The Promise (Neighbor from Hell, #10)(60)

Chuckling, he leaned down until his mouth brushed her ear and whispered, “They’ll never make it here in time to stop me from spanking your ass.”

“I see,” she murmured only to sigh with a shrug and admit, “I’m actually good with that.”

There was a pained groan as Reed pulled back so that he could press a kiss against her forehead. “You’re really going to be the death of me,” he said with a sigh as he pulled back and she couldn’t help but wonder about that spanking because she was more than willing to see if the family bathroom was available.

“Start talking,” he said with a resigned sigh as he released his hold on the carriage so that he could grab a bag of chips and toss it in the carriage.

“About spankings?” she asked with a hopeful smile that had his eyes narrowing on her.

“About why your brother wanted to know if my water bill was high.”

“Because he’s very concerned about water conservation?”

“Or…”

Sighing heavily, she let her shoulders sag and found herself mumbling, “I have panic attacks.”

“What does that have to do with my water bill?” he asked, frowning down at her.

“Because that’s how I deal with them,” she admitted as she turned around and pushed the carriage down the aisle.

“I’m not following,” he said, throwing another bag of chips in the carriage.

“It’s not a big deal,” she said, heading to the next aisle.

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem telling me about it,” he said as he glanced down at her carriage and-

“What the hell is that?”

“Crickets and aluminum foil,” she said, noting that tick was now completely gone, which she decided to take as progress.

“What are they for?” he asked, picking up the small plastic container filled with a dozen plump crickets.

“Fishing.”

“I see,” he said, clearing his throat as he put the crickets back, reached over and took control of the carriage and turned it around.

“Where are we going?” she asked, following after him.

“Bait,” was all he said as he headed toward the back of the store where Matt had disappeared earlier.

Speaking of Matt…

“Where’s your brother?” she asked, looking around for the man that told her that he’d be right back.

“He said something about getting an ice pack and waiting in the car,” Reed said, heading for the small fridge marked, “Bait.”

“Is he okay?” Joey asked, worrying her bottom lip and wondering if they should do this another time.

“He’s fine. Something just hit him in the back of the head and he decided that it would be in his best interest to wait in the car,” Reed said, selected several small containers from the small fridge.

“So, you were telling me about these panic attacks,” he said, making her sigh because she’d been hoping that he’d just let it go.

“Whenever the world becomes too much to handle, I step into the shower, close my eyes and slowly let everything go,” she said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal even as she became focused on a solar operated lantern that promised to leave her phone fully charged in two hours so that she wouldn’t have to see his reaction.

“Does it work?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

“Sometimes, but it’s not as bad as it used to be,” she admitted on a sigh.

“When was it bad?” he asked, holding her close.

“When I was little. My grandmother suggested bubble baths to help me relax until I broke out my microscope and showed her how unsanitary baths really were,” she said, feeling his lips twitch against her skin.

“It’s better now?” he asked, sounding worried.

“Yes,” she said, deciding that it would probably be for the best if she didn’t tell him that he was the reason why.





Chapter 35

“Does anyone want another hotdog?” the little bastard said as he shoved another one of the discounted hot dogs that they’d bought from the gas station that had taken them over an hour to find, in his mouth while Reed sat there, rubbing his hands down his face as he tried to remember if he’d promised not to maim the little bastard or kill him.

Because right now he was tempted to do both.

More than tempted.

“I’m going to kill your brother,” Jackson announced from the other side of their campfire with a slow nod and a glare at the little bastard stuffing another questionable hotdog in his mouth.

“I’m really not seeing the problem,” Matt said as he grabbed another one of the hot dogs that was seven weeks past its expiration date and shoved it onto a stick.

“I’m going to kill him,” Jackson repeated while Reed pointedly looked around the fucked up campsite that the little bastard reserved for them, pausing on the porta potties lining one side of their site and the ditch filled with empty Budweiser cans lining the other, and the pile of old camping gear that their father had forgotten to throw away dumped in the middle of the campsite kept brightly lit by the floodlights surrounding them.

“What? It’s really not that bad,” Matt said as he followed his gaze.