Chapter 43
Yes, he knew that was crazy.
Did he care?
Fuck, no.
He was fairly certain he’d change his mind after he calmed down. But for the moment, he needed something to focus on.
What about Antony? You could focus on messing that fucker up.
Good plan.
“Who are we exhuming?” North asked as he walked into the room.
“Fergus.”
“Good plan. I can have a digger there in an hour.”
Jared waved his hand. “Give me a few, I might change my mind.”
“That’s a shame,” North said.
“Um, what?” Angie asked, looking alarmed. “I don’t . . . that’s not . . . you’re not really going to do that, right?”
“No,” he told her. Maybe.
“Whew. And you don’t need to turn the heat up,” she added. “It’s already really warm in here. You guys will roast. So will poor Rex having to work in the kitchen.”
Jared didn’t argue, but he did give North a look.
The other man gave him a miniscule nod. “Rex still isn’t back yet.”
Jared frowned. Rex had been with him for years. He was the only man he trusted to cook for him other than North. Rex had been traveling with North and Jared when his people had been taken out by Beltran.
Two more hours. Then North was going hunting.
“I will get some socks,” North said. “I saw some onesies with built-in mittens and feet, would you like some of them?”
“Yes. Thanks,” Jared replied, taking the socks and putting them on her poor feet.
“From now on, you always wear socks, understand?” Jared commanded. “That is one of your rules.”
“What? I have to wear socks?”
“Yes. And if you get cold, you need to tell me or North. Another rule.”
“What if it’s summertime? And I don’t want to wear socks?”
“We’ll decide when it gets to summer. This is the rule for now. Are there any other side effects from . . . from the way you were treated by that fucker?”
She looked a bit uncomfortable, then she nodded. “Yes.”
“What are they?” North asked.
“Sometimes I get really bad headaches.”
“I didn’t see any pills in your bathroom for headaches,” North said.
“You looked through my bathroom cupboards?” she asked, horrified.
“Yes, I was looking for medication that I would need to bring with me. It wasn’t there.”
“What did you see in there?” she squealed.
“I don’t know. Normal stuff. Tampons, pads, soap, razor.”
Poor baby looked like she was about to melt into a pool of embarrassment but Jared wasn’t sure why. Over tampons and pads?
“Oh, and a massive dildo.”
Ahh. That would be it.
Angie groaned and buried her face in her knees.
“A massive dildo?” Jared asked, trying to keep himself from laughing.
“Yes, truly massive. I don’t think our dicks combined were as large as it,” North told him matter-of-factly.
“It was a gift!” Angie wailed. “It wasn’t mine. I mean, it was mine, but I didn’t buy it and I certainly didn’t use it. It was intimidating. Keira and Honey bought it for me.”
“Ahh, is that also why there was a tube of lube, a vibrating egg, nipple clamps, and handcuffs?” North asked.
“Yes,” she cried. “Oh my God. I have never been more mortified. Well, actually, I was completely and utterly embarrassed when the bag broke and stuff scattered everywhere and the . . . and the dildo landed on Zander’s foot.”
Jared couldn’t stop it. The laugh burst out of him. It seemed to surprise North and Angie who gaped at him.
“It wasn’t funny, Daddy! I didn’t want that dildo. It’s scary. It’s the size of my arm.”
“It really was.” North nodded.
Jared shook his head. “Sorry. You’re right. You should have thrown it out.”
“I know, but I . . . it seemed rude. I never got presents before I went to live with Keira. Well, other than those books you bought me when I was married to Fergus.”
Fuck.
Of course she hadn’t. His father wouldn’t have bought her anything and it sounded like her father wouldn’t either.
“And some things from church or school.”
That was it. They needed to shower her with gifts. North had made a good start, but Jared needed to up his game.
“What do you do for these bad headaches?” Jared asked.
“Well, I usually get warning signs that one is coming, like feeling nauseous and dizzy. I just take some painkillers and lie down. It doesn’t happen very often.”
“I don’t like that it happens at all,” Jared said.
“Not much I can do about it. The doctor thinks it’s from an old head injury.”
From his father.
Shit.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
“That’s it. Sometimes a bit of vertigo. But other than that, I’m fine.”
“Vertigo?” Jared asked.
“Yeah, my balance goes a bit off and I feel dizzy.”
Christ. He couldn’t take anything more. Guilt flooded him.
He should have taken her from Fergus.
“Daddy? Jared? Are you all right?” she asked.
His hands clenched into fists. He should be the one asking her that. Not the other way around.
“Yeah, baby girl. I’m fine. Just mad at myself.”
“Why are you mad at yourself?” she asked. “None of that was your fault.”
“I left you with him,” Jared said. “I knew things weren’t good for you. But I left you.”
She shook her head. “You can’t take that on, Jared. If you’d tried to help me then it would have gone badly for you. You would have been in danger. He might have hurt you.”
“Better he hurt me than you.”
Yeah, he didn’t think he would ever forgive himself for not helping her. But he could try and make it up to her.
“Come on, baby. What would you like to do? Maybe we could have a tea party,” he suggested.
“A tea party? I would love that!”
As she started getting things ready for the tea party, he took North to one side. “If no one has heard from Rex in the next couple of hours, go hunting. And send a message to Antony, set up a meeting away from the house.”
North nodded. “I’m on it.”
Jared turned back to her. “Right, baby. How is this tea party coming along?”
“It’s great, Daddy!” she said. “But you’re not dressed properly.”
“I’m not?” He glanced down at himself. “What do I need to put on?”
“A hat and a scarf and some prettier clothes. Northie, do we have any stylish hats?”
North glanced over. “We do not.”
Thank God for that.
“But I’ll order some. Lacy? Flowery? Bright? Pastels? Or all of the above.”
“All of it! All of it!”
“That’s what I thought.” North moved away.
Jared made a mental note to take that out on his ass later as Angie moved around, dressing him.
If anyone saw Jared Bartolli dressed in a tutu, with a flowery scarf while sipping on a pretend cup of tea.
Well, he’d kill them too.