Chapter Twenty
DAISY
Daisy was not going to be okay. She had been pacing for over thirty minutes now as she tried to calm herself down. But she was failing miserably.
There were so many emotions going through her.
She was happy that she might have finally found a place for her to live the rest of her life.
She was terrified that she might have found a Daddy for herself.
Angry that it had taken almost fifteen years to get to his point.
Worried that it might all be in her head.
There was no way she’d actually found what she was looking for. It had been a long fifteen years, and she was starting to believe that it was never going to happen.
Daisy had come to terms with the fact she was going to always be on the road, chasing a dream that would never happen.
And now that it was right in front of her, she was hesitant to stop and do something about it.
What if it was right in front of her, looking so real, but in fact it was all an illusion?
No.
She wasn’t going to put herself through that torture. Daisy had gone through fifteen years of trying to find a place and person for herself. She wasn’t about to succumb to something false and make herself depressed.
Daisy didn’t want to give up her hopes. She knew better than that.
“I’m okay,” she whispered to herself, but inside she felt anything but okay.
Her chest ached from all the emotions racing through her. Her conversation with Rainey was supposed to clear her mind of everything Asher-related, but it had only made her think about him more.
Tears pooled in her eyes as everything became so overwhelming. Asher’s words replayed in her head to call him whenever it got to be too much.
Did he really mean it?
Before Daisy could think any more about it, she quickly grabbed her phone and called him.
“Hello?” he answered.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and hung up.
Daisy should not have done that. He didn’t mean it when he said to call him. No one ever did.
Her phone started to ring, and his name flashed on the screen once again, but she didn’t answer. And once his name disappeared, she thought it was over.
But it wasn’t.
His name lit up her screen once again, and she sobbed. Daisy just wanted to pick up the phone and answer. She wanted to hear his voice and have his arms wrap around her body. She wanted him here with her.
Her phone started to ring for a third time, and she cuddled herself as tears ran down her face.
“Daisy!” Asher’s voice yelled from the door. “Come on, baby. Answer me. Are you okay?”
Her eyebrows bunched together, but she didn’t dare get up. Daisy didn’t know if she would make it to the door.
“Little One, come open the door for me. I need to know you’re okay.”
Daisy gasped and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. But if anything, it made her lungs seize up, tears rushing out of her eyes.
Everything was getting to be too much.
“Daisy, please open the door!” Asher yelled. “I don’t want to have to use my key, but I will!”
Chilli was right next to her as she tried to get up, but her legs wouldn’t obey her. No part of her body wanted to work, which worried her even more.
“Say something, anything, to let me know you are okay,” Asher begged as he pounded on the door again.
Daisy only managed a whimper, and that was all it took for Asher.
“I’m coming in!” he announced.
Black dots overtook her vision, fear crawling inside her with every passing second.
“Daisy!” he yelled when he looked at her.
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, everything going black.
Asher
“When is she going to wake up?” Asher asked as he looked over at Mike.
They were still in the rental house, Daisy’s home for now. He didn’t want to move her, so he called Mike to come look her over.
“All her vitals look fine. Her blood pressure is a little low, but you said she has low blood pressure, and that’s why she has her service dog,” Mike explained.
“Yes, that’s what she told me. I don’t know if she has any other conditions. I haven’t been able to ask her that yet,” he replied.
And it wasn’t his place to pry into her life as much as he wanted to. Asher wanted to know everything about her to make sure she was taking care of herself properly. He wanted to know everything so he could keep a watchful eye over her, but it wasn’t his place.
Not yet.
Soon, she wouldn’t be able to deny him.
Not after this time.
“Can you tell me everything you know?” Mike asked as he sat on one of the chairs.
“I was on my way home when she called me. She said sorry and hung up, but I knew something was wrong. I told her to call me if anything happened and she needed someone,” Asher explained.
“I rushed over here. She wouldn’t reply through the door, and by the time I got in, she was on the ground.
Then she fainted. I don’t know what brought her to that point, though. ”
He had been wracking his mind about anything and everything, trying to come up with a plausible reason why she’d fainted.
“Could it have been her blood pressure?” he asked. “No, it looked like she was having a panic attack, and I got inside too late.”
That was never going to happen again.
“Is there a watch, bracelet, ring, or anything that can take her blood pressure and also her heart rate that I can connect to a phone?” Asher asked. “I need to know when this happens again, so I can get here before it’s too late.”
He nodded. That was the best option. And if there was no such thing, he was going to have to invent it so he could track it.
“I don’t know if there is, but I can look into it for you,” Mike replied. “Does she know you are considering this?”
“Not yet, but she will,” he answered matter-of-factly. “We are not going to have this again. I will not be too late.”
“Asher, she’s okay. When she wakes up, you can talk to her, but don’t overwhelm her.
You don’t want her to faint again,” Mike said.
“Try to get her comfortable first. Give her something to drink and a little snack. Then once she is feeling better, you can ask her some questions, but don’t overwhelm her. ”
“I know what to do. I’ve done this before.” He glared at Mike.
He sighed. “I know you have. I wasn’t implying you don’t know what to do. It’s the doctor in me who has to explain things.”
Asher ran his hands over his face and slumped into his chair, looking at Daisy, passed out on the couch. Chilli was lying on the ground in front of the couch.
“Sorry, I’m just on edge,” he replied. “I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”
“Let it out now before she wakes up. I know you would never harm her, but it’s better to deal with it now so it doesn’t accidentally slip out,” Mike suggested.
Asher shook his head. “I’m okay, really. I’m just worried about her.”
He had broken so many laws to get to her house. He didn’t care if he got a ticket from Baxter as he sped to her house. There was no way he would have stopped for them, which would have put him into more trouble.
But it would all be worth it to get to her.
Daisy had become so important to him in such a short time, and he didn’t know what to do.
“You really care about her,” Mike said.
“Yes,” he replied. “So much.”
“Does she know?” he asked.
Asher chuckled. “I’ve tried telling her, but I don’t think she actually believes me. From the little I’ve gathered, she has been moving around a lot and was going to leave after she had an incident at the grocery store.”
There was no way he was ever going to allow her to leave Springfield now. Not when she had stolen his heart in a matter of minutes. Not when she had him wrapped around her pinky so tightly.
Mike got up from his seat. “If you need anything, call me. I’ll be available. Though I’m in the ER tomorrow, so I won’t be able to do house calls. If something happens, take her to the ER. If I’m not busy, I’ll look at her myself.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate you coming here,” Asher said as he stood. “Let me know what I owe you.”
Mike glared at him. “You know you don’t owe me anything. I do this because I care about people, especially Littles.”
“I don’t—”
“Don’t even start. You know she is a Little, and I know it as well. Did you miss the pacifier on the kitchen countertop? I also heard from someone that you took her to the club.” Mike gave him a knowing look.
“Of course, there’s no privacy here,” he muttered.
“And you love it. Don’t try to say you don’t. We are a close-knit family. You wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mike said before he closed the door, getting the last word in.
Asher took several deep breaths before turning to Daisy. She was still fast asleep on the couch, looking so small.
“D-daddy?” she whimpered.
Asher was in front of her in the blink of an eye, kneeling right next to her.
“You’re okay,” he gently whispered to her. “Everything is okay.”
Her eyes blinked open, and she looked right at him, smiling. “Daddy.”
And his heart stopped.