Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
“It’s a nest.”
“What?”
“Like in Omegaverse books,” she said excitedly.
“At the risk of sounding ignorant, what is Omegaverse?”
“It’s where there’s this dominance hierarchy of alphas, betas, and omegas. And omegas like to make nests. Like this one.”
He studied the nest. “I thought it was a fort.”
“But a fort would have to have a roof, right?”
“Whether it’s a fort or a nest, is it something you like?”
“Like? Oh no, Daddy. I don’t like it. I love it! It’s soooo awesome!” She clapped her hands together with a squeal. He’d taken the bed out of the room. Well, the frame anyway and left the mattress. They’d stopped to do some shopping on the way home and bought a pile of pillows and soft cushions. Most of the cushions were in different shades of purple, and some were even glittery.
And as well as cushions, there were some squishy soft toys. They were piled around on top of the really fluffy blankets he’d insisted she get. Probably because she’d been practically hugging the blankets in the store.
And then he’d strung fairy lights across the ceiling.
It was magical.
He’d done all of this while some guys from Callahan Security had been putting in a better security system. She hated that he’d spent all that money on her.
While they were in the shop he’d gotten a call back from the garage in Sioux Falls. Unfortunately, they destroyed credit card details at the end of each day.
Another dead end.
“Daddy, this is . . . it’s the best thing ever. Can I dive on it?”
“I guess so. But be careful! Jesus, don’t run!”
She jumped on the mattress with a squeal.
“Greer! Did you hurt yourself?
“That was so much fun!” she yelled, throwing her arms up into the air. “I want to do it again!”
“No! No doing it again.” He waggled a finger at her.
“But Daddy. What’s the point of having a giant nest if I can’t jump in it? And you said it was okay.”
“I didn’t expect you to take a running leap at it. You know you’re prone to injuring yourself. I’m thinking about investing in a massive roll of bubble wrap.”
“Daddy, don’t be silly. I hardly ever hurt myself.”
She didn’t know why he was giving her a look of disbelief. She rolled off the mattress, banging her hip on the floor. Not that she was going to tell him that. Although it might bruise. And she really would like some treasure for being a brave girl and not crying.
“Ladybug! Did you hurt yourself?”
“No,” she said in a small voice as she climbed onto her feet. He reached for her, holding her steady. His hand brushed her sore hip and she winced.
“What is it? Where is it hurting?”
“Nowhere,” she cried.
“Uh-uh, you tell Daddy right now where it hurts.”
“But then you’ll be right about me hurting myself all the time.”
“We already know that I’m right about that.” He gave her a stern look as he started giving her a pat down.
Okay, she might like that a bit too much.
“Daddy! That tickles!” she said as he moved over her sides. When he reached her hip, she winced again.
“Little girl, I can see that you’ve hurt yourself.”
“I just bumped my hip.”
“Let’s take a look.” He lowered her yoga pants. “Ow, baby. This looks like it hurt.”
“It did,” she wailed. “I was t-trying to be b-brave, but I wanted to c-cry.”
“You should always tell Daddy when you hurt yourself, understand me?” He grasped hold of her chin, giving her a stern look. “It is Daddy’s job to take care of you.”
“But now you probably won’t let me jump on the nest anymore.”
He smiled at her. “Silly baby girl. I wasn’t going to let you do that anyway.”
Oh.
Rats.
“I’m going to go get an ice pack. You lay down in your fort, uh, nest. It’s nearly time for you to have a nap.”
“Nap? I don’t need a nap, Daddy. I want to do some sketching.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You might give yourself a headache.”
“Please?” she gave him a pouting look. “Please, Daddy!”
“Compromise. Thirty minutes of sketching then a nap.”
“Are you going to nap with me?”
“I will.”
“Then it’s a deal.”
Hack glanced down at the sketch that Greer was doing. It was another one of him. “You’re not sketching me again, are you, baby girl?”
“Course I am, Daddy. You make such a good subject. So handsome and sexy.”
“Oh, handsome and sexy, am I?”
“Yep. And you have a really big nose. I like sketching people with big noses. Have you been telling lies, Daddy, and that’s why you’ve gotten such a big nose?”
“I do not have a big nose, you Little brat!” He rolled over to her and started tickling her.
“No, Daddy! No!” she cried. “Mercy! Mercy!”
“Take back what you said! Tell me that Daddy has a very cute nose. Handsome. Masculine.”
“I can’t! My D-daddy said I’m not allowed to lie!”