CHAPTER 12
SCARLETT
Iam growing more nervous by the day as we wait for Harold to make a move. It’s awful waiting for something to happen. He could show up at any point and hurt any of us.
And it will be all because of me and the decisions I made.
How could I have been so foolish? I should have known better, yet I didn’t. I was naive and dumb and get pregnant by someone in the mob.
But Daddy is in the mafia. How different is he from Harold?
A lot.
Daddy doesn’t hit me. He has taken care of me and helped me so much. He has made sure that I am healing and that Juniper has been taken care of as well. I didn’t think people like him existed, but with each day he is showing me there are good people.
They are just harder to find.
“What are you thinking about?” Daddy asks as he walks into the living room with Juniper in his arms.
I shrug and hold my hands out. He immediately sits next to me and hands me Juniper. Even though she isn’t blood-related to him, he has been taking care of her like she is.
How did I get so lucky?
“Little One,” Daddy sternly says.
“I’m just thinking about everything. How you have helped me and Juniper so much, but also about Harold.
I’m just thinking about everything and trying not to worry, but it’s hard.
How am I not supposed to when he is threatening everything that I have?
” I ask and sigh. “We don’t know when he will come, and we don’t know what he is going to do, if he does anything. ”
It’s stressing me beyond belief, and I don’t want it to.
“I have guys looking into him right now. We are going to figure out where he is before he comes. He isn’t going to hurt anyone, I promise,” Daddy gently says and kisses the side of my head.
“How can you be so sure?” I look down at Juniper. She is fast asleep in my arms, fast asleep. “I should never have come here and put you guys in danger. I’m sorry.”
The guilt has been eating me up inside. If I had never come here, then Harold would have never found me, and everyone at Whiskey Mountain Lodge would be safe.
“No.” Daddy’s voice is ruff. “You will not be saying that.”
“But it’s true.” I look at him with tears in my eyes. “All of you are in danger because of me, and I have to live with knowing that.”
“Little One,” Daddy gently begins, cupping my face.
“We are grown men who can take care of ourselves. We are part of the Ricci Crime Family and know what to do in a situation like this. I bet the others would agree with me, things were getting a little boring around here, but you have spiced it up.”
I’m not sure I like being the one to spice it up. “What if everything goes wrong and someone dies? Will they blame me because I brought him here?”
Maybe I should leave before anything happens. I don’t want to leave Daddy or this lodge, but if it’s what I have to do, then I should. I need to think about Juniper and me. Will they hate us if anything happens?
“They will not blame you at all. It won’t cross their mind. There will always be casualties in life, but they will be happy that you and Juniper are safe. They will be happy that we took down Harold,” Daddy explains. “And if you need to hear that from my guys personally, we can do that.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m just worried and thinking about Juniper.”
“And I’m glad you are, but you don’t need to worry. You are safe here. You are wanted here. Both of you are.”
Sighing, I lean my head into his hands and close my eyes. This is everything I needed. This is everything I ever wanted in life.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?” Daddy gently asks.
“For everything. For taking me in when you didn’t have to. For getting Aiden to look over me and Juniper. For being such a good Daddy to me and for being Juniper’s dad,” I go on and on. “You didn’t have to do any of that. You could have turned us away after I woke up.”
“Never,” Daddy growls. “You two mean the world to me. I would do it a thousand times over. You two are mine, and you aren’t going anywhere.”
“Daddy has to go out for a little while.” He kneels in front of me.
I am sitting at the table, coloring as Juniper giggles in her baby bouncer.
I don’t know where Daddy got it or whether it was expensive, but he brought it out this morning and told me she was going to sit with me while I got to color.
I wanted to hold her, but Daddy told me to enjoy myself for a while before holding her.
Though I don’t have to listen to a word Daddy says. She is my baby, and if I want to hold her, I can. But I can’t deny that coloring right now is everything I wanted. Juniper is happy staring at me or the ceiling, and I am enjoying coloring and looking at her when she giggles and coos.
“How long will you be?” I ask.
“A couple of hours. I’ll be in the main cabin doing some work that they need me for. But if you need anything, call me and I’ll be right over,” Daddy gently says, cupping my cheek.
“Are you sure I can’t come with you? That we can’t come and sit in the office or even explore the main cabin?” I ask.
Daddy, Juniper, and I haven’t been apart since I came here. I don’t want Daddy to leave me here alone with her. Not that I don’t think I can take care of her, but I have this weird feeling in my tummy, and I don’t like it.
“You are going to be really bored if you come with,” Daddy tells me. “I think if you stay here, then you’ll have coloring, all of Juniper’s toys, and yours to play with. I can have Aiden come and sit with you if you want.”
Sighing, I look at Daddy and pout.
“Don’t give me that look,” he tells me.
“I have this weird feeling in my tummy,” I whisper, not liking the icky feeling.
Daddy grabs my hands and holds them. “What type of feeling? Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
I shake my head. “It’s an icky feeling. I just don’t like it, and I want us to go with you.”
“Baby, I can’t be distracted when I get there. You won’t be able to talk to me,” Daddy gently says.
“B-but,” I stutter.
“No, buts. I can have Aiden come over to watch if you want. He’s a doctor, so if your stomach feels off, he can call me if you need me,” Daddy explains.
“It’s not an icky feeling like that. It’s like something bad is going to happen that I don’t have any control over,” I tell him.
“Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise you. Everything is going to be fine.” Daddy cups my face. “I’m going to call Aiden and have him come over. When he’s here, I’m going to leave for a couple of hours.”
I sigh and nod. There is no way I’m going to convince him to let me come with him or for him to stay here. What if something happens while he’s gone?
“Aiden is here. I love you, and I’ll be back soon.” Daddy kisses my forehead before kissing Juniper’s and walking toward the front door.
Daddy and Aiden talk for several minutes before the front door shuts. Now we are alone with Aiden, the yucky feeling in my stomach hasn’t gone away. What could possibly be?
“I heard from your Daddy that your stomach feels icky. Do you want to talk about it?” Aiden asks.
I shake my head. “It’s just a feeling like something bad is going to happen. Not that I’m actually sick.”
Aiden sits across from me and tilts his head to the side. “And why do you feel like something bad is going to happen?”
I shrug, but I know why.
“Scarlett.” His voice holds warning. “Tell me. It’s not good for your health to hold it in.”
“What if Harold comes after you guys and harms one of you? I just have a bad feeling he’s close. I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen and we aren’t going to be prepared and people are going to get hurt.” My voice goes from calm to panicky.
“Shhh, you’re okay. Just take a nice deep breath for me,” Aiden soothes. “Good girl. A couple more and slowly let them out.”
“I’m not going crazy,” I tell him once my breathing is under control. “Every thought is rational and logical. Harold could be here, and you guys may not know about it!”
Juniper starts crying as I raise my voice. I quickly get up from my chair and pick her up, bouncing her in my arms as I walk around the table.
“I wasn’t saying your thoughts were irrational,” Aiden gently tells me. “All I was telling you was to calm don, and not overstress yourself.”
I shake my head and bounce Juniper in front of him. “I wasn’t saying that, but Daddy didn’t understand what I was trying to tell him. He thinks it’s because I haven’t gone to the bathroom in a couple of days, but he’s wrong. It’s not one of those feelings.”
“Have you gone to the bathroom recently? This morning?” Aiden asks, worry crossing his face.
“Yes, I have, but that’s none of your concern. I’m worried about everyone here. It’s a feeling I have in my stomach and not anywhere else. I’m not cramping. It’s just a bad feeling,” I try to explain. “I thought you would understand.”
“You have a bad feeling that something is going to happen. I’m not discounting that,” Aiden calmly says.
“It feels like you are, and I don’t like that and don’t want to be around it,” I point out.
Before meeting Daddy, I would never have had the guts to say that, but he has made me more comfortable and tells me constantly to speak my mind in a respectful way. This is the first time I’ve done it, and I love it. I don’t know why I didn’t start it sooner.
“I’m sorry for that,” Aiden apologizes. “It was never my intention to make you feel that way. I’m a doctor, and I just want to get down to the bottom of whatever this is. It’s routine to ask questions about your health.”
I raise my left eyebrow at him. Does he really think I am going to fall for that? I said it was a feeling and not my actual stomach.
“Fine, you caught me.” He raises his hands in the air. “I knew what you were saying, but I was trying to distract you. It was wrong of me to assume that you would go along with it and not get angry.”
“It was,” I say. “You made me mad for no reason at all but to try to distract me. You could have tried to change the subject. That would have probably worked a lot better.”
He sighs and nods. “It was wrong and I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Good.”
“How about we play some, or you can have ice cream to make up for it?” he suggests.
“Ice cream and then play,” I reply, feeling happy inside.