Junkyard Dog(43)

“This boy was making fun of Chipper,” Cricket explains casually. “I told the kid to stop being an *. He got mad and threw dirt at Chipper. I jumped on the kid and made him eat dirt. One of the kid’s friends tried to hit me, so Chipper knocked him to the ground. We did nothing wrong, but the principal had to make an example of us.”

“You got into a fight at school,” I say. “That’s something wrong.”

“I was defending Chipper, and he was defending me. We were loyal to our family. How can that be wrong?”

I look at Hayes and sigh. “See what I have to put up with? They’re too damn smug for their own good.”

Chipper smiles at Hayes. “When I knocked that kid down, he cried.”

“Good,” Hayes announces, surprising no one. “Punks need to be treated harshly, or they won’t learn. It’s in their DNA to keep messing with people until they hit a wall. You were that wall. Now you get a vacation from school. Everyone wins.”

“You’re not helping,” I mutter.

Hayes grins. “You didn’t expect me to.”

“No, I guess I didn’t,” I admit, grinning. “I swear I’d homeschool them if we didn’t do work here that no child should witness.”

Hayes knows what I’m talking about, and he also suddenly realizes the kids’ vacation will leave him sexless for the rest of the week.

“Get them a babysitter,” he says.

“Who?”

“Anyone,” he mutters, walking away.

“Would you leave Nightmare with just anyone?” I call out to him.

Hayes shuts his door without answering. He pretends to be pissed, but I know he’s only horny.

The twins go with us to the Waffle House for breakfast. They ride with me while I follow Hayes around to all of his sites. The four of us eat lunch together. It’s a weird arrangement, but no one complains. The kids are happy to be out of school. During the afternoon, they work quietly on their assignments in the meeting room while I finish up with things for Hayes.

On the second day, the boss man brings his dog. I suspect Nightmare is meant to entertain the kids. Whatever the reason, we order pizza into the office for lunch and skip running to the various sites.

“The backyard looks great with the sod,” I say, leaning against the doorway while watching the kids kick a soccer ball.

“I miss you,” he says, kissing my shoulder and then walking away. “Feels like we’re running a daycare.”

Watching him sulk, I laugh. “This is nothing like a daycare. There's no crying or tantrums. Well, except the one you’re throwing.”

Hayes frowns at me from his spot near my desk. I look outside to where Nightmare chases the ball. The kids laugh and run around the fenced area. They’re happy here, and I wish I could bring them every day.

“Don’t you miss me?” he finally asks in a grumpy voice.

“Of course. I could leave them at Honey’s house for a few hours tomorrow if you want.”

“Why not all day?”

“They hate it there.”

“Why?”

“Wouldn’t you hate hanging out with little kids and an unhappy housewife?”

Hayes shrugs. “Normal women get daycare when their kids stay home.”

Now I feel grumpy. “Besides missing out on the f*cking, how exactly are you put out in this situation?”

“I paid for their food.”

“I'll pay then.”

Hayes waves off my offer. “This is a workplace, and they shouldn’t be here.”

“I’ll stay home with them tomorrow then,” I say, crossing my arms angrily. “On Monday, they’ll go back to school, and I’ll be back.”

Hayes grumbles under his breath, but I pretend to ignore his irritation.

“I drove by your house the other day,” I say, and he instantly glares at me.

“Why?”

“I was curious.”

“Are you stalking me?”

“Yeah, sure. Love the gnomes, by the way,” I tease and then flash him a grin. “So anyway, I noticed your house is really large, and that got me thinking.”

“About what?” he growls in a voice his enemies know well.

“This office is set up all wrong,” I say, pretending not to notice the death stare he’s giving me. “All of the space is in the front while you have a tiny office where you can barely stand without knocking over shit.”

“So?”

“So you ought to have one of your crews move that wall out and open up your office. I’ve cleared up all the mess and organized it into the cabinets. You could easily double your office, and I’d still have plenty of space out here.”

Hayes says nothing, and I finally look directly at him. “You’re a big man, and you live in a big house. You should have a big office.”

“Everything is so simple for you, isn’t it, Candy? You think something needs to happen so I should just open up my checkbook and do it.”

Nervous heat flows up my back, and I instantly sweat. I’ve seen Hayes go junkyard dog on people before, but he’s never focused all of his angry energy at me.

“It’s not like you’d be getting a bigger office for my benefit,” I say weakly.