing that bed. They’re teenagers, they need their privacy.”
“I know. Thank you. For everything. I know they’re not the easiest kids.”
“Hush,” he told her in a gentle admonishment. “They’re yours. That’s all I need to accept them. The fact that they’re industrious, smart and kind to their mother is a bonus. But they’re grounded for the foreseeable future and I won’t hear any arguments.”
She shook her head. She’d never be the disciplinarian. It just wasn’t in her and it was a relief to give that to Ink. Whether the boys listened to him…she worried at her lip.
“What is it?”
“Umm, I just…I hope they don’t…I mean, they’re not used to a father figure…”
“We’re gonna get on fine, Betsy.”
“Are you sure?”
“I was a wild teenage boy once. I got this. It’s mostly all about hormones.”
If he said so.
“But now onto your punishment.”
“My punishment? Why? What did I do?”
The look he gave her told her that he thought that was a stupid question. “What did you do? What did you do? How about disobeying a direct order given for your safety? What was the last thing I said to you before I got out of the truck?”
“Oh, yeah, that.”
“That? Yes, that. I told you to stay locked in the truck, Betsy. You put yourself in danger.”
“I saw the paramedic running. I thought someone had been found injured.”
“By some miracle, they came out without a scratch and no one else was involved. Things would be a different story if they had been.”
God, she hadn’t even thought of that.
“What did I promise you if you got out of the truck, Betsy?” he crooned.
Uh-oh. She wasn’t going to be sucked in by that too-gentle voice. She tensed, geared herself to run. He wouldn’t, would he?
“Betsy,” he demanded.
“The belt,” she whispered. She was both intrigued and terrified at the idea of him using his belt on her ass.
“Five licks of the belt are owed. Be grateful it’s not ten,” he added as she opened her mouth to protest.
“Now? But they’ll hear!”
He frowned, looked over at the door. “Damn it. I should have soundproofed this room.”