Chapter Seventeen
DAISY
“I’m okay,” she whispered.
Daisy didn’t really want to tell him everything that was going through her head. She didn’t want him to know that she was slowly starting to fall in love with the town after she’d met him and the other Littles.
If he knew, would he pull away?
No. He wasn’t going to know, so she didn’t have to worry about it.
“You don’t have to talk to me about it, but it’s not healthy for you to bottle everything up and keep it to yourself,” he gently said. “But if you want to talk to me, then I’m all ears. There is no judgment here.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
Should she tell him about it? What if he decided, after she said she was growing fond of him, that he wanted nothing to do with her?
“Promise?” She pulled away and looked at him.
“Yes, baby, I promise. What you tell me is going to be in a judgment-free zone. If you want to hear my opinion, then I’ll give it to you, but if you just want me to listen to you, then that is what I’m going to do,” he explained.
“Hmm, how about you tell me what you were just thinking?” he prompted her.
“I don’t know where to start,” she whispered.
“Do you want some help?” he asked.
“I don’t want to seem weak.”
That was the last thing she wanted to be in front of him. He already had to think she was weak with how she acted in his bar.
That was so embarrassing.
She should have schooled her emotions better and not reacted when she had tasted alcohol, but Daisy had trusted Elsha to get water for her. But it wasn’t her fault. Elsha had thought it was water as well.
“Baby, you are not weak. You will never be weak; do you hear me?” Asher cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “Do you hear me?”
Daisy opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything. How was she supposed to reply to him when he said not to lie?
“Little One,” he gently began. “Do you understand that you are not weak? You will never be weak.”
“You told me not to lie,” she pointed out.
Asher sighed. “We are going to work on this. I see you as someone who is strong and puts other people in front of herself, even if it means that you suffer.”
Tears pooled in Daisy’s eyes, and she closed them.
“Now, do you want to tell me what you were thinking before?” he asked. “You can keep your eyes closed this time. But in the future, I’m going to want you to look at me.”
Daisy kept her eyes closed. “I got overwhelmed when Rainey was talking to me, and my thoughts spiraled. And then you came to rescue me, and I just folded. I was realizing things that kind of scare me.”
Scared was an understatement. It terrified Daisy to think that Springfield might be the home she had always been looking for. She had been on the road for almost fifteen years, desperately trying to find a place to call home and never really expecting herself to find it.
“Do you want to talk about what that scared you?” Asher asked. “Do you want to talk about what Rainey said and how it made you feel?”
“Not really,” Daisy mumbled.
She was getting exhausted, and she knew this conversation was going to be long and tough. Was she prepared for it? Absolutely not.
“When you do want to talk about it, let me know. I’ll be a listening ear,” Asher gently said.
“I’m always here for you. No matter what time of day.
If you want to call me in the middle of the night when you have the confidence, then call me.
It doesn’t matter what time of day or night it is; if you want to talk about this or anything else, call me. I’m here for you.”
“Stop being so nice to me,” she choked out. “You don’t know me, and yet you are so willing to help me with anything and everything.”
“Because I know how to take care of something precious. You are precious to me. I have a feeling you’re going to become precious to a lot of other people in this town,” Asher said. “But I don’t want to overwhelm you. Just know that you mean the world to me already. I’m not going to give up on you.”
Daisy placed a hand over her mouth as she tried to keep the sob in. She had lived on this earth for thirty years, and not one person had been this kind and genuine to her. And then came along Asher, and he had literally shaken her world, and he had only been part of it for a day.
One singular day.
He was already making her feel things she had never felt before. He was making her think about things that she thought would never cross her mind. Asher was single-handedly turning her world upside down, and Daisy didn’t know if it was for the better.
He was making her realize that, maybe, Springfield was the place she had always looked for. But that thought frightened her.
Daisy wasn’t going to tell him. He already knew way too much about her. The thought of him knowing more kind of terrified her. What if he decided to use that against her, and she later regretted it?
She already had way too many regrets in her life.
“Oh, baby. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just wanted you to know how I felt, so you could process it all. I never meant to make you cry,” Asher cooed at her as he pulled her into his embrace.
She loved having his strong arms around her, making her feel safe and secure. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Was she ever going to get used to this?
The feeling of belonging.
“Do you want to stay like this, or do you want to go back out there?” Asher asked.
“Can I just go home?” She looked up at him.
“I don’t know if I want you alone right now. I’m worried that something might happen,” he replied.
“Like what?” Daisy tilted her head to the side.
“You said Rainey made you realize something that scared you. A lot of emotions are running through you right now. I don’t want you to be alone in fear that one of those emotions is going to get the better of you,” he explained. “Almost like sub drop but not. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” she mumbled.
“Will you call me if your emotions get to become too much?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Words, baby.”
“Yes, Sir.” Daisy stopped herself from calling him Daddy.
It had been on the tip of her tongue for a while, and she wanted to call him that. For him to become that to her. But she didn’t want to commit to something that would break her heart if she did move later on.
Asher’s eyes darkened as she called him Sir, and a shiver ran down her spine.
“If you promise to call me if things get to become too much, I’ll drive you home,” he replied. “I don’t like it, but if it’s what you want, then okay.”
“I do. I think I’m just going to go to bed,” she replied honestly. “Everything today has been exhausting.”
“Did you take a nap?” he asked as he stroked her hair, stopping at the back of her neck where he cupped it.
“No, I didn’t. I don’t take naps.”
Though she sometimes wished that she did.
“And why not? Little girls need to take naps,” he gently replied.
She shrugged. “I had a lot of work today. I was supposed to order my groceries instead of going out to get them, which took up a lot more time than normal,” she rambled.
“So, by the time I got home and made food, it was later. I really needed to do some work. Not that I got much done. My mind was distracted.”
“Distracted because of me?” Asher tilted his head to the side.
“Nope.” She popped the p, but it was a lie.
Her cheeks turned pink, eyes diverting from Asher.
“Hmm, I think that’s a lie.”
Daisy pushed herself off his lap and stood, and dizziness assaulted her.
“Wow, baby. Take a deep breath and slowly let it out. I’ve got you,” he said as his hands gripped her sides, keeping her steady.
She followed his instructions a few times, closing her eyes so everything didn’t spin and make it worse.
“You’re okay,” he whispered. “Do you need to sit down?”
“No,” she forced out.
She was determined to be okay without having to sit down. How many times was she going to pass out or have an episode in front of Asher?
“Daisy, there is nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said as he helped her sit down.
“There is, though,” she whispered.
There always was. She had to be cautious about things. Her health had ruined so many plans.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
Opening her eyes, she made eye contact with him.
“There isn’t. This is about your health. There is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Everyone has something, and I don’t want you ever feeling like you need to hide it. Do you understand?” He raised an eyebrow.
She nodded. That was easier said than done.
“I know it’s going to take some time, but I want you to say that at least once to yourself each day so, one day, you might believe it,” he gently said as he knelt in front of her. “Now, do you want me to carry you out, or do you think you can walk?”
She opened her mouth but closed it.
“I would rather carry you, but I don’t know whether you will be comfortable with that,” he said more to himself, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Will they think badly of me if you carry me out and we leave?” she asked. “I don’t want them to think ill of me.”
Asher cupped her face. “They would never do that. If anything, they are probably worried sick about you and want to make sure that you are okay, but I said no one could bother us. I know you haven’t known them for very long, but they already consider you a close friend.”
Daisy leaned her face into his hand and relaxed. “I know.”
And she really did. They had already made her feel so welcome and like she belonged with them.
“I’m going to pick you up now, and we are going to go out there. I’ll need to talk to them for a little bit to explain we are going home. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” he said before he picked me up.
She pushed her face into his neck and took a deep breath of his scent.