Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Tilly tossed and turned, wishing she had not agreed to being incommunicado with Carter for the next seven days.
She wanted so bad to text him, call him, hell, get in her car and go see him.
She needed to make sure he understood what was going on and would still want her after her outburst and her not taking his phone call earlier.
And he had called. Three times. But he had not left any messages. She only hoped she had explained the situation good enough on the rambling voicemail she’d left him after they’d loaded the SUV.
Rolling to her back, she stared up at the slowly twirling ceiling fan, and wished he was here to cuddle with. He’d made such a good snuggle buddy that BB was having a hard time competing.
She looked at her phone and wondered how upset Lottie would be if she broke the agreement and called Carter. Just as she reached for the nightstand, her door opened, pulling her attention away from the phone.
“Carri?”
Her sister didn’t say anything, just shuffled across the room and climbed into the empty side of the queen-size bed. They curled up together and though it wasn’t the same as having Carter’s bigger body next to her, it helped Tilly relax enough to close her eyes and go to sleep.
Two days later, she was only mildly surprised when she a big black truck followed her the last three blocks to work at five-thirty in the morning. He followed her until she pulled into the parking lot next door to the daycare center where the staff parked.
The truck pulled in and parked beside her as she was gathering her things from the front seat. When she turned to the door, she jumped when she saw a man dressed in the town’s black police uniform standing on the other side.
Pushing the door open and forcing him to step back, she climbed out and stared at him with wide eyes. “Papa, you scared me!”
“Sorry, little dancer, but I couldn’t wait until Sunday. I also didn’t want to get you in trouble with your sisters. We need to talk and then I’ll go away until Sunday.”
Tilly nodded as she led the way to the center’s front door. She unlocked it and once inside, flipped on the lights in the main lobby before leading Carter to her office.
As she turned to close her office door, Emma, her assistant, walked in.
“Open up please, Emma, and cover for me while I talk to Captain McGee?”
“Sure thing, Tilly. You’re not in any trouble, are you?”
“No, no trouble. We’ll talk about it later,” Tilly said before she closed the door and turned the lock.
With Emma covering for her with the rest of the staff and kids that were dropped off early, they wouldn’t be interrupted, though she knew time was limited because from the look of him, Carter had to get to work, too.
Turning to face him, she took three steps to close the space that separated them and wrapped her arms around his middle. Burying her head into his chest, she hugged him tight, trying to push through his clothes and skin and crawl into his body with him.
“I’m sorry, Papa. I’m sorry I was mean to you on Sunday. I didn’t mean it. I love you and I’ll be happy to move in with you whenever you say.”
His arms held her tight and she felt his cheek press against the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, too, little dancer. I was so excited to finally find you that I pushed for too much too soon.
I also wanted you to know that I’ll wait as long as I need to in order to you to be comfortable with the idea of moving in and being my Little girl for now and for always.
I love you, Tilly, and I’ll try to be patient. ”
“I love you, too, Papa. For now and for always,” Tilly said, blinking back tears at the thought of not being with him for another five days. But she’d agreed to Lottie’s week of separation. “Will you come out to the house on Sunday? Then we can sit down and talk about our future.”
“All right, little dancer. As long as we’re okay now, I’ll stay away until Sunday.”
“We’re okay, Papa,” Tilly said.
Wrapping her hands around his head, she pulled it down so she could kiss him. The kiss started sweet and gentle, but quickly deepened until they had to separate in order to breathe after several long minutes.
His expression told her he was reluctant to leave, but she could hear the children beginning to arrive. “Time to go to work, Papa,” she said, being the responsible Little she was.
“Yes, but know I’ll be thinking of you all day and all night until we’re together again,” Carter brushed a kiss on her forehead before taking a deep breath and leaving.
Tilly took a moment to straighten her t-shirt before she left the privacy of her office to join the melee that was morning at the daycare center.
That evening when Tilly entered the house, her sisters stared at her like she’d grown an extra head or turned purple or something.
“What?” she asked as she hung her purse on the hook where she always left it and slipped off her shoes.
“You’re smiling,” Carri said, sounding in awe.
“And humming,” Lottie added looking suspicious.
Tilly shrugged, determined not to tell them the real reason. “I had a good day at work.”
She walked through the house to the kitchen, hoping someone started dinner. The room smelled like meatloaf, and she saw a big salad waiting on the counter. Her sisters followed her.
“No, I don’t think it’s just that,” Lottie said.
“Something else happened. Like maybe a police captain stopped by the center because he couldn’t abide by your asking him to stay away until Sunday.
Does he think he’s so high and mighty that he doesn’t have to abide by your wishes?
Are you sure that man is really a Daddy? ”
Tilly froze at her sister’s accusations.
The anger she felt at not being able to see Carter again until Sunday flamed sky high.
Turning to face both sisters, she slapped her hands on her hips and glared.
“Yes, Lottie, I’m sure that Carter is a Daddy.
And don’t go poking around my love life unless you want me to look into Travis.
You may be the oldest, but we are also adults and can run our own lives. ”
Both her sisters looked stunned at her anger. She didn’t blame them since she’d never lost her temper like this before. Especially not at them. She was usually the one that smoothed the waters, not roiled them up.
Tilly’s emotions were so stirred up she could feel tears pressing for release. She focused on breathing deep and not crying as she waited for her sisters to react to her blowup.
Then Carri shifted to stand beside her. “I’m with Tilly.
The last couple of years you’ve been running our lives like we were still ten years old.
We’ll all abide by the staying away from our men until Sunday agreement to show you that what we’re feeling for them is real, but after that, if Rooker still wants me to move in with him, I’m there. ”
With that, Carri left the room on the crutches Rooker had given her. Tilly stared at the kitchen door as she listened to Carri slowly thump up the stairs and into her room. A moment later, her bedroom door slammed behind her.
She finally turned her attention to Lottie who looked frozen and a bit pale with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Lottie?”
“I’m sorry,” Lottie whispered as she wiped her cheeks dry only to have more tears fall.
“I just wanted to keep you two safe. I didn’t mean to force you to choose between the three of us and your new men.
I would never do that. I love you two more than anything in the world, though I have to admit that Travis is coming in a close second. ”
Tilly crossed the kitchen and hugged her sister tight.
“We know you love us and want us to be safe. But it’s time to loosen the reins.
We’re strong women, too, otherwise we would never have been able to stand up to you just now.
Why don’t I finish up dinner while you go apologize to Carri Then we can have dinner together and watch a movie. ”
“All right, I’ll apologize, but I get to choose the movie tonight.”