My lips tug into a smile.
God this kid and her mouth. I pity the poor soul who marries her one day.
Chapter 2
Easton
“The fuck you mean I gotta keep watching her? You said you’d be back last night with ice cream. She won’t shut up about it. Goddamn.” I clutch my cell phone to my ear wanting to break the damn thing in half.
“You owe me another quarter,” Wylla Mae chants.
“Hush, brat. I’m on the phone.”
“I’m not a brat.”
“Are too,” I growl.
“Jesus. Are you two done?” Murder snarls in my ear. “Listen, some shit happened with her mom. It’ll be a couple more days. You can handle a kid, can’t you?”
“Christ. Days?” I hold my cell phone from my ear and glare at it. Putting it back to my ear I ask him again, “Days?”
“Take her to your place. I’ll be over Monday.”
“Monday,” I roar but the line is dead. He’s hung up already.
“Let me guess. You gotta keep watching me.” She blows out a breath that has her bangs flying up.
“Shut up and eat your eggs.” I slather butter on my toast as Pam shakes her head at us.
“Fatherhood looks nice on you, East.”
“I’m not her dad. For fuck’s sake.” Clang. I drop the butter knife to my plate.
“That’s another quarter,” Wylla Mae singsongs. Her voice is still raspy, but she has more color in her cheeks this morning.
“Yeah well, we’ll take it off my fees.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Nothing. Pam, you seen Grudge around?”
“No, why?”
“Need a helmet for the brat.”
“I’m not a brat. Yesterday you called me Lady.”
“Fine.” I blow on my coffee. “Lil’ Lady needs a helmet.”
“Stop calling me little.”
Fucking hell my head is splitting. Kid is driving me nuts.
“You’ve got your hands full. Never would have thought I’d see you handed your balls by an eight-year-old.”
I scowl at Pam and drink my coffee.
“East has balls? What kind of balls? I like to play with balls. Dodgeball is fun. I don’t like football or baseball. Soccer is okay. Mom wouldn’t let me play soccer. Said I’m too little, but I’m not even the shortest kid in my class. Bobby Miller is like this tall.” She holds a hand to her shoulder to demonstrate the Bobby kid’s height.