Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Waiting for Tuesday to roll around took forever.
Tiffanie slept at Phineas’s house every night except for Friday when he had a once-a-month evening teen gathering at the library.
Then she stayed at Ivan’s because remaining awake until ten was too much for her after a long week.
Phineas had snuck in to sleep with her when the event concluded.
She couldn’t figure out if she really felt as good as she thought or if having Phineas around simply made things better. The testing would tell everything. She’d crossed her fingers so many times they ached.
Monday, Tiffanie moped around the house, sure that she would get awful news the next day.
She wasn’t interested in anything. TV was boring.
Even the spiciest book couldn’t hold her attention.
And forget napping. Her brain hopped from one worry to the next.
What would she do if the numbers got worse?
If the doctor recommended a more powerful chemo blend?
Could she physically and mentally handle another round of being so sick and fragile?
Her weakened condition was better than the alternative, but at some point, she’d have to accept that she’d fought hard, but the chemo had won.
Trying to distract herself from negative thoughts, Tiffanie had buried herself in tasks until she was completely drained.
Deciding to get some fresh air, Tiffanie walked out onto the small front porch and dropped into a rocking chair.
She studied the clouds, enjoying the faint breeze that wafted over her.
The mature trees and bushes on the estate perfumed the air.
Today, honeysuckle was the strongest aroma.
She closed her eyes to savor the sweet scent.
Heavy warmth plopped onto her thighs, startling Tiffanie. “What?” Tiffanie would have jumped from her seat, but a large fuzzy creature now trampled across her lap. “Marmalade.”
“Meow!”
“You scared me. What are you doing here?”
Marmalade turned his head and glared at Tiffanie. She relented and scratched his neck. Immediately, the cat responded to his favorite caresses with a loud purr.
Tiffanie petted the furry animal until her arm got tired. When she stopped, Marmalade stomped around in a circle, pressing all his weight into each paw. Grimacing, Tiffanie requested, “Could you get comfortable and stretch out, please?”
The feline stared at her with a highly offended expression.
“Sorry, Marmalade. Your feet are pointy.”
A loud sneeze burst from the cat, followed by a quick shake of his head.
Tiffanie opened her mouth to apologize and froze when Marmalade extended his nose to sniff at her belly.
Had she dropped food on herself at lunch?
The cat brushed his large head against her abdomen and flopped into a comfortable position.
Tiffanie gawked at the cat. Did he sense something?
She remembered how he’d acted when she first started working with Essie.
Marmalade had started to get on her lap and had stopped and hissed at her abdomen.
He’d stopped hanging around her at all….
Until the other day, when he’d settled next to her, stealing one section of the seat cushion in Essie’s office. He’d sniffed her there too.
“What’s up, Tiff? You looked shocked.” Her brother’s voice startled her.
“Hi, Ivan. I’m practicing my expressions for the Christmas play, Essie’s thinking about holding next year,” she invented.
“Tell me you’re lying. I don’t want camels and sheep dropping poo all over the stable area I’d have to figure out how to create.” Ivan held a hand to his forehead as if the thought alone already gave him a headache.
“I’m totally making excuses. I have no idea what I’m doing other than struggling not to move since Marmalade is napping on my lap.”
“Are you prepared for tomorrow?” Ivan guessed.
“Yes.”
“How do you feel?”
“A million times better. But what if the bloodwork comes back with high numbers? I’m going to lose it, and I’ve tried to be so brave in front of Phineas. Maybe I should have you take me instead.”
“You know I’ll go with you in a flash, but Phineas needs to be with you.”
His serious expression prompted Tiffanie to ask, “Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s in a role I could never be. You sleep better with him around. You’re eating more when he makes food. He cares for you deeply.”
“He does. I’ll be glad to have him with me, but you are invested too. You’ve been my rock since this started,” Tiffanie said, hoping her brother heard the mushy stuff infused in her words. She hoped he knew how thankful she was to have him in her life. “I love you, Ivan.”
“I love you too, Tiff. And unless I’m a complete idiot, so does Phineas.”
“Do you really think so?” she whispered, trying not to hope for something that seemed out of the question. Who would let themselves fall in love with a random stranger who had cancer?
“Yes. Hasn’t he shared that he cares about you?””
“He has.”
“Just not that he loves you?” Ivan asked.
“Right. I keep reminding myself that we haven’t actually known each other for long.”
“How do you feel about him?”
“I can’t imagine my world without him in it.”
“Then see where things go. Phineas isn’t flaky. He wouldn’t be with you if he didn’t want to be by your side.”
She nodded. Ivan hadn’t said anything she didn’t already know. He’d simply endorsed her surging connection with the handsome man. “Thanks, big brother.”
“You better call me immediately, whatever you hear,” he said with a glower.
“I promise. I’ll share what’s happening as quickly as I can.”
“Thank you. Now, are you comfortable there as a cat pillow?” Ivan asked, waving a hand at Marmalade, who’d wiggled into a belly-up position.
“I’m great. Go fix something.”
Ivan saluted like a soldier who’d received his marching orders. He headed for his truck and drove toward town. He must have supplies to pick up.
Tiffanie wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed.
Ivan was the best brother ever. She hoped he’d find someone amazing.
She allowed herself to imagine who would match best with her brother.
In the back of her mind, she’d wondered if he was a Daddy.
Of course, that icky thought about her brother’s sex life got chased away immediately.
“La, la, la,” she sang to herself to erase that question.
“I can’t eat, Phineas. I’m too nervous about tomorrow,” Tiffanie said as her Daddy stood in the kitchen of his home preparing to cook for her.
“Not an option. Let’s go to your nursery. I think it’s time your Daddy played doctor with you to get you ready for your appointment.”
“I don’t like to go to the doctor. That’s not a game I’m interested in,” she protested, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. She glared at Phineas, daring him to attempt to make her walk to the nursery.
“There’s my Little girl’s fire. I knew you hadn’t given up.” Phineas stepped forward and scooped her off the stool she sat on at the island.
“I said, no!” She wiggled, trying to free herself.
Immediately, Phineas stopped in the hallway and set her feet on the carpet. “Do you trust me, Princess?”
“Yes,” she said begrudgingly as she glared at him.
“You’re worried about tomorrow.”
“So.”
“I can take your mind off that, but you have to allow me.”
“You can’t,” she said confidently.
“How much do you worry when I tell you a good night story?”
Her mind flew immediately to the orgasms Phineas lavished on her when she had trouble sleeping. Pleasure completely whisked away anything she struggled to stop fretting about.
“You really think you can make me stop worrying?”
“Yes.”
So much confidence filled that three-letter word.
She stared at him. Tiffanie had learned to rely on Phineas.
He’d never shown her any reason not to have confidence in him.
At all. By stopping to talk to her now, he underlined how he put her first—even when he was sure he could help her. He wouldn’t use force.
Slowly her anger fizzled out. “Help me, Daddy. I’m scared.”
“Good girl.”
He didn’t give her time to second-guess herself. Phineas lifted her off her feet and carried her to the nursery. He set her on the padded changing table and pressed his hands down on her thighs. “You are to sit right here, Little girl.”
She nodded quickly at his strict tone. “Yes, Daddy.”
Phineas walked to a cabinet and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket to unlock one of the doors. That was locked? She hadn’t ever tried the handles to check. All the fun toys were in the big chest.
He removed a folded white piece of fabric and shook the material.
Tiffanie swallowed hard as he slid his arms into the garment.
A white doctor’s coat shouldn’t be any big deal.
Just a bit of role-play. The impact of seeing his broad shoulders encased in the medical attire made her heart beat faster.
Not from fear, but from arousal. Maybe an appointment with the doctor could be fun.
From her spot on the table, Tiffanie couldn’t see into the cabinet. She tried to lean forward but sat up straight when her Daddy leaned around the open door to meet her gaze and cleared his throat. “Sorry!”
She slumped in place. Her mind raced a thousand miles an hour.
What was he doing? What was in there? In a few brief minutes, he lowered a tray out of the way and shut the door, locking the supply area securely.
He dropped his keys in his pocket with a jingle and turned to carry a towel-covered tray toward her.
Damn! She still couldn’t see what he’d gathered. “Daddy?”
“Daddy’s tools to take care of you. Let’s get these pesky clothes off. I can’t make sure you’re healthy if you’re all covered up.”