Page 55 of Property of Stone
“Are you staying? Do you want me to take Sunny?”
“Yeah. Just know she’s bein’ a total bitch right now ‘cause I took her phone.”
“Yes, well…if you haven’t noticed, she normally isn’t a little ray of sunshine towards me, Stone.”
“Know it. That pissy attitude don’t change, she’s gonna lose her phone ’til it does. And if that ain’t enough, she’s gonna lose TV privileges, too.”
All she’d be getting was one of those coloring books and a box of fucking crayons to keep her occupied.
“Let’s go get her,” he suggested.
Her jaw dropped open and her blue eyes went wide. “You want me to come with you? I can wait here with Wren.”
“Yeah, wanna show you around since this is gonna be Baby Bird’s nest away from home.”
“Uh. I?—”
Here came the shit. He cut off the flow by yelling out, “Swallow!”
The sweet butt sitting next to Wren lifted her bleach-blonde head.
“Keep an eye on the kid, yeah?”
“Anything for you, Stone.”
That was what he always wanted to hear. He tipped his face down to Taryn. “That’s Swallow.”
“I heard. Do you call her Big Bird?”
“Her name ain’t got nothin’ to do with a bird.” Stone cocked one eyebrow at her, smothering a grin. “Let’s just say she got no gag reflexes.”
“Oh.” Taryn chewed on her bottom lip as she considered the woman across the room coloring with her son. “I’ll assume you tested that out.”
“Often.” Stone tugged that plump bottom lip down with the pad of his thumb. “How ‘bout you?”
She pulled her head back, freeing herself from his touch. “How about me, what?”
“Askin’ ‘bout your gag reflexes.”
She blinked. And blinked again. “What does that have to do with taking care of your daughter?”
It didn’t. It had to do with taking care of him.
The blood drained from her face. “You don’t expect more than that, do you? Because if so?—”
He grabbed her arm and turned her toward the propped-open double doors. “C’mon. Let’s go make sure my bad attitude hasn’t run away.”
“Did she threaten that?”
Stone huffed, dropped the cigarette butt, and crushed it beneath his boot.
Her mouth gaped open. “You’re just going to leave that there?”
“Like I said, sweet butts will get it. And yeah, she threatened to become a hobo and ride the rails so she no longer gotta listen to her dick of a dad.”
“I could imagine her saying that.”
“I don’t need to since I fuckin’ heard it with my own two ears.”
