Chapter 18 Harrison
Harrison was already awake, his mind shifting into gear long before the rest of the world began to stir.
He stayed still for a long moment, watching Kelsey as she slept.
She was a soft, warm weight against him, her breathing deep and even, finally looking peaceful after the frantic energy of the night before.
The protective instinct that lived in his chest felt louder this morning, a constant hum that demanded he take care of her.
He remembered how she’d practically vibrated with exhaustion when she walked through the door, and the way she’d clung to him in the shower as if he were her only anchor.
He carefully disentangled himself, tucking the duvet around her shoulders, and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple.
"Sleep, little one," he whispered.
He padded silently out of the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen. He wanted a proper breakfast waiting for her when she finally woke up; he liked the idea of her walking in to find him taking the lead on the morning, giving her one less thing to manage.
As the coffee began to drip, Harrison leaned against the marble island. His eyes landed on her purse, dropped on the counter in her rush to get to him the night before. It was hanging open, and peeking out from the side pocket was a slip of paper that made his internal alarm bells go off.
He didn't want to be nosy, but the bold, scarlet ink of the words FINAL NOTICE was impossible to ignore. It sat right on top, practically screaming for attention. Harrison reached out, his jaw tightening as he pulled the paper free. It wasn't a personal bill. It was for Seven Stones.
His eyes scanned the document, his brain instantly shifting from caregiver to CEO. The numbers were staggering. Property taxes, thousands in arrears, and interest penalties compounding by the day. This wasn't just a missed payment; this was a systemic collapse of the restaurant’s overhead.
Immediately, the Daddy mode he lived in surged to the surface, laced with a sharp, cold anger—not at her, but at the situation.
He felt a pang of genuine hurt that she had been carrying this massive weight all on her own.
He’d sensed the desperation beneath her smiles, the tension in her frame, and now he knew exactly why.
Why didn't she tell me? He thought, his fingers nearly wrinkling the paper.
He wondered if this was the fallout of what Leo had failed to do before the attack.
Had her brother drained the accounts? Had he left her a hollowed-out shell of a business while she was busy trying to heal from the trauma?
Harrison started running through solutions before the coffee was even finished.
He could bridge the tax gap by noon. He could have his accountants audit the books by Friday. He would fix this. He had to fix this.
The sound of soft footsteps on the hardwood floor broke his concentration. He didn't look up, his eyes still fixed on the red ink.
"Daddy?"
Kelsey stood in the doorway, wearing his white t-shirt, her hair a messy halo. Her eyes dropped to his hands, and her entire expression transformed. The soft, sleepy warmth vanished in a heartbeat, replaced by a flash of absolute mortification that quickly curdled into rage.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, her voice trembling. "Did you go through my purse, Harrison?"
Harrison looked up, his expression stoic, his eyes dark with the seriousness of the situation. "I didn't go through your things, Kelsey. It was sitting right on top, and I saw the red lettering when I walked by. I'm not blind."
"You had no right!" She snapped, crossing the room and snatching the paper out of his hand. Her face was flushed, her chest heaving with the force of her indignation. "This is private. This has nothing to do with us."
"It has everything to do with us," Harrison said, his voice dropping into that low, absolute register that commanded attention.
He didn't move, but his presence seemed to fill the kitchen.
"Kelsey, as your Daddy, it is my job to take care of you.
That includes making sure you aren't drowning while you're standing right next to me. You shouldn’t have been hiding this. You should have come to me weeks ago."
"Hide it? I wasn't hiding it, I was handling it!" She yelled, the stress of the past month finally exploding. "This is my business, Harrison. Seven Stones is mine. My career—it’s separate from this dynamic. It is none of your business!"
Harrison’s eyes narrowed. The part of him that demanded respect and honesty took full control. He stepped toward her, his posture commanding and unyielding.
"First of all," he said, his voice like iron. "You will not raise your voice at me. Second, nothing that causes you this much pain is 'none of my business.' If you’re hurting, I’m involved. That’s how this works."
"No!" Kelsey cried, backing away as he approached. "You don't get to just buy your way into my life! Stay away from me!"
She turned on her heel and bolted. Harrison didn't hesitate; he followed her, his stride long and purposeful. He watched her disappear into the bedroom, the door slamming shut with a force that echoed through the house. A second later, he heard the sharp, final click of the lock.
Harrison reached the door and stood his ground, his hand forming a fist as he knocked—three slow, heavy thuds.
"Little girl, you better open this door right now," he warned, his voice terrifyingly calm. "You are already in enough trouble for the way you just spoke to me. Do not make this worse by locking me out."
Silence followed, then the sound of drawers being jerked open. The frantic, metallic zip of a bag.
"Kelsey. Open the door."
He waited ten seconds. When no answer came, he realized she wasn't listening. He strode toward his home office. It took him several frantic minutes of digging through his desk drawers to find the master key for the bedroom suite. When he finally returned to the door, it was standing wide open.
The room was empty. His white t-shirt was crumpled in a heap on the rug.
Her bag was gone from the dresser. He ran back to the kitchen—her purse was gone from the counter.
He reached the front window just in time to see her taillights as she backed out of the driveway with a screech of tires, disappearing before he could even get the front door open.
"Fuck!" Harrison cursed, slamming his hand against the doorframe.
He raced back to the bedroom, throwing on a shirt and jeans, grabbing his keys as he sprinted to the garage. He climbed into his SUV, his heart hammering against his ribs. As he pulled out of the driveway, he hit her speed dial.
Voicemail.
He tried again and again, the frustration mounting with every ring.
His Daddy side was going insane. He was vibrating with a mix of fury and pure, unadulterated terror.
She had run away while she was hysterical and sleep-deprived.
She was in so much trouble for the tantrum and the flight, but that was secondary to the fear that she might get into an accident in her state of mind.
He drove straight to her apartment building, his eyes scanning every parking spot.
Her car wasn't there. He felt a cold knot tie itself in his stomach.
He sped toward Seven Stones, thinking she might have gone there to bury herself in work.
The parking lot was mostly empty. Her car was nowhere to be found.
Harrison sat in the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He felt lost, the silence of the SUV feeling like a physical weight. He tried calling one more time, then typed out a message with shaking thumbs.
Harrison: Kelsey, I am worried. I don't care about the argument right now. I just need to know you are safe. Please, sweetheart. Tell me where you are.
As he hit send, his phone lit up with an incoming call. It was Barrett. Harrison answered on the first ring, his voice raw and defeated.
"Barrett?"
"Hey, man," Barrett said, his voice calm but serious. "Take a breath. A very crying, very messy Kelsey just showed up at our place. She and Savannah are upstairs in Sav’s room right now with the door shut. They’re talking."
The relief that washed over Harrison was so violent he actually felt dizzy. He leaned his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes. "Thank God. Is she... is she okay? Physically?"
"She's fine. Just worked up," Barrett confirmed. "Now, you want to tell me what the hell happened? She looked like she was running from a fire."
Harrison laid it all out—the final notice he found, the staggering amount of money she owed, and the way she’d kept it secret. He told Barrett about her snapping at him, telling him it was none of his business, and the way she’d bolted.
"She told me her job was separate from our dynamic," Harrison said, his voice hardening as the worry subsided and the need for discipline returned. "She screamed at me and slammed the door in my face."
"Man, if Savannah had raised her voice like that and then pulled a disappearing act? She’d be getting her bottom paddled as we speak," Barrett said, his Daddy side clearly in agreement.
"She is definitely getting her bottom paddled," Harrison said, his tone turning dark and absolute. "She thinks she can run away from the fact that I’m her Daddy just because things got difficult. She’s wrong.
" Harrison paused, his mind already making the next move.
"Barrett, I’m coming over. I need to be able to deal with this somewhere she can't hide.
Can I borrow your office? And your paddle? "
"You don't even have to ask," Barrett replied easily. "My office is yours. The paddle is in the top right drawer of the desk. I’ll keep an eye on them until you get here. I’m not letting her leave again, Harrison. I’ll lock the front door if I have to."
"Thanks, brother," Harrison said, shifting the SUV into gear. "I'm ten minutes out."
He hung up, his eyes fixed on the road. The worry was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating focus.
Kelsey had wanted to keep her business and her "Daddy" separate, but she was about to find out that when she belonged to him, there was no part of her life he wouldn't protect—and no part of her behavior he wouldn't correct.