Page 20 of Sawyer (Sabre Security Daddies #6)

“ T he least you could have done was let me say goodbye to Hector in person. He depends on me to keep Videotopia going.” Lele stared out the rear window of Saul’s truck and watched the “Welcome to Elk Jaw” sign grow smaller.

Saul shook his head and kept driving. “You talked to him on the phone, right? Tell me what you told him again.”

“I told him I needed the week off and that I was going out of town for the week.”

“That sounds like goodbye to me, Half-Pint. We didn’t have time to stop and deliver the message in person. Besides, he has the college kids you trained, am I right?

“Well, yes.” She replied and seemed to relax a little bit.

“Remember, we’re trying to get to my hometown before they run out of muffins and coffee. Today, they have a flavor you’re going to love.”

She didn’t ask what flavor that was because she knew he wouldn’t tell her. She knew this because they’d already had this conversation three times, and they’d just cleared the city limits.

It was hard to think of muffins anyway since she was using all her mental prowess to keep from throwing up. This was the first time she’d left the town of Elk Jaw in two years. The last time she’d left town had been five years ago on a state bus headed for the Blackford Correctional Facility.

A rough, warm hand wrapped around hers, making it impossible to keep scratching the skin on her thumb.

It wasn’t bleeding. Yet. But the swollen red mark burned.

“Baby, what’s wrong? I thought you might like to get away for a while to relax, and I want you to meet my friends.

They are looking forward to meeting you. What has you so upset?”

“Hector got really mad, Daddy. It wasn’t fair of me to just call in on a Monday morning and tell him I wasn’t going to be there. I’ve never missed a day of work since I got back to town.”

Something flashed behind her Daddy’s eyes, but it disappeared before she could tell what it was.

“Then I’d say you were due for a vacation.

We aren’t going far, but I didn’t see the need to tell him where you’d be.

Fair warning, if he bothers you by calling and texting about work all the time, I’m going to take your phone. ”

“But Daddy, he might need me. I do a lot at the bar.”

“I think what you meant to say is you do everything, Half-Pint. It’ll do him good to run the bar for a few days to remind him of how much he needs you.”

She couldn’t argue with that, so she said, “I guess.”

It had been her experience that, when it came to the video bar, if she didn’t do it, it didn’t get done. Hector was busy running the town. And she was proud of him. Even in a town the size of Elk Jaw, the mayor was an important office.

“I don’t want you to worry about it, Lele. You need some time to unwind. And we need time to get to know each other better.”

She did like the sound of that.

Her Daddy spent the entire trip telling her stories about his hometown of Darling.

She’d heard of it. Of course, she had. Who didn’t know about the town where Littles could live with their Daddies or Mommies out in the open because it was a small resort town for families with younger children to visit.

How had she known Saul for going on three weeks and not known they lived in the same district?

Sure, it was the largest district in the state, and they lived on opposite sides.

Finding out new things about him was so much fun.

She was going to love it when she knew everything there was to know even more.

She was on the edge of her seat when they pulled into Darling. It had the perfect name, that was for sure. It had everything a Little could want. When they drove past the large fountain and gazebo in the town square, all she could do was stare. It was beautiful.

Once they were parked at a super cool coffee shop called Books-N-Brews, Lele was so excited she unlatched her seat belt and hopped out of the car. Coffee and books, together in the same store? With muffins, too? Who could blame a girl for having a hard time controlling her impulses?

Her Daddy, that was who. Talk about a buzz kill.

She’d taken only three running steps toward the shop door when her feet were no longer touching the ground.

A band of steel disguised as a muscular arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

The next thing she knew, she was back in her Daddy’s truck, this time in the back seat.

Even worse, he put her over his knee and began thoroughly dusting the seat of her pants.

“Ouch! Oh! Daddy, stop! Someone's gonna see.”

“You chose this, babygirl, not me. Anytime you break the rules… the ones we went over not two minutes ago… you can expect immediate consequences. You may want to keep that in mind.”

He only gave her nine swats, three for each rule, but it might as well have been five hundred. Even with her bottom starting to sting, all she could do was look out the window to make sure no one was walking by. Thank goodness he at least had tinted windows .

He turned her back over, holding her on his lap.

“I know you’re excited because you’re in a new town.

But there are still dangers here, and the rules still apply.

You do not unlatch your own seat belt. You do not open your own car door.

And you are damn sure not to get out of the truck and run off. Do you get me?”

“Yes, Daddy, I get you. I'm sorry. I'm just excited. Can we go in now?”

His eyes narrowed, and for one heart-stopping minute, she thought he was going to turn her back over his lap.

“Wait here.” He exited the back seat on the driver's side, coming around the back of the car to Lele’s side.

Opening the door, he hesitated just long enough to say, “You may not leave the coffee shop without me.” Then lifted her out of the back seat and onto the pavement

She nodded, trying not to skip instead of walking.

A bell rang as they opened the door. Everyone stopped and stared.

Her smile faded a little. People stared at them and whispered as they walked to Books-n-Bews.

Their smiles were friendly, though she had no idea why they were attracting that kind of attention. She stepped closer to Saul.

She’d hoped a new town would mean people would be nicer. Darling looked like a nicer place. But somehow, the stares they were getting didn’t feel nice.

Paranoid thoughts that they already knew who she was crawled through her mind. But that was silly. What she had been through was six years ago. She didn’t even look like the same person.

Was it her Daddy? Why wouldn't they like her Daddy? Her back snapped straight, and her eyes narrowed. There was no good reason not to like her Daddy. If they were mean to him, she’d hack into their sound system and change all their music to seventies disco music.

She was about to ask him if they could leave when an older woman with silvery white hair stepped up to the counter and smiled. “Saul, it's so good to see you. It’s been a while. Where have you been hiding? I assume you still take your coffee, black and strong."

“I do, Vivi. I’ve been out of town for a few weeks. This is Lele. It’s good to be back home. And my coffee order hasn’t changed. The stronger the better.”

Giving her hand a squeeze, he led her to the counter and lifted her onto a stool. Why was everyone so fascinated with them? She’d think, being a resort town, they’d be used to seeing new people.

Her heart skipped a beat at the most horrifying thought ever.

Trying to look as nonchalant as possible, she glanced behind her to make sure she didn't have toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe trailing after her.

Of course, how she would get toilet paper on the bottom of her shoe walking across the sidewalk from the truck to the shop, she had no idea. But still, she checked just in case.

The old woman stared at her harder than anyone else did, as if she were looking straight into her soul. Then somehow her smile grew even warmer. “Welcome to Darling, child. Are you just getting into town?" The woman's eyes shifted to Saul before returning to Lele.

"Yes, ma’am. My Dadd— um, I mean Saul, wanted this to be the first place I saw. He says we have to start with the best, and this place was the best.”

“Best coffee and muffins on the planet," her Daddy confirmed

The woman nodded, extending a hand toward one of the girls standing to her left, who was furiously wiping a spot on the counter in front of her with a dry towel.

“That would be all Tazzy’s doing,” Vivi said. “She does have a creative flair. Now, Lele, I know what your Daddy wants.” She smiled at Lele’s gasp.

“What can I get for you?” Vivi said .

She scanned the menu board. There were so many choices. Too many. “I’ll just have what my D-Daddy’s having.”

Hand covering her heart, Vivi shook her head. “Oh, heavens no, child. You might as well drink motor oil. Tazzy, come fix Saul’s Little girl the frappe of the month. What was it called again?”

When Tazzy didn’t move, the other girl stepped up. “I’ll make it,” she said. “I’m Georgia. It’s nice to meet you, Lele. Let me get that order started for you. But first, how do you feel about the supernatural beings that are living in the Himalayas?”

Before she could think of a suitable response, if there even was one, to Georgia’s question, her Daddy said, “No.”

Georgia scowled at him. “I wasn’t talking to you, Sawy— l. Saul. I was talking to Lele.”

He ignored that and repeated, “No. You are not getting her pulled in on your crazy bucket list mania. She isn’t going on a Yeti expedition in the Himalayan mountains.”

“I might.” The words were out of her mouth before she even knew they were formed. What the heck?

He glared at her. Now, she was no brat, but didn’t every Daddy know not to get into a staring contest with a Little in public? Surely that was in the manual somewhere. If not, it should be because her gaze locked on his. The battle was on.