Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Walt

Smiling, he straightened the stack of paper Susan left scattered on her seat, unable to stop himself from peeking. The very act of writing her wishes down made them tangible. Susan had so many dreams, and he was delighted she’d been brave enough to put them on paper.

Hell, everything about her delighted him.

“Disney World is doable,” he murmured under his breath, “but Thailand might be cheaper.”

Then again, she’d look damned cute in sparkly pink mouse ears and a yellow Belle dress.

He flipped through the rest of the pages and froze when he read the single line on the last sheet.

I want Walt to be my Daddy.

Hurriedly, he shuffled the pages back into order before getting out to help her into the passenger seat, but couldn’t stop the thoughts of having her in his lap, giving her sensually fun spankings to make them both feel good, dressing her up in princess costumes…

Kissing her.

Maybe he was too old to be thinking about Susan that way, but it was her wish to have him as her Daddy.

No, you old fool. Find her someone less likely to stroke out when she kisses them.

Walt scowled and relaxed his foot before he slammed it down on the accelerator. He didn’t know anyone good enough for her, regardless of their age. Susan was too special. Too… precious.

“Sir?”

He let out a breath, forcing his anger down. Just the thought of someone else touching her made him see red. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“Is everything okay?” She hunched her shoulders and looked down. “Are you mad at me?”

“Never.” He reached over the center console and lifted her hand, then kissed her knuckles. “You could never do anything to make me mad.”

That was probably a lie. If they started a relationship, sooner or later one of them would do something that pissed the other off. In fact, he was almost looking forward to it.

He wanted to see Susan get her mad on. It would be epic. More than anything, he wanted her to feel comfortable and safe enough to do it.

“Um…” She blushed a brilliant pink but didn’t take her hand away from him. “Yes, Sir.”

“We’re getting close,” he replied, jerking his chin in the direction of Club Apocalypse. “What else is on your list?”

She hesitated and bit her lower lip. “I want to go to law school.”

“That’s a great goal. May I ask why?”

“I want to help people like the women from the Shepherds.” She scowled, lifting her chin. “Edward is coming up for early release soon, and I don’t want the other women to feel scared and trapped like I did until an attorney offered to help me.”

“I think you’ll be a fantastic lawyer.” He reached over to squeeze her hand as he made a mental note to check out her ex-husband’s case. “What else?”

“I want to learn to shoot like Dr. Knox and Mr. Franklin do.”

“Conceal carry instructor right here. We can do that with your riding lessons, or you can have one of the Horsemen teach you. Let’s hear some bigger ones.”

“I thought that was a big one,” she muttered. “Um… I guess most of the rest is travel. Egypt seems interesting.”

“Sounds like you have an African tour coming up. That’s definitely a big one.” Hoping she might say the last item on her list out loud, he decided to give her a gentle nudge as he signaled his turn into the Club parking lot. “Is there anything you most want? Maybe something you’d ask Santa for?”

“I—” She shook her head and extricated her hand from his as her blush deepened. “I want to give the kids at the Caroline the perfect Christmas, with presents and treats, and lots of laughter. I want to take them somewhere with snow and give them hot chocolate after a whole day playing.”

A wish, not for herself, but to make others happy—like her choice of career. He almost challenged her to make a different one, but knew she’d be the first in line to sell her hair for a pocket watch chain.

It was only part of what made Susan Metz so special.

Promising himself he’d move his truck later, he snagged one of the handicap spots by the entrance, then trotted around the vehicle to help her out. He grabbed her hand, then said, “Come on.”

“Sir?” He slowed his pace when he saw her running to keep up. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope. Mark the snow day off your bucket list.” When he spotted Mark and Kendra at the front desk, he hurried to meet them. “Hey, Susan here just had the idea to beat all ideas.”

“Oh?” Kendra slid her reading glasses down her nose and peered at him over the wire frames. “What idea?”

“Field trip to Flagstaff Snow Park for the kiddos at the Caroline. Susan wants them to have a snow day. You up for playing chaperone?”

“In these shoes?” Kendra tugged up her trouser leg to reveal a snakeskin pump. “Please.”

“You have ski gear.” Mark leaned closer and whispered something that made Kendra’s cheeks turn scarlet. “So, what do you say?”

“Err…” She coughed to clear her throat. “Of course. When are we going?”

“Next week.” Walt tucked Susan’s hand in the crook of his elbow. “I’ll leave the planning to you.”

Susan

“No, you don’t.” Kendra extricated Susan’s hand from Walt’s arm and tugged gently. “It was Susan’s idea, so she gets to help me with the planning while you load all those donations.”

“I like it,” Mark replied. “You now have the assistant you’ve been wanting. I’ll tell Ryan, Sean, and Jake.”

Kendra blinked, and her lips parted in a delighted smile. “Hell, yes, I do!” Turning to Walt, she added, “Thank you for my new assistant, Santa!”

“But—” Susan glanced helplessly at Walt, who just smirked and waved his hand at her. “I’ve never been an assistant before. I don’t know what to do.”

“Uh-huh.” Kendra linked her arm with Susan’s and started walking toward the atrium. “You read really well, and I know you can use a calendar because you’re never late for work. I can teach you everything else.”

“I… I don’t know.”

In a daze, she let Kendra lead her down the corridor to her office, while Walt and Mark detoured to the dungeon. She loved working for Master Jake, but the thought of a professional job like Kendra was suggesting…

It was both overwhelming and thrilling. Also, somewhat terrifying.

“What if I told you the assistant position comes with a healthy raise, your own car, and a cell phone?”

“The Horsemen already gave me a phone, and I can’t drive yet.”

She winced, thankful Walt hadn’t heard her say the c-word.

“Carrie is already teaching you,” Kendra countered as she unlocked her office and ushered Susan inside. “Now, unless you really like working in the kitchen, have a seat and we’ll get started on your field trip.”

Gingerly, Susan lowered herself into the chair across from Kendra’s. “But what if I mess up? Will I be able to go back to the kitchen?”

“Everyone messes up.” Kendra grabbed a fresh notepad and turned her laptop so they could both see the screen. “I mess up. The Horsemen mess up. So do Olivia, Carrie, Gabby, and everyone else who works here. All I will ever ask is that you learn from your mistakes and try to fix them.”

“I’m not sure I?—”

“Let me ask you something.” When Susan nodded, Kendra continued, “You got out of the Shepherds, and went straight into a job in our kitchen, right?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Was it different than what you were doing before?” Kendra grimaced, then added, “Don’t count the abuse you suffered.”

Susan considered Kendra’s question, then shook her head. “No, not really. The food is better though.”

“Yet another perk of working for Club Apocalypse. Between Jake and Olivia, I think I’ve gained twenty pounds.”

“Me too.”

Smirking, Kendra leaned back in her chair. “But Mark loves my bodacious new bod, and I actually have a butt now, so I can’t complain.”

Susan hesitated, then asked, “I don’t understand why you asked if it was different.”

“I wanted to know if you want a change. Carrie said you’re planning on going to college, so that makes me think you’re looking for more. Is that true?”

“I guess so.” Susan didn’t want to tell Kendra about her dream of law school. Telling Walt was easy, but saying it to anyone else made it real, and she wouldn’t be able to stand other people’s disappointment if she couldn’t do it.

“Well, I’m giving you the opportunity to try something else. If you hate it, you can go back to the restaurant, no questions asked. Do we have a deal?”

Did she dare?

Why shouldn’t she? For that matter, why was she so darned scared of change? For too long, she’d limited herself. Too afraid to reach for more; she’d barely had the nerve to write a new job on her bucket list.

And now, she had one dropped into her lap like an overripe peach.

Hoping Walt would be proud of her, she mentally crossed the item off her bucket list.

“Yes, but I don’t want a raise.”

Kendra tilted her head and studied Susan for a few seconds. “May I ask why?”

“I…” Susan swallowed and lifted her chin. “I want a month before we decide if I’m a good assistant.”

“A probationary period?” Kendra spun a pen on her desk, then stopped its movement. “I accept your terms, but I kind of have a feeling you’ll be boots on the ground by the first of the year.”

Susan wasn’t so sure about that but nodded agreeably. “I’ll try my best.”

“Yay!” Kendra rubbed her hands together and cackled. “I’ve got you now, my pretty!”

Her cheeks heating, Susan accepted a second notepad from Kendra. “What should we do first?”

“First, we won’t have time to hit the buffet, so call the kitchen and order some breakfast. I want a spinach omelet with wheat toast, and you can get whatever you want.” Kendra pulled up a spreadsheet with dozens of names, email addresses, and phone numbers. “Draft an email to go out to all our members asking for volunteers while I call around for a tour bus. After that, find a contact with the park and see if we can get donated or reduced-price tickets.”

“Um… What should I say?”

Kendra smiled and put a pen in Susan’s shaking hand. “Tell them why you want to give the children a party. After I find a tour bus, call the Caroline to schedule the outing. We need to make sure everyone has warm clothes too, so ask what they have in stock, and maybe contact some of the Flagstaff consignment stores to see what they have.”

“Wait. Let me make a list so I don’t forget anything.”

Giving Susan a smile that lit up her entire face, Kendra said, “Ooh, you said list . Lists are my love language. We’re going to be perfect together.”