“Pfft.” Abby let out a breath of air in frustration. “You were teasing me first. Don’t believe a word he says, Linc.”
“Why, Little girl, do you think it’s a good idea to call me a liar?” Kent flipped her over once they were in the kitchen and set her on the benchtop. Then he placed both hands on the counter and leaned in with a stern look.
Though Linc thought he caught the other man’s lips twitching.
“Well? Hmm?”
Abby was bright red as she gazed from Kent then back to Linc. “No, Daddy.”
Kent turned to look at him. “Linc, what can I do for you?”
“I just need a quick word. I can meet you in your office in ten?” Linc offered, trying to give them some privacy.
“No, stay,” Abby said quickly. “Please. No need to go to Kent’s office when you can talk here.” She was a total sweetheart, even though he’d interrupted their Sunday together.
Abby looked a bit tired today. There was a paleness to her skin that he didn’t like. And dark patches under her eyes.
“What do you say?” Kent asked her.
“Sorry, Daddy,” she whispered.
Leaning in, he kissed her lightly. “Good girl.” He stepped back and grabbed a towel to wipe off his face. “Linc, you want a drink or anything? Coffee? Something stronger? Beer?”
“Beer would be good.”
Kent nodded and helped Abby down then he went to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers. Abby moved to the sink where there was a pile of dirty dishes, obviously from their baking. Some cookies lay out on the tray, waiting to go in the oven.
Kent handed him a beer, then wrapped his arm around Abby’s waist. “Leave these, sweet girl. I’ll tidy up soon. You go on up and have a lie down for a bit, okay? I’ll come in and check on you later.”
She looked over at Linc then up at Kent. “Are you sure? I can get these done quick.”
Kent shook his head then kissed her on the forehead. “I’ve got it. Off you go.” He turned her around and with a soft pat on her ass, sent her off.
“Come into the living room. Take a seat.”
Linc sat on one armchair while Kent sat opposite, both of them took a sip of beer.
“Abby okay?”
Kent nodded. “Yeah. Just tired. A nap and an early night and she should be fine.”
“She’s been busy lately, helping out with the wedding.
“Too busy for my liking. Everything okay with you?” Kent asked him. “Do you need something?”
“Ah. I’m fine.” He tapped the cap of the beer against his leg. “Have you spoken to Ed lately?”
“Saw him at the wedding last night. Why?”
“You know the new spa in town?”
Kent nodded. “Eden likes going there. Abby said that the woman who came out and did their nails and facials from there was nice.” Kent gave him a sly look. “Abby wondered if she could be a Little.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Charlie said the same thing. Course, they could be wrong. Said she was beautiful too.”
“Marisol is beautiful. And sweet. Funny.” His lips twitched.
“Oh yeah? Know her then, do you?” Interest filled Kent’s face.
Linc made an irritated noise. “Are you taking lessons from your brother about sticking your nose into other people’s business?”
Kent grinned, clearly not taking offense. “Hit a sore spot, did I?”
“I didn’t come over here to gossip.”
“Then what did you come here to talk about?” Kent asked.
“Marisol said that she was doing Mrs. Long’s nails the other day.”
Kent made a groaning noise. Yeah. Exactly.
“And she said that she’d heard rumors about what went on here at the ranch. About Caley living with the two Docs.”
Kent’s eyes narrowed.
“And about the women on the ranch being spanked if they misbehaved.”
Kent’s face darkened. “What the fuck? How did that become a rumor?”
“I guess something was bound to leak out. No matter how careful we were.”
The people who lived and worked on the ranch were chosen because they were part of the lifestyle. Clint and Kent were very careful about protecting everyone on Sanctuary Ranch, but most particularly the women.
“Someone must have seen or heard something,” Kent mused. “Clint won’t be happy.”
No, he wouldn’t be. Clint was a giant mama bear. Gruff on the outside, marshmallow on the inside. But God help you if you threatened one of the people that he considered himself responsible for.
“But if it’s Mrs. Long and her cronies spreading the rumor, people aren’t likely to take too much notice,” Kent mused. “She’s a known gossip. They’ll likely think she’s making things up. And it’s not like we’re doing anything to be ashamed of.”
“Yeah, well, that’s the other thing. She went to Ed about it.”
Kent straightened. “She what?”
“Yeah. Apparently, she wanted him to investigate you all for abuse. Because she heard that your women are spanked and have to ask permission to do anything.”
“Fucking hell. That old bat. We’re not doing anything illegal.”
“So Ed didn’t come to you or Clint? He didn’t tell you about this?”
“No. He didn’t. But he might have been waiting until after the wedding, so he didn’t stress Clint out. I’ll call him. Things are bound to slip. Especially now that we have more Littles living here, it’s harder to keep everything secret. But the main thing is making certain that none of the women on the ranch are threatened or hurt by it.”
“Might be best if they didn’t go into town on their own for a while.”
Kent sighed. “Eden will be thrilled by that. I’ll let Zeke inform her.”
Linc didn’t envy Zeke that job. In a way, Eden was the most independent of all of them. Maybe it was because of the accident that had left her in a wheelchair, meaning she had to rely on people in other ways. Or maybe it was because she liked to drive fast and didn’t want anyone around to witness that and report back to Zeke.
He knew someone else who liked to speed. Linc shook his head at the thought of Marisol driving that piece-of-shit car at high enough speeds to get pulled over by Ed. Meanwhile, her aunt was driving around in a car that cost more than some people made in a year.
He didn’t like that.
Not. At. All.
12
With a yawn, Marisol turned down her driveway.
It was her late night at the spa, so she’d driven to work. Even her aunt didn’t insist that she walk home in the dark and cold.
She was so tired that she nearly crashed into a car parked to the side of the driveway.
“Mierda!” She straightened the car, pulling it over into the middle of the driveway. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
There were several cars and motorbikes parked along the drive. Her aunt was having a party. Why hadn’t she told her? Normally, she’d let Marisol know so she could either hide in her bedroom or make herself scarce. Her aunt didn’t like her appearing at her parties.