Don't Call Me Daddy (Once Upon a Daddy #1) - Kelli Callahan
Chapter One
Ainsley
I have a type.
Big. Mean. Older.
I can’t help the type of guys I’m attracted to. I was dreaming about my teachers when I was high school and my college professors when I actually attended classes. I flirted shamelessly and went home to cry into my pillow when my advances were rejected.
It’s too bad I didn’t have as much enthusiasm for my classes as I had for the men that taught them. I might be in a better spot right now, instead of trying to figure out if I can successfully steal a Red Bull from this gas station without getting caught.
The guy behind the counter kind of has the Daddy vibe going on. I wish he would catch me and teach me a lesson himself instead of calling the cops.
But he’s probably married with kids my age and would reject me on the spot just like every other guy I’ve made a fool out of myself in front of.
So I’ll settle for a Red Bull and pray I don’t leave this place in handcuffs.
Unless they’re his handcuffs.
I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I’ve become an expert at shoplifting. I know where to stand, how the cameras move, and that in a little store like this, there’s nobody watching them anyway. I just have to make sure the guy behind the counter doesn’t have a reason to look my way. He’s preoccupied with his newspaper; I can’t believe people still read those things.
I open the fridge, grab a Red Bull, and let it fall into my purse while pretending that I’m considering my options. A quick glance toward the guy behind the counter confirms that he didn’t notice a thing.
Perfect.
Now to pretend like I’m really interested in some snacks before I head for the door.
“Are you going to pay for that Red Bull, miss?” The guy behind the counter puts his newspaper down and glares at me.
“Um, uh…” I stammer as I try to talk. “What Red Bull?”
“The one in your purse.” He stands up.
Shit.
My only option is to run. I don’t want to be here when the cops show up, that’s for damn sure. I push the door open, and before I can even break into a sprint, I slam into a man who is trying to enter the gas station—a man wearing a very recognizable uniform with a badge on the front of it.
“Watch it!” he snaps at me and steps to the side.
“Sorry!” I try to slide past him.
“Stop her! She’s a shoplifter!” The guy behind the counter just lucked out, and I just fucked myself.
“Not so fast…” The officer grabs my shoulder.
Busted.
I guess it was only a matter of time before I got caught. At least I made it all the way to nineteen before I took my first trip in the back of a police car. A couple of months and I would have been able to say I stayed out of trouble the entirety of my teenage years.
Legal trouble, at least.
“Ainsley, you can’t keep doing things like this!” My mother grabs my arm as we walk out of the police station. “You’re lucky Mr. Smith didn’t press charges!”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been arrested. Stop being so dramatic.” I roll my eyes and pull away from her. “It was just a Red Bull. It isn’t like I tried to hold the place up.”
“Stealing is stealing!” She glares at me for a moment and then walks to the car. “I raised you better!”
My mother. Always my savior, no matter how many times I get in over my head. She is the only person I can call. Most of my friends are away at college, and those that are still here don’t love me enough to come pick me up from the police station.
Not even Sarah, who is normally an accomplice to my shenanigans.
“What did you have to do to get him to agree not to press charges?” I sit in the passenger seat beside her. “Or do I want to know?”
“I paid for the damn Red Bull, Ainsley. Something you could have easily done.” She leans forward and cranks the car. “Surely you make enough money waiting tables to afford a damn soda.”
“Energy drink, Mom.” I sigh and reach into my purse to pull out a cigarette.
“You are not smoking in my car.” She snatches my lighter out of my hand.
“I was inside there for hours…” I look at her and try my best to pout.