Page 202 of Santa Daddies

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

A knock on the window made her cry out and she glanced up at him as he loomed over her car. Why was he so big?

Couldn’t he have been small and elderly? That would have made things so much easier. Her car door opened and he leaned down.

“Fucking cold. I’m not coming out again. Get your ass inside or you’re going to freeze to death out here.”

“You could say something reassuring.”

Shoot. What was she doing?

Be nice, Alice. You don’t want to make him angry.

“Sorry!” she cried. “I didn’t mean that.”

He snorted. “Yeah, you did. Not gonna happen, though. I’m not a reassuring guy.” Then he sighed. “Guessing you’re worried I’m a rapist or murderer.”

“No,” she said weakly. “I’m not worried about that at all.”

He leaned down further, his face close to hers. But she was too scared to take note of his features. “Don’t lie, little girl. That’s the number one house rule. The thing that will get you kicked out. One, if you lie. Two, if you invade my privacy. Got it?”

“Yep,” she managed to get out.

“I get it. I’m a big guy.” His voice softened. “You’re a woman alone. I’m an asshole. I’m grouchy, blunt, and rude. Don’t give a shit what anyone thinks of me. But I would never harm someone smaller than me. Spank their ass, yes. However, I only do that with consent.”

Her mind was reeling. What the what now?

Had he just threatened to spank her? If she consented.

Yeah. That wasn’t happening.

Sure. Like that didn’t make you curious.

“Oh, and if it makes you feel better, my best friend is the sheriff.” He turned around after saying that and she noticed with surprise that he had a cane. Had he hurt himself? He was definitely limping.

Somehow that made her feel better too.

Why? Because you’ll be able to run away from him?

Maybe. Was that a terrible way to think?

Yeah, probably. But it also made her feel better to know that he was friends with the sheriff. Didn’t really mean he was a good guy, but surely he was less likely to hurt her?

Alice sighed. She didn’t know why she was overthinking this. She knew what she was going to do.

Getting out of the car, she grabbed her suitcase and the three bags of groceries. It was awkward, trying to get everything inside on one trip. But she managed it, opening the door and dumping everything in before shutting it again with a sigh.

Then she glanced around as the warmth hit her icy skin.

Oh. Wow.

She walked further into the living room. The ceilings were tall and peaked, which made the area appear huge. There was a big kitchen at the other end of the room with a long island. Off to her left was a stone fireplace that was lit. Two armchairs sat across from the fireplace. It could use a rug on the floor. Maybe a few cushions on the brown leather armchairs. Definitely a masculine room. But it worked.

At the other end of the room, a large television was wall-mounted and a sectional sat in front of it. There were no pictures on the wall. Nothing extra, really. Just the furniture and the television.

She was drawn to the fireplace, placing her hands close to the flames to see if they would warm the chill that had seeped into her bones.

“See you finally made it inside. Thought you were gonna sit in your car all night.”