Chapter Sixteen
DAISY
Daisy took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “I don’t know if we should. There is nothing to tell.”
Hedda shook her finger. “That is a lie, and you know it. There is something going on between you two. We all can see it.”
“Nothing is going on,” Daisy mumbled.
“Then why has he been staring at you the whole time. I think I’ve seen his eyes leave you once, but it was very brief.” Rainey chuckled.
Daisy shrugged. “Because he promised that if I wanted to leave, he would take me home.”
Her hand found Chilli’s back and started to pet her, trying to calm the nerves inside her. She didn’t want to talk about this. They were starting to sound like Janelle.
“Hmm, yes, he did say that, but he’s been extra soft and protective of you. I’m pretty sure if you didn’t reply to him when Rainey and I walked up to you, he was going to pick you up and take you to another room,” Hedda pointed out. “That man would do anything for you.”
“No, he wouldn’t. He doesn’t even know me. He just saved me at his bar, and we found out that I’m renting one of his rentals.” Daisy shook her head. “There is nothing else between us.”
Charlie hummed. “I don’t think that’s the case, but if that’s what you want to believe, you can. I just want to point out, there is something in his eyes whenever he looks at you. There is something between you two.”
Daisy had felt what Charlie was talking about. There was something about Asher that was attractive to her. She wanted to be around him all the time, allow him to take care of her, and set rules. Daisy was willing to let him discipline her, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“How do you feel about him?” Kyle asked. “Honestly, how do you feel about him?”
She opened her mouth, but Tucker placed his hand over her mouth before she could utter a sound.
“Think about it for a second. Really think about it before you answer it,” Tucker said.
“I don’t have to think about it,” she said after she pushed Tucker’s hand off her.
“Then, what’s the answer? You’re making me sit at the edge of my imaginary chair, waiting to hear what you have to say,” Charlie laughed.
“I feel something for him, but I think it’s because he’s a Daddy. I would feel anything for a Daddy…” Daisy trailed off at the end. “But I don’t think he sees me like you all think he does. I think he just feels like he has to help me because I passed out at his bar and he is my landlord.”
Their eyes went wide, and she cringed.
“You passed out at his bar?” Rainey asked. “Oh my goodness. Did he do something to you?”
She shook her head. “No! He didn’t do anything. He was getting me water and the first-aid kit when someone else walked in… and yeah, I passed out. Then he found out I have a service dog, and things just got worse from then on.”
Oh, how she wished she could go back in time, but then she wouldn’t have been here meeting all these wonderful people.
“I honestly thought about moving after all that happened,” Daisy whispered. “I’ve been here for a year, which is longer than I’ve been in any town since I was sixteen.” She slapped a hand over her mouth.
Shit.
She hadn’t wanted to give away any information about herself. It always made it harder to leave after telling people personal details.
“Wow, that’s a lot to unpack.” Hedda whistled. “First, let’s talk about why it got worse from there and made you want to leave.”
“Yes, and then we can talk about you moving a lot.” Charlie nodded.
“It’s okay. It’s really nothing. I shouldn’t talk about it.”
“Nope, you aren’t doing that,” Tucker said. “You are part of this group now. We help each other out when we are perplexed. Trust me, all of us have been where you are right now.”
“Tucker is still in that phase right now with his boss.” Rainey laughed.
“Not cool, Rainey,” Tucker muttered.
“I really don’t need to talk about it.” Daisy waved her hands in the air. “Let’s talk about something else. Why don’t we talk about, I don’t know? Someone help me here.”
Rainey chuckled. “You aren’t getting out of this. Asher has been single for a long time. He’s finally taking an interest in someone, and we aren’t going to let it go.”
She sighed. “I’m really not getting out of this?”
“Nope, so you might as well just spill instead of us having to force it out of you,” Charlie said. “Hedda isn’t above sitting on top of you to get information.”
“Please don’t,” Daisy said.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to as long as you tell us,” Hedda giggled.
Daisy took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. Right. She could do this.
“Asher found out that I had a service dog and then went all protective and scolded me for not taking Chilli with me to the bar. Well, first, he wanted to take me home and told me off for not having a jacket with me. I still have his jacket at home and need to give it to him…” She trailed off.
“But then got me a glass of water to keep at my bedside and said if I wanted to come here, I just needed to text him.”
There, easy-peasy, telling them everything.
“Yeah, he tends to be protective about any Little, but you are different,” Hedda said. “He definitely would go as far as taking you out of the room if you didn’t answer his questions. Which he was for sure about to do whenever you weren’t answering him fast enough earlier.”
“He was not,” she muttered.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night. So, you decided to come here, and he showed you around?” Rainey asked, and Daisy nodded. “Now, onto the other part. What do you mean you’ve stayed longer here than any other town since you were sixteen?”
“I really shouldn’t have said that, but I’ve been moving around since I was sixteen, trying to find out where home is. I haven’t found it yet.”
“But you’ve stayed in Springfield the longest, you said, so you must feel something for this town, or maybe for a certain someone.” Charlie wiggled her eyebrows.
“How long have you been on the road for?” Tucker asked.
“Almost fifteen years,” Daisy replied.
“Isn’t it exhausting?” Kyle questioned. “Having to move all the time. Aren’t you tired?”
Daisy looked down at the picture she had forgotten about.
She shrugged. “I guess I am, but I promised myself I wouldn’t settle.
I’ve never really had a home. My parents weren’t really there, and it was just a house.
I want to feel comfortable. So, while I am exhausted and it’s tiring having to move every six months, I also need to keep doing it until I belong somewhere. ”
Rainey placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Maybe Springfield will be that home. There are so many Littles here, and we already consider you part of the group. I know you said you move every six months, but you’ve been here for a year.
I think you should stay for a couple more months since you’ve only just met us.
We can show you what Springfield is really like and help you settle in. Maybe you’ll even find Mr. Right.”
Daisy didn’t look up as tears filled her eyes. She had never met anyone like the people in this group, who understood her and wanted to be her friends. Sure, her two authors were her best friends, but they had never met in person. It was all calls and video calls, which weren’t the same.
“Daisy, are you okay?” Asher gently asked.
“I don’t think she is,” Rainey whispered. “I saw one of her tears hit her pants.”
Before she could move, Asher picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as he held her close.
“Let go of the leash, and I’ll grab it,” Asher gently said.
She didn’t put up an argument as she allowed Asher to start walking.
“I’m going to the nursery. If you need anything, text me, or figure it out on your own,” Asher said.
“Let us know if you need anything,” a man offered.
Asher kept walking, running his hands up and down her back as he carried her. “I’ve got you.”
Tears freely flowed down her face as he walked them into a room.
“Daddy is going to sit on the rocking chair,” he explained.
It felt so right to hear him call himself Daddy. He felt like Daddy to her, which scared her. It had been so long that she had been moving from town to town, never expecting to find home.
Asher sat down, moving so she had a knee on either side of his legs.
“Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to just rock here for a couple of minutes?” he asked.
Daisy didn’t want to make any decisions right now. She just wanted to be in his arms.
“How about we rock for a couple of minutes, and then we can talk about why you are crying?” he suggested.
His arms wrapped around her as he slowly started rocking them in the chair. Daisy’s body slowly started to relax in his embrace.
This was everything she wanted in life. She wanted to cuddle up to her Daddy. She wanted to be with him all the time, so he could look after her and remind her of everything she needed to do.
“What made you cry?” Asher asked.