‘How did you work that out?’
‘Simple. I define running away as leaving a situation you’re afraid of. Does that seem fair to you?’
‘I… guess so?’ she asked. Her butt was still stinging.
‘Thing is, when you left your father to go to Liberty, you had no choice. He made you do it. Plus, you were going into the unknown. Taking a big risk, being super brave.’
‘Well, I guess so, but I was still trying to avoid my problems.’
‘Nope. See, some problems aren’t solvable. Your father — the way he is with you — that’s not necessarily a problem you can solve. And avoiding unsolvable problems isn’t cowardly, it’s smart.’
‘So, you’re saying I’m smart?’ she asked, a little note of pride in her voice.
‘Damn right I’m saying that you — a doctor, one of the professions which notoriously require the highest IQ to break into — are smart.’
She knew that Finn was just playing a kind of trick on her, but itwasmaking her feel better.
‘So, I guess this vacation isn’t cowardly, either,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘because I’m not trying to solve an unsolvable problem. I’m just taking a break because my father invaded our sanctuary. And I’m choosing not to let him win.’
‘You got it,’ Conor chipped in. ‘So, let’s try again. Tammy always runs away.’
‘False,’ she replied. It was impossible not to smile.
‘Nearly there now,’ Finn said. ‘Tammy isn’t brave enough to face up to who she is.’
‘Tr—,’ she replied, but she hadn’t even finished the word before the smack came, super hard. She could feel Conor’s handprint, throbbing where he’d struck her.
‘False,’ Finn said. ‘And as evidence, I present to you, a Little, bent over her Daddy’s knee, receiving discipline for putting herself down.’
OK. She had to admit, shewasacting like a Little in a DDlg relationship right now. She was showing her ass, for goodness sake. She wasn’t justfacingup to who she was. She wasbaring her buttup to it.
‘Fine, OK, it’s false, it’s false,’ she said, giggling.
‘That’s better,’ Finn smiled. ‘Just one more thing. What was it you said? Tammy is, and I quote, “shitty”.’
‘Ugh, fine, false.’
When Conor smacked her butt this time, she let out an indignant yelp. ‘Hey! No fair.’
Both Finn and Conor were chuckling. ‘Sorry,’ said Finn, ‘but you get a smack for cursing whether you like it or not.’
Tammy stuck out her lower lip, but she couldn’t help breaking into a fit of giggles. Being here with the boys, laughing, brought it all back to her. It was like she was a kid again, with the twins teasing and admonishing her. This vacation had been just what she needed. The twins were just what she needed.
*
‘What’s the matter, Irish? You never cleaned a toilet before?’
Shay looked down at the filthy bowl in front of him. He wasn’t sure what was worse: the sight or the smell.
‘Not for a long time,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think it was part of the job description for a kitchen porter.’
‘Yeah, well we’re a unique establishment.’
He wished he hadn’t had to take this job. But there hadn’t been a choice. He’d known that there would be trouble the minute he’d met the Head Chef. You can always tell a chef’s standards by how clean his whites are. But in the case of Burt Crock, his whites were so filthy and old, you couldn’t really call them whites any more. More like browns.
‘Unique, huh?’
‘For sure. No other restaurant in the state makes fried chicken the way we do.’