Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
“ G ood morning, kitten. I’m afraid it’s time for me to get up,” Zale told her.
She could hear the regret in his tone. He didn’t want to go. “Time will fly past. Fridays always do, right?”
“Sometimes. Want to get up and have some breakfast with me?”
“Of course.”
By the time she’d thrown on leggings and a T-shirt, Zale was already in the kitchen putting together hot cereal. “I haven’t had oatmeal since I was a kid,” she said.
“It’s good for you. Come add what you like. Nuts, fruit, and brown sugar,” he said, handing her a heaping bowl.
“I’ll never eat that much.”
Zale set the bowl down and picked up another. Lifting the serving spoon from the pot, he said, “Tell me when,” and plopped one helping into her bowl.
“Oh, that’s great,” she said quickly to stop him from adding more. As she topped hers with the goodies, Pippa watched him add more into the first bowl.
How much can this guy eat?
“You’re hungry, huh?” she asked.
“I had a lot of exercise last night. I have to refuel,” he teased.
Pippa’s cheeks heated, and she knew a blush had spread over her face. “You!”
“I know. And you, too,” he reminded her. “How do you feel?”
Wondering if he was asking what she thought he was, she glanced up at him. The concerned look on his face answered that question and made her answer honestly. “Incredible. A little sore, but I had no idea having sex could be like that.”
“Making love does between the right people. Take a hot bath after I leave and soak for a while. That will help with the soreness. I’ll examine you when I get home to make sure you didn’t tear.”
“You mean I shouldn’t just rip off my clothes and show you my stuff here on the kitchen table?” she joked.
“You’ll show me all your stuff on the kitchen table for an entirely different reason in the future.”
The glint in his eye told her the bedroom would not be the only place he planned to make love to her. “Oh!” she said in a small voice.
“However, I will keep a close eye on your health. One of the benefits, or disadvantages, to being a medic’s little girl, I guess.”
Time to change the topic. “Don’t you drink coffee?”
“No. I don’t drink caffeine. It interferes with our training.”
“I can see that—maybe?”
Zale devoured the oatmeal as she toyed with hers. Settling down the spoon, Pippa asked, “What should I do today?”
“Rest and relax. How are your wrists?”
She considered the new wrapping. He’d re-bandaged them after their lovemaking since the gauze had gotten wet in the shower. “They’re good. It doesn’t sting anymore.”
“Perfect. Wear the bandages today, and I’ll check on the cuts tonight. We’ll take off the bandages and let them get some air.”
By the way he kept checking his watch, she knew he was on a tight schedule. “Go to work, Daddy. I’ll be fine. I’ll find some movies on TV.”
“And take some naps. I’ll lock the doors. I programmed the detectives’ phone numbers into your phone. Call them and then me if there’s a problem.”
“Do you think he’s still searching for me?” she asked, as an icy shiver ran down her spine.
“I hope not. If he’s smart, he’s gotten far away. Just be careful. Don’t open the door unless they tell you my middle name,” Zale told her.
“What’s your middle name?”
“Albert. I know. A family name. At least they didn’t make that my first name,” he joked. “Only people with access to my file will know that.”
“Thank you for keeping me safe.”
“How about if I just keep you?” Zale asked and scooped her into his lap for a hard kiss. When he lifted his head, Zale set her back in her chair with regret plastered on his face. “I have to go. Remember, you are free to explore the house. Make yourself at home and be good, little girl.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, kitten.”
Nervousness set in as soon as she saw Zale’s Jeep drive away. She retrieved Toothie from the bedroom and held him close as she walked through the house, looking out all the windows. Everything was quiet. A few neighboring houses had lights on. Most were still completely dark. The occupants obviously didn’t have to wake up as early as Zale.
Pippa decided to go get cleaned up. She checked the front and back door to make sure they were locked before heading for the bathroom. Zale’s instructions to take a bath rebounded into her mind as soon as she saw the big tub in his bathroom. She had plenty of time. Why not try it out?
Starting the water in the tub, she adjusted it until it was warm, but not too hot. The tub was enormous. Would the hot water heater run out? Pippa shrugged. She’d find out.
When the water lapped a few inches from the edge, she stripped off her clothes and slid inside. “Oh!” That felt lovely. Taking care not to get her bandages wet, she leaned back against the tub wall and melted into the water. This was the best tub. It was deep and long enough that she could even stretch her legs out completely.
The stress from the last few weeks eased. When she’d gotten this new opportunity, Pippa had run around like a wild woman getting out of her lease, selling off her furniture and belongings, even donating the packaged food in her kitchen to a local pantry. The whirlwind had stopped when she’d reported to the office to meet her new boss and pick up plane tickets for her first morning of employment.
They’d given her a bottle of cold water to drink when the messenger had reported a delay in the flight. Pippa remembered everything getting fuzzy and then nothing. She’d been so stupid. Way too trusting.
The job had seemed perfect. Pippa had ignored things that now were glaring warning signs. She shook her head. How could she have fallen for the allure of all they’d promised? She should have known better.
Other people’s bad intentions are black smudges on their own heavenly record. She smiled at the sound of her grandmother’s voice echoing in her head. She still missed her granny. At least she had all the precious woman’s life lessons memorized.
Pippa knew her grandmother would remind her not to focus on the past, but to make the present and future the best possible. That was what she would do. Pippa wasn’t going to live her life worrying about any threat that was coming.
She rolled her eyes. Maybe that’s what got her into this situation. Her saving grace was meeting Zale. If she’d never made a stupid move, they wouldn’t have run into each other.
When the water cooled, Pippa forced herself to get out. The slight soreness she’d felt from making love to Zale was better. Leave it to Zale to continue to help her. He obviously knew what he was doing medicine-wise.
After pulling her outfit back on, Pippa collected the clothes in the hamper and grabbed the sack of clothing Zale had purchased for her. She smoothed out the receipt and set it aside. Pippa planned to pay him back.
The tags proved to be a problem. Pippa explored the kitchen, searching for a pair of scissors. She opened the bottom drawer on one end of the cabinets, expecting it to be a junk drawer like her granny had always had. She sat down on the floor and started pulling out the contents: two coloring books, an activity book with puzzles and dot-to-dots, colored pencils, crayons, even a sharpener.
“Oh, look! There’s even a sticker book!” Pippa cheered and then felt silly to be talking to an empty room.
All the pages were blank. They were new. Had he gathered them together in hopes that he would find his little girl? Pippa pulled the last item from the drawer. It was a diary. One with a small key that fit in a lock on the strap holding the covers together.
Pippa wanted that diary badly. If she could write out all her emotions, she knew it would help. And thanks to the lock it would be secret. Would Zale be okay with her using it?
Running for the phone she’d left on the charger in his bedroom, Pippa took a picture of the stuff she’d laid out on the floor. Before she could talk herself out of it, she sent the picture to Zale.
I was searching for scissors to cut the tags off my clothes. I found all this in a drawer. Can I have the diary?
She’d forgo all the other fun stuff in there to have the chance to write in the book. Her fingers lingered on the activity book and the coloring book with princesses on it. She checked out the stickers on the center pages of the sticker book. That would be so much fun.
Her phone buzzed on the floor, making her jump. Pippa grabbed it and opened the reply.
Save me the picture of the stallion on page twelve of the princess book. I’ll color that with you tonight. Everything is for you—especially the diary.
The heart emoji that ended his message made her teary. He was so good to her. Quickly, she returned the same symbol. Then, to distract herself from crying, Pippa turned to page twelve in the princess coloring book. Laughter exploded from her mouth. The goofiest, scrawniest pony stared up at her. What a stallion! Her daddy was the absolute best.
Setting aside the activity and sticker books along with the diary, Pippa replaced the coloring books, crayons, and colored pencils into the drawer. She’d save those to enjoy with her daddy.
Pippa carried her selections to the couch before returning to her search. She’d get a load of laundry in before enjoying them. The scissors were in the last drawer she checked along with pens. She grabbed a couple of those as well to try in her diary.
She returned to the laundry room and got busy snipping off tags. In just a few minutes, she had everything arranged in the washing machine. Adding in plenty of soap to wash his fatigues thoroughly, Pippa started the machine.
Skipping back to the stack of books, Pippa wiggled back into the cushions of the couch until she was comfortable. Without hesitating, she picked up the diary and selected a pen. Pippa stared at the date box. She didn’t have a clue what it was.
Remembering a calendar on the side of the refrigerator, she ran back to the kitchen to check the date. She stared at a heart drawn in red on the day she’d entered Zale’s life. Pippa pressed her hands to her heart, capturing the sweetness of Zale’s addition. After celebrating how wonderful her daddy was with a quick jig of joy, she forced herself to focus. Using that as her guideline, she figured out the date and headed back to the diary.
Pippa was halfway back to the couch when she remembered the key. Darting back to the kitchen, she searched for something to save it in or a string to thread through the hole. The only thing she could find was a rubber band. She carefully looped it through the hole and slid it on her finger. At least she wouldn’t lose it now.
After double-checking the calendar to make sure she still remembered the date, she made herself comfortable on the couch and opened the diary again. Pippa filled in the date and wondered where to start. She decided the best place to begin was the day she met Zale. That seemed to be a turning place in her life.