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I scowled. “What’s going on?”
She stood to the side so I could see Phoebe. “She finally fell asleep. It was only a few minutes into the flight when she let her eyes close. I put the pillows and blankets around her and it seemed to help her rest.”
I stepped around her to get to Phoebe. “It’s okay, Andrea. I’ve got her.”
As I approached, I saw Phoebe burrowed in blankets. When I saw the tie-dyed sweatshirt she had on, I knew it was that short little dress I liked on her, but it wasn’t very warm. I scooped her up while Andrea arranged the blankets around her legs. Together, we took her to my truck and I secured her in the backseat.
I gave Andrea a curt nod and hopped in my truck. I made a couple calls, then drove to the edge of Taylor Ridge, stopping at the Food Truck Park. Glancing over my shoulder, Phoebe was still asleep. So, I jumped out, picked up our food, and headed for home. I didn’t know what happened to my girl, but I was going to find out.
I lived to the west of Taylor Ridge, in a little town called Janesville. Population was somewhere around five hundred, give or take, and most houses were somewhere around one of the three lakes in the town limits.
As we bumped along the private road to my place, Phoebe’s voice startled me. “Where are we?”
I cast a glance to the rearview mirror. “Paradise.”
“Your own Walden Pond?” There was a hint of mirth in her voice.
I glanced back at her. “It’s a lake, but yes.”
I caught the tail end of her rolling her eyes at me. There, now she was on the road to recovery.
“What is that heavenly scent?” she moaned.
I felt my cock twitch. “Food. Hungry?”
She sat up a little. “Starving.”
I nodded ahead. “Good, ‘cause we’re here.”
My house was a vaulted ranch with a basement. I liked it for the simple design, white wide-plank vertical siding with solid dark wooden doors and shutters.
She gave a little gasp. “Holy shit, Ransom. This is your place?”
I winked at her. “There’s a screened porch facing the lake and a patio with a firepit. Want to grab some hot cider and sit out under the stars tonight?”
Her face went blank. “I think I’ve just come.”
Shaking my head at her, I chuckled as I pulled into the garage.
As I got out to help her, she pulled the blankets closer. “I’m not wearing a coat.”
I huffed. “It’s with your luggage. I didn’t bother with it.”
She blew out a breath. “Oh, poor Edgar. He practically carried me I was so tired. I didn’t really sleep last night.”
I grumbled. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you inside and settled. Grab my neck.”
She shrunk back away from me, denting my pride. “You want me to what now?”
I took a deep breath, gathering all my patience, and lifted her out of the truck. She sputtered and kicked around so hard, I almost dropped her, but I carried her inside despite her antics.
When I set her in a chair at the dining room table, she huffed looking up at me. “I could have walked, you know.”
I grunted.
I heard her little snort first, then we both busted out laughing. I set one hand on the back of her chair and one on the table as I doubled over. When her laughter died away mine did too.
“Ransom,” she said, touching my face, the glint of the three rings on her lithe fingers entrancing me.
