Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Righty-ho?
Who the fuck said righty-ho? She was definitely losing it.
“You sound strange. I think I should come in,” Beck replied.
“You can’t! I’m naked!” It was the first thing that came to her mind. And now he was going to think she was a total nutjob. Because why would she be in her uncle’s room naked?
A groan escaped her.
Uncle Willy glared at her. “Why are you lying? Who is that man? Is he your lover?”
“What? No! He has a woman, Uncle. You met her. Chloe.”
Too late, she remembered that he thought she was Lia.
“Why are you calling me uncle?” He released her wrist, which was an immense relief, but then he grabbed his head.
Monkeyballs. She needed to get him to relax. To sleep. This stress wasn’t good for him.
“We’re all good, Beck. Thank you.”
She prayed he just left. When there were no other noises, she sighed with relief. After locking the door, she turned to her uncle, who was staring around in shock. She moved closer to him. “Why don’t you take a nap?”
He shook his head. “What is happening? Why is a man visiting you while you’re naked, Lia?”
He lunged, pushing her back. She stumbled, stepping on the glass with a wince. She’d taken her shoes and socks off when she’d entered the house earlier. So there was nothing to protect her bare feet as she stood on the shattered glass vase.
Agony shot through her left foot and she had to breathe through the pain in order not to let out a scream.
Damn. Talk about amazing self-control.
It wasn’t like she was a stranger to pain. She’d lived with it for years. Still did.
So she could bite her lip and suffer through a bruised wrist and a cut foot.
No problem.
There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her uncle.
Sadness flooded her along with resolution. She’d continue to take care of him. It was the very least that she owed him.
7
Two hours later, Maggie limped tiredly down the stairs. Her foot was throbbing along with her wrist.
Crap. She was falling apart.
But at least Uncle Willy was sleeping now. And he’d likely wake up with no recollection of what had happened. That was a blessing. She knew he’d be devastated if he ever found out that he’d hurt her.
She’d found a box in a storage room down the end of the corridor and had carefully picked up the pieces of the broken vase and put them in the box. And she’d managed not to cut herself again.
So, yay her!
She walked toward the back door, intending to take the glass to the rubbish bin outside. She froze as she saw a familiar figure enter the house.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
He stared at her for a long moment. “Why aren’t you asleep?
“Uh-uh. I asked first.”
A frown crossed his face.
“You know, you’re going to give yourself crow’s feet if you keep frowning like that. Actually, never mind. Too late.”
“Why are you sneaking around in the dead of night?”
“I am not sneaking.”
He gave her a look of disbelief.
“I was moving quietly so as not to disturb anyone. I was being considerate. Of course, I don’t expect you to recognize that, seeing as you’ve never been considerate of anyone in your life.”
“Little Misfit, you are close to pushing me too far.”
Hmm. That sounded like an invitation to push a bit more . . . and why was he calling her little? She wasn’t that small.
But as she opened her mouth, a wave of exhaustion washed through her. What was she doing? She didn’t usually go around antagonizing people for fun.
She needed to have more control than this.
“Why were you sneaking around?” he demanded.
“Again, I wasn’t sneaking. Sneaking implies that I was doing something nefarious. If I were, I wouldn’t get caught. I walk lightly. Not all of us are built like elephants. I was taking this out to the bin.” She rattled the box she held.
He glanced down at it.
“I broke a vase. See? No grand conspiracy. I’m not trying to discover any state secrets. I doubt they’re hiding in the bin. Although maybe I’m wrong. And if I did find them, what would I even do with them?”
“You’re rambling.”
Because she was bone-dead tired. And if one more person insulted her, yelled at her, or asked her to do something, she just might cry.
Toughen up, princess.
What right do you have to cry? You’ve got to tap into the pain. Use it. Fight.
“Whoa. Are you all right?”
Opening her eyes, she found Ian standing about a foot away from her. That was disturbing. She peered up into his eyes. Yeah, definitely crow’s feet. Of course, on him, they looked all sexy and stuff.
It was official. She was losing her mind.
“Never better,” she replied. “Fine and dandy. Sweet like candy.”
Dear Lord.
Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse. They did. Now she was speaking in tongues. Some weird sort of rhyming language that was frankly disturbing.