Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
We loved Amberlee, and we’d all expected to find a ring on her finger before they departed, but the couple had decided that long distance was a difficult road and they needed to focus on their studies. I knew it was breaking both of their hearts, but I was damn proud of their decision to put education first at their age. They’d agreed not to wait for each other, but I recognized what was between them and knew they’d find their way back to each other someday.
I rolled my eyes at Jenika’s overreaction, but then I froze in absolute horror when Kambria, our sixteen-year-old, spoke.
“You’ll understand when you’re older, Jen. Trust me.”
My head swung in Kambria’s direction, my brow furrowed and a deep scowl carved into my features. “How would you know?” I growled.
Cora placed her hand on my arm and hissed in my ear, “Stay calm.”
My heart was pounding in my chest, and when Kabria’s cheeks bloomed with pink, I glared at my wife. “Stay calm? How the hell am I supposed to stay calm when some teenage punk has been kissing my baby girl? I know what boys think about at that age, and I’m going to kill the little shit for—”
“Daddy!” Kambria barked, cutting off my tirade. “It was just one time.”
“Who is he?” I demanded, standing up from the chair I’d been lounging in and leaning over the table to stare in her eyes. Not that my intimidating stance made a difference. My girls had me wrapped around their cute little fingers and knew that as pissed as I might get, I would never hurt them.
The same couldn't be said for anyone I considered a threat to my kids. And that included horny boys panting after my daughter.
“No way am I telling you who he is,” Kambria said, stubbornly.
“Relax, Huntley,” Cora murmured in a soothing tone. But she ruined the effect when she added, “He’s a very nice boy. Very respectful and—”
“Respectful?” I snapped. “Respectful would mean facing me before he put his lips anywhere near my daughter. What the fuck was Kambria even doing on a date!”
“It wasn’t a date,” Kambria piped up. “We went to a movie with a bunch of friends and—” She stopped suddenly when I held up my hand.
I couldn’t believe my wife and daughter had been in on this together. Incredulous, I turned to Cora and bent over, caging her in with my hands gripping the arms of her chair. I stared hard and growled, “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?” I was as hurt as I was angry.
Cora raised a hand and placed her palm on my cheek, soothing my soul like she always did, even though I tried to fight it.
“I only found out this morning, babe. We were waiting for the right moment to tell you.I didn’t want you to be a grouch during West and Amberlee’s party.”
I couldn’t find fault with her reasoning, but I wasn’t ready to let go of my ire. I leaned in further and whispered in her ear, “We’re going to talk about this later, gingersnap. And you can expect your sexy little ass to be cherry red for a few days.” Cora shivered, and I had to fight back the lust building inside me so that I didn’t spend the rest of the party with a tent in my swim trunks.
Standing back up, I narrowed my eyes on Kambria. “We’re going to have a discussion about this later, baby girl. Your mother talked me into agreeing to these group outings without a chaperone, but no more! You’re grounded until I’m dead.”
Kambria jumped to her feet, slamming her hands on her hips. “You can’t be serious!” she gasped.
I stood up straight and crossed my arms over my chest, bracing my feet apart. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
“For a few kisses?”
“What the fuck? Who the hell has been kissing my sister?”
Our heads both swung to the side at the sound of West’s enraged voice.
“Language, West!” Cora snapped.
He immediately looked contrite. “Sorry, Mom.” Then the anger resurfaced, and he looked at Kambria. “Who is he? I’m going to kill the bas”—he glanced at Jenika and amended what he’d been about to say—“ketball.”
“I’ll help,” Logan—our thirteen-year-old son—piped up as he appeared at West’s side.
Then our youngest son, Micah, jumped up from the table and copied my stance. “Me, too!” he announced, scowling. His attempt at looking intimidating wasn’t as effective at eleven, but I puffed up with pride at the way all of my boys jumped in to protect their sisters.
I had to fight back a grin when Merrick, Deacon, and a few other members of our former team, lined up behind them. Our neighbor, Dillon, also stood with them. He was a former ARMY Ranger, but he’d still become like a brother to me, and treated my kids like his own.