The last thing in the world I was going to do was tell Ansel anything. Of course, even if I wanted to talk about William, I would have to fabricate most of the story. It wasn’t like I could say, Yeah, I met him at BDSM club where I tied him up and spanked him until he came. Romantic, huh?
Giving Ansel a sickeningly sweet smile, I said, “Either you drop the subject or I tell your friends some really embarrassing stories about you.”
“Like what?”
“How about Bubby to start with?”
Ansel’s blue eyes widened at the thought of me telling his besties about how he slept with his stuffed rabbit until he was fifteen. “You wouldn’t,” he hissed.
“Oh, yeah, I would.”
“Fine. Keep your secret man shit to yourself.”
“Thank you. I will.”
The drive from Atlanta to usually took an hour, but my lead foot made it in fifty minutes. That was even counting making a stop for Oakley to pee. It was a trip I could make blindfolded since I was so used to making it on Saturday mornings. While Ansel texted madly on his phone, I worked on lesson plans in my head.
We lived off the main highway down a long, winding driveway surrounded by fenced-in pastureland. My dad and mom had built the house when they got married. It was a two-story Cape Cod Farmhouse design with a wraparound front porch. The twenty-five acres had been a wedding gift from Grandpa and Grand-maman. They had divided the acres they’d owned between my dad and his brother, Mark. My uncle, who was a theater major, had no desire for country life, so he’d sold his land to my dad before he moved to New York.
In the last six months, my dad’s condition had deteriorated even more, and he now needed someone to be there during the day to cook his meals and take care of the house when Ansel was at school. My dad’s cousin-in-law, Susie, had offered to take the job, and it was nice having a member of the family around, rather than a stranger.
I hopped out and Ansel followed, and headed for the guys. While the guys worked at unloading the truck, I took Oakley and went on inside the house to see Daddy. I found him reading the newspaper in his Power-Lift chair in the den. “There’s my girl,” he greeted.
After setting Oakley down on the floor, I hugged him tight. “Yep. I’m home for good now.”
“I’m so glad to have both my children under the same roof again. Of course, it won’t be long before Ansel is leaving us.”
“He won’t stay away long. He’ll need someone to cook his meals and wash his clothes.”
Daddy laughed. “That’s true.”
Susie came bustling into the room, a wet dishcloth in her hand. “Hey there, stranger,” she said, her smile deepening the grooves in her face. Her auburn hair was swept back in a bun with a few wisps escaping on the sides. Since she came through the week, I didn’t get to see her when I came home on the weekends. Her husband and my dad were first cousins and had grown up together. Sometimes she felt more like an aunt than a cousin-in-law.
I gave her a hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“Excited about tomorrow?”
I nodded. “And nervous.”
“You’ll do great,” Susie answered.
Daddy smiled. “Of course, she will. There’s not a thing that Sophie does that she doesn’t excel at.”
Waving my hand, I teasingly said, “Oh, do go on with the compliments.”
Ansel and the guys appeared in the doorway. “All the boxes and furniture are in your room.”
“Thanks.” Looking at Jason and Jody, I said, “I owe you guys for helping Ansel out.”
“Nah, we were happy to do it,” Jason replied.
Jody grinned. “Maybe you could have our backs on late passes from time to time?”
I laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Score!”
They waved good-bye and then headed for the door. After they were gone, Ansel came into the den, collapsing down onto the couch. “So did you tell Dad about your boyfriend?” Ansel teased, with a wicked grin.
“Boyfriend?” Daddy questioned, his brows popping up in surprise.
Narrowing my eyes, I mouthed, I’m going to kick your ass.
Just try, he mouthed back.
Ha, if he only knew, I could beat the hell out of him in more ways than one. Meeting Daddy’s expectant gaze, I said, “There’s no boyfriend. Ansel is just giving me a hard time.”
“There’s a boyfriend all right. She got all goofy-faced when he sent her a text.”
“Fine. There is a guy I’m talking to.”
Daddy’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “That’s wonderful. Where did you meet him?”
Fuck me. He would have to ask that one. Quickly, I concocted a story in my head. “I met him running at Kennesaw Mountain on Saturday. We just started talking, so I think it’s a little early to call him a boyfriend.”
With a wink, Daddy mused, “You never know. I wanted to marry your mother the first day I saw her. She was tearing down the rodeo arena on her horse, dodging in and out of barrels. She had the most determined look on her beautiful face.”
Although I had heard that story a million times, it never got old. Nor did seeing the expression of love my dad wore when he told it. “We’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.”
“I sure hope something good comes of it. I want you to be happy more than anything in the world.”
“I’m happy,” I protested.
“Happy in love.”
While he was a romantic at heart and sincerely wanted me to find love, I knew my father wasn’t saying what he really meant. With his time running out, he wanted to see me married. He wanted to have the peace of mind that there was someone to take care of me when he was gone. “Yeah, yeah, I hear you.” I rose off the couch. “I better go get started unpacking.”
“I’m cooking your favorite for dinner—chicken and dressing,” Susie announced.
I grinned. “Wow, I didn’t think I’d get that until Thanksgiving. Thank you.”
She kissed my cheek. “You’re welcome.”
Throwing a final look at Ansel, I added, “Sleep with one eye open tonight, little brother.”
He laughed. “Bring it on.”
Tuesday morning dawned bright and beautiful with red and orange rays of sunshine streaking across the azure sky. Most mornings, I wasn’t up to see the sunrise, but today I had set my alarm for an hour earlier than needed. There was no way in hell I was going to be late on my first day. Even though the school was a twenty-minute drive from the house, I planned to give myself forty just in case. Of course, Whitfield wasn’t Atlanta, so the odds of a major traffic pileup were slim.
After showering and getting ready, I went in to check on Daddy. I found him awake and watching the news. “Good morning.”
He turned to look at me and smiled. “It is a good morning. My baby girl’s first day of teaching.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Well, the teaching doesn’t come until Monday. This week is all about boring meetings and getting my classroom ready.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great. Get Ansel to help you in your classroom after football practice.”
I snorted. “He’ll love the hell out of that, I’m sure.”
Daddy grinned. “It’ll keep him from mucking the stables, which he hates.”
“That’s true. Do you want me to get you something to eat?”
“I’ll wait for Susie.”
“But I have time, and I don’t mind.”
He shook his head. “You just focus on you today. Okay?”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. There was little in the world that could break me quite like my father’s concern and compassion. “Okay. I’ll do that.” I rose up off the bed and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Bye, Daddy.”
“Bye, sweetheart.”
Even after grabbing a biscuit and some coffee from McDonald’s on the way in to school, I still arrived ridiculously early. There were just a few cars in the parking lot. Once I got inside, I went to the main office and signed in. The secretary gave me the key to my classroom. The principal, Dr. Newsome, had showed it to me the day he’d given me the job.
After unlocking the door and turning on the lights, I just stood there, taking everything in. Mentally I started decorating the room, rearranging the desks and putting posters on the wall. But before I got started with any of that, I needed the boxes from my car that held my books and personal effects.
I spent the next two hours making trips back and forth to my car for boxes and then unpacking them. As I carried the final box from my car and back into the building, my phone dinged in my pocket. After depositing the box on one of the desks, I dug it out. Although I hated myself for it, I couldn’t keep what Ansel would call my “goofy grin” from spreading across my face when I saw it was William.
Thinking of you.
Three little words, but damn, did they pack a punch. I’d been thinking of him too.
For a few seconds, I merely stood staring at my phone. It didn’t escape me that only William would be so formal as to not write “u” for “you”. I quickly texted him back. Loser, shouldn’t u b working?”
Hard to focus when all I do is think of you came his quick reply.
My heartbeat accelerated so fast that I almost gasped in my next few breaths. The man was truly unbelievable. Wealthy, good-looking, kind, a body like a Greek god, and a fantastic lover. Of course, he was also a submissive who needed kink to get off. I sighed at the fact there always had to be something.