Chapter Six
DAISY
“Ididn’t know whether service dogs were allowed,” she mumbled. “Not every place allows service dogs. When I checked online, there was nothing mentioned about them, so I didn’t bring her. I also wanted to be normal tonight.” She whispered the last sentence, hoping he wouldn’t hear it.
Daisy had searched to see whether they allowed service dogs, but nothing came up. She had thought about calling, but she didn’t want to bring attention to herself… Okay, she didn’t want to hear them say no and then have to explain to Elsha that she couldn’t go.
Asher cupped her hands with his, giving them a little squeeze. “Oh, baby.”
Tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked, trying to keep them there.
“No one has ever asked, but if you had, I would have said you could bring your service dog. You need her. I don’t want you to ever be in that position again,” he told her.
“And as for you wanting to be normal, I have no doubt that you want to, but you need to think about your health and whether it’s safe for you to go without her. ”
She hung her head, seeing him still cup her hands in his. “I know.”
Asher lifted her chin, and their gazes connected. “You are precious.”
A single tear slid down her cheek, and Asher gently wiped it away before keeping his hand on her cheek.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he whispered.
She forced a chuckle and pulled her face out of his hands. “It’s just been a long night and day, if I’m honest.”
“Okay, then answer this last question, and then we can get you into bed. What does your service dog detect?”
There was no way of getting out of this. He knew when she lied.
“When my blood pressure drops,” she admitted.
“And what happens when it does?” he asked.
“I can get lightheaded, dizzy, blurred vision, weakness, and some confusion if it’s bad enough.
Sometimes, my skin feels cold and clammy, but that doesn’t happen normally.
I pass out sometimes, my breathing gets rapid, and I’m nauseous,” she listed everything like she was ordering at her favorite restaurant.
“And you didn’t bring your service dog to the bar, even though you can have all those symptoms. Do you faint a lot?
Can you normally detect when it’s about to happen?
Does it happen randomly or only when you stand too quickly?
” He kept rubbing his thumbs across the back of her hands in a rhythmic, soothing motion.
She shrugged. “When I have Chilli, I don’t pass out a lot since she can detect it before I feel any symptoms. That’s when she barks and puts her paws on my stomach or legs, so I sit down and take deep breaths.
Though usually, we try to get to a spot where if I were to pass out, I wouldn’t fall back and hit my head.
But maybe since you were here, she didn’t feel like it was necessary. ”
That was a mystery for Daisy, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it for too long.
“And do they happen randomly?” he asked again, keeping his tone soft and light.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on her shoulders as she leaned her head back. “Randomly. Though a lot of the time it’s when I stand up too fast, but I’ve learned not to do that so much.”
“What do you do to help it not drop? Is there anything you can do?”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “You’re asking a lot of questions for someone who isn’t going to be in my life for very long.”
But she wanted him to be part of her life for the rest of her life. She wanted him to be her Daddy.
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. Nope. She didn’t need to be thinking that way. Not with someone she had just met and barely knew.
“What was that thought?” He tilted his head to the side.
“Nothing,” she mumbled.
“Okay, you don’t have to tell me. This time. Now, back to what you said before. You may not think I’ll be in your life for very long, but we do live in the same town. And I have a feeling that we are going to be seeing each other very regularly,” he told her.
Sighing, she nodded, not having the strength to fight him on anything right now. “I need to make sure I drink enough water throughout the day and also eat smaller meals or snacks. And you know about me standing up slowly from a seated or lying down position.”
He hummed and thought for several seconds. “And do you drink and eat throughout the day?”
“I’m tired,” she whispered.
It wasn’t a lie, but she didn’t want to get into her drinking and eating habits. While she did a good job of remembering to snack throughout the day, her water intake wasn’t the best. Daisy had tried several ways to get herself to drink water, but none of them seemed to work.
One day, she had set an alarm every five minutes to remember to take a sip of water. By the third alarm, she had turned them all off from annoyance.
“Oh, I also need to make sure I eat enough salt when I drink a lot,” she blurted out before he could say anything.
“Okay, I’ll remember those. I’ll be doing some more research as well,” he replied.
“Why?” she asked.
“Like I said, I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot of each other. I want to make sure I know, so if anything happens, I’m prepared,” he said as he ran his thumb across the back of her hand.
“But why?” She couldn’t help herself.
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you want to do research on it when you don’t know me at all? I could be a serial killer for all you know,” she pursed her lips.
“Are you a serial killer?”
She sighed. “No, I’m not.”
Though sometimes she wished she could get rid of all the people who had wronged her. To get revenge for all the bad things people had done to others.
“Then I have nothing to worry about. And I’m doing this because I want to. Because I have a feeling you are going to be important.”
This time, Daisy couldn’t help but let the tears flow down her face.
“Oh, Little One. I didn’t say that to make you cry.” He wiped away the tears from her cheeks.
“I’ve never had someone say something so nice to me before,” she choked out.
Asher cupped her face and gave her a tender look. “Oh, Little One. You don’t have any idea what you’re doing to my heart right now, do you?”
“Wh-what?”
Her mind was spiraling with what she thought he had said, but she couldn’t be right. There was no way she was doing anything to his heart when she had just met him, could there?
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll say all the nice things and mean them whenever you want because they are all true. I will say them until you believe them. And even if you want to hear them after, I’ll still say them.” His thumb gently caressed her cheek.
Daisy leaned her head into his touch and slowly closed her eyes, letting the exhaustion take over her body.
“I need you to listen to something before you can go to bed. Can you look at me?” he asked.
Daisy pried her eyes open with her fingers when her eyelids didn’t want to work.
Asher shook his head, a small smile on his face, before turning serious.
“First, if you want to go to any bar, not just mine, you call me. I’ll come with you to watch over you.
Understand?” He paused, and she nodded. “Second, my bar is now service-dog friendly, so the next time you want to come, you bring Chilli. No one will care that there is a service dog in there. If they do, they can come and talk to me.”
Her mouth hung open as he listened to his words. He wanted her to contact him if she ever wanted to go to a bar, so he could come with her?
“You don’t know me,” she slurred her words as exhaustion weighed down on her. “Why would you want to come with me?”
“Because you make my protective side scream. So, if you want to go to a bar or somewhere that you’ve never been with a lot of people, call me, and I’ll come with you and Chilli,” he replied, like it totally made sense.
“Bu—”
“We are not going to argue about this. I can find someone else who can go with you if you don’t want me to, but you will bring someone. And they will know about your medical condition in case anything happens. Understand?” He raised an eyebrow as he gazed at her.
Daisy took a breath in and slowly let it out. She was feeling two very distinct emotions right now. Frustration and happiness.
Frustration because Asher was making it seem like she couldn’t do anything without having someone come with her. She’d had this medical condition for years and had been managing just fine without someone with her all the time.
Okay… that was a lie, but she didn’t need to think about that.
Daisy was like a puddle of goo because he was being so protective and wanted to make sure she was okay. He had this protective instinct for her. When was the last time someone had been that for her?
“Daisy, I need your words.” He pulled her out of her thoughts.
“O-okay,” she stuttered out.
Was she actually going to call him or anyone to come with her to a new place? No, probably not, but it was the thought that counted.
Asher gently patted her back, almost lulling her to sleep.
“Why don’t you go brush your teeth, and I’ll get you a glass of water,” he suggested.
Her eyes shot open. “No, that’s okay.”
She didn’t need him in her house any longer than was necessary. She was going to make a fool of herself if he started to take care of her; she just knew it.
He raised an eyebrow. “Will you remember to get a glass of water before you go to bed?”
“Yes.” Lie.
She never remembered to get a glass of water before she went to bed. And she paid for it every single time she woke up and was so thirsty. Instead of staying half asleep while she drank, Daisy ended up waking up because she had to walk to the kitchen.
“You know how I feel about lying,” he growled.
That was one thing she really knew about him. He hated when she lied to him, and she felt guilty for it every single time.
“Do you want to try again?” he asked.
No, she didn’t.
“I’ll try.”
Hopefully, that would get him off her back, and he’d leave.
“Not try. Do.” He gave her a pointed look.
Daisy wrung her hands together and looked down. She didn’t know whether she would be able to actually do it. How many times had she already tried?
“Go brush your teeth, and I’ll grab it for you,” he said, leaving no room for argument.