Chapter 22
JOSIE
Iwake from my nap still cradled in Daddy’s arms in the glider and for several long moments I simply lie there, unwilling to move and ruin this perfect moment. Being read to has always been one of my favorite things in the whole world, but being read to by him…
God, I’ve missed this. More than I really want to admit.
“There’s my sleepy girl.” Daddy’s voice is thick with amusement as he presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Did you have a good nap, baby?”
“Mmm. Yes.” Arching up, I stretch my arms and legs. “But I really do need to get to work.”
Surprisingly, I’m not as eager as I was before my nap. Probably because I don’t want to leave the comfort of Daddy’s lap to get to work.
And I really don’t want to think too hard about what that means.
“All right. Do you need to potty?”
I do, but I don’t really feel like using my diaper, so I shake my head. “No, Daddy.”
“Are you sure? You haven’t gone since this morning.”
“Nope, I’m good.”
“Hmm.” Rising from the glider with me still in his arms, Daddy strides toward the nursery door. “You must not be drinking enough water, then. I want you to drink at least two more bottles before dinner.”
“Could it be one bottle of water and one bottle of soda?” I ask hopefully.
“No. Little girls don’t need that much caffeine. And the sugar isn’t good for you, either.”
“Coming from the man who drinks ten gallons of hot chocolate a day.”
“It’s not nearly that much, and I stand by my point. You don’t need soda on top of everything else.”
“Well I need some form of caffeine. Writers run on caffeine and swear words, don’t you know that?”
His laughter rings out in the soaring entryway as he carries me down the stairs. “Then I suppose we’re going to have to find you some different fuel because both those things are off limits to you from now on.”
“Candy, then. Lots and lots of candy.”
“A reasonable amount of candy, as long as you have some protein and veggies first.”
“Worst writing retreat ever,” I mumble as he settles me in one of the dining room chairs.
Chuckling again, he kisses my head. “Daddy’s going to make you a healthy snack. If you eat all of it, I will see if I can sweet talk your Uncle Eli into cutting you a small slice of the cake he made for dessert. Deal?”
It’s probably the best I’m going to get for now, though I find myself missing my stash of snacks from the cabin. Maybe they’re hidden around here somewhere…
But I’ll never have a chance to find them if Daddy’s watching me like a hawk, so I smile sweetly up at him. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl. I’ll be back in a bit. You don’t leave this spot until I come get you. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
As soon as he leaves the room, I open my laptop and pull up my email, scanning through to make sure there’s nothing too urgent that needs my attention.
A message from my assistant catches my eye and my heart slams against my ribs.
Holy crap. This is it. How could I have not thought of this before? It’s so fucking simple.
Fingers trembling, I open a new outgoing email and put my assistant’s address in the “To” section.
Vanessa,
I need you to send help. It’s a very long story I don’t have time to explain, but I am trapped in a cabin with six lumberjacks and a lumberjane who have decided to keep me hostage.
No, this is not a pitch for my next book series (though maybe it should be once I get out of here… but I’m getting off track).
Please send help, but be careful. The sheriff here is close friends and maybe more with the lumberjane so I don’t know how compromised she may be. I don’t have an exact location, but I’m with the Thorne siblings in Forbidden Pines, CO.
I’m trusting you to be discreet and handle this with care. I don’t know what they’ll do if they discover I’ve called in the cavalry.
All my love,
Marjorie
My finger hovers over the button to send the email. It feels unfair to imply Daddy and his siblings will actually hurt me if anyone tries to come rescue me when I’m pretty sure the worst punishment I’ll suffer is a welted bottom.
But at the same time, I can’t risk her thinking this is anything less than a life-or-death situation if I have any hope of escaping.
Do you really want to escape?
Of course I do. I have a whole life back in New York. And okay, maybe I don’t really have what you would call a thriving social life, but it’s my life. My friends. People who will probably miss me if I never come home.
Probably.
Will they miss you as much as Daddy will miss you if you leave?
Goddammit that little voice in my head is a nuisance.
I can’t think of him right now. Or my “uncles”, or Auntie Gray. Because if I start thinking about them, about how much it will hurt to lose them all a second time…
No. What they’re doing isn’t right. I deserve to have the life that I worked so hard to build for myself. I deserve to choose my own happily ever after.
Even if that happily ever after doesn’t include my Daddy.
Swallowing back tears, I hit the button to send my email. And pray I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life.
Bram
It’s weird, not having Josie glued to my side.
Even though she’s only been back in our lives a few days, I’ve gotten so used to devoting my entire day to taking care of her that now I’m not really sure what to do with myself while she’s working.
There’s plenty to be taken care of on a daily basis in a house the size of the one the seven of us share, but we decided long ago that we’d give each other plenty of time to settle in with our Little ones whenever we found them, so my siblings have been keeping up on all the chores and the day-to-day running of the business just fine without me.
Well, if there’s nothing better for me to do, I suppose I could always go annoy my twin.
Colt is exactly where I expect him to be, locked in his office, pouring over some kind of spreadsheet.
He and Gray handle the majority of the “business” side of our business, while the rest of us take turns visiting the factory, checking in to ensure everything is running smoothly.
At this point, we could probably sell it for a pretty penny and live comfortably off the profits, but Gray and Colt especially seem to enjoy having something to do.
“You keep making that face, it’s going to freeze that way.”
Glancing up, Colt rolls his eyes. “Don’t you have a pretty babygirl to keep you busy and out of my hair?”
“She’s working.”
I must sound as sulky as I feel, because Colt’s smile is surprisingly sympathetic. “Well, if you’re looking for something to do, I could use some help. There’s a discrepancy on this report somewhere and I’ve looked over it a dozen fucking times and can’t find it.”
“Sure, let me take a look.”
It’s tedious work, but we fall into a companionable silence as I compare the numbers on the paper he hands me to what’s on the screen.
“Ah, there it is.” I tap the cell in question. “Got your nine and your six mixed up.”
“Fuck me,” he growls, angrily jabbing at the keyboard to clear out the offending numbers and replace them with the correct ones. A red cell turns green and Colt lets out a relieved sigh. “Thanks. That was about to drive me up the goddamn wall.”
“No problem.” Happy to have had something to do, I wave him off as I lean back in my chair. But just as I’m getting settled, Colt’s phone rings and he frowns down at the display.
“It’s Gunther. I’m gonna put him on speaker.”
My heart leaps into my throat as I nod. Colt taps the screen of his phone and places it between us on the desk. “Gunther. I’ve got Bram with me.”
“Good.” Our friend’s voice is even rougher than usual. “He needs to hear this.”
Fuck.
My twin’s gaze flicks up to mine, his expression hard. “Tell us.”
“Your girl sent an email to her assistant. Basically begging her to send someone to rescue her, but telling her to watch out for Sheriff Donnelly. Seems to think she might be in bed with Grayson. Literally and figuratively.”
Perceptive Little girl.
“Read it to us.” Colt’s voice is as hard as his gaze. “I want to know exactly what she said.”
Gunther does as he’s asked, reading the email verbatim. And with every word, the knot in my stomach tightens even further.
“So, what do you boys want me to do? I can keep the email locked down for sure so the assistant never sees it. But your girl might get suspicious if she doesn’t get a response.”
“True.” Frowning thoughtfully, Colt leans back in his chair. “So I vote we give her what she wants. Spoof the assistant’s email, have ‘Vanessa’ assure her she’s sending the troops but it will take her a few days to organize. Bram?”
“Yeah. The longer we can drag this out, the better. I want to give her plenty of opportunities to change her mind before I decide on her punishment.”
A grunt of agreement comes through the phone speaker. “You got it. I’ll get to work on that email for her now.”
“Thanks, Gunther.” Ending the call, Colt looks up at me again. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing, at least for right now. I need some time to think. Cool off a bit.” Get some of this rage and hurt out of my system before I decide how to handle my naughty babygirl.
“Yeah, I get that. You want to punish her, not break her.”
“Exactly.”
Colt nods slowly. “We’re going to have to tell the others.”
“Fuck.” Raking a hand through my hair, I try to think past the fury churning in my stomach. “Let’s give her a few days to come clean, first. There’s no actual danger here, and I want to give her a chance to do the right thing before we have to tell them.”
“They’re going to be pissed.”
“Then let them be fucking pissed. I’ll deal with it.” With those thoughts running through my mind, I push up out of my chair.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside to see if Dane needs help with anything. Need to work off some of this anger.”
“Got it. Want me to keep an eye on Josie?”
“Yeah. Oh, and make sure she drinks at least one more bottle of water. She hasn’t peed since this morning.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Colt.”
Trusting him to take care of my babygirl, I head outside in search of our middle brother.
Dane’s more than happy for the help, and for a while we work side by side, hauling and splitting the wood we’ll need when another inevitable cold snap comes through, and to take into town to sell for that same purpose.
The physical labor helps to drain the anger, and I’m soon left with nothing but the hurt.
It’s not that I didn’t expect there to be some bumps along the way, especially since I did basically kidnap her and hold her hostage here. But I thought we were building something. I thought, underneath it all, she was starting to realize she wanted to be here with me. To be where she belongs.
Instead, she’s prepared to have not just me, but my entire family thrown in prison.
Lifting my ax, I slam it down into a piece of wood that gives with a loud crack, splitting clean in two. A loud gasp draws my attention to the back porch, where my Josie is watching me with a mixture of awe and hunger in her eyes.
My own hunger rises up, clawing at my chest as I toss the ax aside. Striding for the back door, I scoop my babygirl up in my arms and head toward the stairs.
One way or another, I’m going to prove to Josephine Thorne that she belongs to me. And that I’m not letting her go without a fucking fight.