Page 164 of Daddy's Trust
“Hack,” he said.
Ink nodded. “Enough said.”
44
Addie stared at the TV without really seeing what was on the screen. Monroe was leaning against her, and they had a blanket over them. She had Snaggles tucked in next to her chest. And she was wearing her hoodie with the sneaky squishies sown into the wristbands.
Moving Snaggles up higher, she rubbed him back and forth under her nose.
“I’m so sorry about this, babes,” Monroe told her.
Addie gave her a surprised look. “About what, the movie? It’s not your fault it’s terrible.”
After their visit from Ink and Brody yesterday, Monroe had disappeared into her room and hadn’t reappeared.
So Addie had gone to find Monroe first thing this morning, declaring that she wanted to watch cartoons in her pajamas. Well, cartoons had led to movies, and they were still sitting here under the blanket, not doing much.
She wasn’t sure where Cash or Ralen were, but Butch was in and out quite a bit.
Things felt different with Cash since yesterday. She tried not to let it affect her, but it was difficult. She had feelings for him,and he didn’t feel the same way. That wasn’t his fault, and he’d been nothing but kind.
Well, other than when he spanked your bottom.
“No, for the fact that we’re stuck here. I know it must be hard on you especially. You didn’t want to come to Billings in the first place, and now you’re away from everything that you know. What about your work? Don’t you need to get back to that?”
She did need to get back to it. She’d been doing what she could on her phone.
She should have bought herself a laptop. If they stayed here much longer, she’d have to get one. So far, all of her authors have been understanding. It helped that she’d taken some leave from her job when she’d come here, knowing that she wouldn’t have her computer.
“This isn’t your fault,” Addie told her. “Now, we’re all going to be fine. Well, maybe not if we keep watching this movie. It’s brain rot. Let’s watch a cartoon. What about something old school likeRainbow Brite?”
“They don’t haveRainbow Brite,” Monroe said sadly. “We could watchThe Land Before Time. You love that movie.”
She really did. But they couldn’t find that either. So they settled onIce Age, which she also loved. They snuggled in under the blanket.
When the movie finished, Monroe got up and stretched. “I’m going to go have a shower. Thanks, Addie. I needed this.” She walked off towards her bedroom.
Addie was still worried about her, but there wasn’t much she could do at the moment. She glanced up as the door opened and Cash walked in carrying some bags.
“Hey there,” he said to her. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” she replied.
Cash put his hands on his hips. “Well, you sound a lot better. Still not sure you should be talking.”
“I’m starting to think you don’t like when I talk. Is there something wrong with my voice?”
“Of course there isn’t,” he told her. “I love your voice.”
She froze in shock at that word, even though she knew he didn’t mean it like that. He didn’t actually love her. It was just a word people used.
“You have a beautiful voice,” he told her. “That’s not what I’m concerned about, all right?”
Addie got it. “My throat feels a lot better today. I think, as long as I don’t overuse it, I can talk just fine. Where have you been?”
“Oh, just doing some jobs.” He didn’t look at her as he said that, and she wasn’t sure why. Did he not want to tell her where he’d been? Well, it wasn’t like he owed her any explanation, was it?
They were just friends. Were they even friends? She wasn’t exactly sure. But he didn’t need to tell her where he was going and when he would be back.
