Page 87 of Fierce-Jax

“It’s a little early to be asking those questions,” she said.

“Can I ask after lunch then?” Gianna asked.

Jax burst out laughing. “I think what your mother is saying is that it’s not a simple question to answer and we’d much rather focus on you. I bet you like having all the attention, don’t you?”

“I do,” Gianna said.

“Then you get to have it all,” Dillion said. She turned her head and mouthed, “Thank you” to him.

Guess it wasn’t as hard as he thought it might be.

28

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

“Come on, Gianna,” she said a month later. “We are going to be late.”

“How come I had to get up so early?” Gianna said, dragging her feet.

Her daughter never moved this slowly in the morning, but she had gotten her up early again to get to Pre-K before her normal time.

The second day this week she had to do it and was going to thank her mother again for everything she had done in the past several years.

She didn’t realize how hard it was to get herself and her daughter ready and out the door so early and on time.

“Because Grandma and Grandpa are on vacation until next week. Remember? I’m bringing you to school and picking you up.”

“I want Grandma to come back,” Gianna whined. “Then I can sleep in. I don’t have to go so early when she’s here.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry. But I’m working while you’re in school.”

Though she had full staffing and even a new nurse taking on patients and doing more services on her spa menu and injections, she still had a long list of patients.

It’d taken her time to get used to five days a week over the four she’d worked before she bought the practice.

But she would not let this fail and that meant putting the time in to expand.

Did she need to take a vacation?

Yep, she did.

But she’d like to take one with Jax and he couldn’t get the time off.

Instead, she worked this week when Gianna was in school and just brought her earlier and picked her up a little later, but not a full day like other kids who went there.

Gianna sat on her bed rather than going to her drawer to get her socks, so Dillion walked over, pulled a pair out, and put them on her daughter.

“I don’t want these socks,” Gianna said.

“Then get the ones you want and do it before I get to the number three or you’re wearing those.”

She counted. Normally she had a lot more patience with her daughter, but today she’d overslept herself. How the hell had that happened?

She had an internal clock that never failed, but today it did.

Thankfully it was only twenty minutes, but twenty minutes was a lot when you’re already not doing your normal routine.

When she hit three, her daughter was sitting on the bed pulling socks on that she’d picked out herself.