Free The 2014 R.L. Mathewson Chronicle Collection by R.L. Mathewson Page B

It was going to be a very long day and if he survived another item on her list, he thought with a grin as he reached out and switched the hot water off, leaving a torrent of ice-cold water hitting him, it would be worth missing out on a little sleep.

Part II
    The Bradford Invasion
    The Day After Book Bash……….
    Orlando, Florida
     
                “Wake up!”
                “Go away,” Jason muttered, trying to roll over, but Haley wasn’t having that.
                “ What the fuck ?” Jason demanded, suddenly wide awake as he scrambled off the bed, his hand shoved down the front of his boxer briefs as he frantically searched for the handful of ice that she’d been forced to use.
                “Oh, good,” she said, smiling brightly, “you’re awake!”
                His glare shifted from her to the alarm clock on the hotel room’s nightstand and then back to her. Eyes narrowed in accusation, he said, “It’s not even seven in the morning.”
                She sighed dramatically as she nodded, “I know. I let you sleep in.”
                “Sleep in?” he repeated back in disbelief as his eyes shot back to the alarm clock.
                “Exactly,” she said, picking up the pile of folded clothes that she’d set out for him last night when they’d dragged their exhausted butts into the hotel room, which she’d expected to happen after Book Bash.
                What she hadn’t expected was to miss Book Bash completely, because of her husband and his cousin. She also hadn’t expected to spend most of the day and night trying to bail them out of jail or tying to talk the angry and frightened restaurant manager out of pressing charges. It had taken her ten hours, a call to her father-in-law and his credit card to get them to drop the charges.
                Well, that and the promise to stay away from Orlando, Florida for the next five years and the restaurant that they’d closed down for the rest of their natural lives. The guys hadn’t been happy about Orlando, but they’d grudgingly agreed after she’d threatened to leave their asses in jail for the night. They’d tried to argue the restaurant stipulation, because apparently it had great fried chicken and the guys weren’t willing to give that up. It had taken Jason’s father, Jared, and the reminder that a restraining order pressed against him would probably cost him his job at the school to fix things.
                Grudgingly, Jason and Trevor had agreed to the terms. Once the manager had the damage assessed and Jared had paid over the phone, they’d been released. Unfortunately for her and Zoe, that hadn’t happened until around midnight. With Book Bash over and the after party winding down, they’d had no choice but to call it a night.
                “But it’s our vacation,” Jason pointed out with a pout, his glare gone as he sent the bed a look of longing that had her rolling her eyes even as she gestured for him to get his butt in the bathroom and get dressed.
                “Uh huh,” she said, absently returning to packing her bags, “and according to the agreement that you signed last night it ends in four hours when the police escort is scheduled to bring us to the airport.”
                With a grumble, he grabbed his clothes and headed for the bathroom.
                “You know that they’re making a big deal out of nothing, don’t you?” he yelled from the bathroom.
                “I know,” she yelled back, knowing no such thing.
                She hadn’t been at the restaurant so she really couldn’t say for sure whether or not the restaurant staff and customers had overreacted, but knowing the Bradford men the way that she did she doubted it. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that it had been just as horrifying as all those