10. Chapter 10
Daphne
After her talk with Uncle Liam, she felt so much better.
For the first time since coming here, she felt truly understood and seen.
It had been two weeks since her major punishment, and while there have been minor corrections since then, for the most part, she had behaved.
She had been allowed out to the barn much more frequently.
She loved being out there, helping where she could, brushing the horses, and learning about the breeding business and the racing business.
Eamon apparently dipped his toes in a little bit of everything, mostly breeding and racing.
He owned a couple of horses who were contenders for the Derby circuit, but they didn’t live at this barn.
They lived in Lexington, Kentucky. She wasn’t a complete moron; she knew he did illegal stuff, but he seemed to really love all of his animals and took fantastic care of them.
The barns were impeccable. They were absolutely gorgeous, with high ceilings and wooden beams. The outside was stone and log; the stalls were ornate with intricately wrought iron designs.
It was clean. There was a whole team of people who kept the barns in top shape.
She was convinced you could eat off the floor in here.
The tack room was her favorite place. It smelled of sawdust, leather, and pine.
It smelled of the mountains. As it got cooler, the snow would fall, and she couldn’t wait to watch this magical world turn into a snowy wonderland.
Approaching Ghost’s stall, she peered in.
“Hey there, boy,” she cooed as he approached her.
Ghost was her favorite horse. He was massive, white, and had a gentle personality.
She felt secure riding him and connected to him in a way she couldn’t really describe.
While she knew he wasn’t her horse, she was claiming him as her own.
She felt him before she saw him. “Ghost has a pretty amazing story.” Eamon was leaning against the stall next to his, his huge arms crossed over his chest. Why did he have to be so damn sexy?
She ignored him, turning back to Ghost, but he continued on.
“I rescued him from a kill pen. They said he wasn’t strong enough to pull the massive loads, so they were going to dispose of him.
I looked in his eyes and knew then and there he needed a home here. ”
“I hope you killed every one of them who hurt this sweet boy.” She glared at him in righteous indignation.
“They all got what they deserved, and that’s all you need to know.”
“Whatever,” she quipped back. “What are you even doing down here? Don’t you have other things to do besides being an overbearing—”
“Watch it, Little girl.” His eyebrow raised in warning as her thought was cut off.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Eamon. Why are you here?”
“Well, this is my barn and since I’m the boss, I can go wherever I want, whenever I want.” The smug look on his face pissed her off.
“Whatever. I am leaving now.” She turned to storm off, but he blocked her from leaving.
“I know you are mad at me for spanking you because you felt like I didn’t have consent.
I felt like I did because your brother gave it to me.
Regardless, I am sorry I spanked you and I won’t until you give me your consent.
But I really need you to drop the major attitude.
I am trying to keep you safe from your ex and I can’t do that if you fight me at every turn. ” His calmness unsettled her.
“No, I’m sorry. I’ve been an insufferable bitch this whole time.
I promise I will be less difficult to you.
I know you are trying to keep me safe, and Damian is one tantrum away from coming out here and busting my ass himself.
I told him he couldn’t do that because he was my brother and he reminded me he was my step-brother and he would absolutely do that.
” She rolled her eyes and caught the smile tugging at his lips.
“There is a lot no one knows about and stuff that I don’t want anyone to know about, but it’s no excuse to behave the way I have been and I’m sorry. ”
“Does this mean I have your permission to spank your ass if you need it?”
“No.” She glared at him and went to leave. “Connor, I would like to go back to the house now. May we please leave?”
Once back at the house, she got a snack with Kiera, and they planned their afternoon.
“What do you want to do today?” Kiera was just a bubble of energy no one could turn off. She wished she could be more like her.
“I dunno. Maybe we could paint?”
“Oooooo, yes! Auntie Freya, can we do the balloon painting, please?”
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Why don’t you and Daphne get dressed in clothes you can get dirty and I’ll get everything set up in the studio.
” Auntie Freya shooed them to their rooms to get changed.
She had left her phone on the charger while she was at the barn and stopped to check to see if Emma or Damian had messaged her.
There was a notification, and her hands shook as she read it.
I know where you are, bitch. I am coming for you. Tell anyone and Kiera dies too. I have eyes and ears everywhere and I’ll know.
Attached was a picture of her and Kiera in the barn.
Fuck! She threw the phone on the bed. She knew she had to get out of here, but she didn’t know how she could even pull that off. She had to tell Eamon and Liam. She quickly got dressed for painting. She needed time to think but being Little might be the best thing for her this afternoon.
When she walked into the studio, she couldn’t help but smile. There was a giant white canvas against the wall and a tarp on the floor. There were buckets filled with balloons, and Kiera was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Ok, so I’m gonna go stand there and you throw the balloon over my head and the paint will streak down on me and create a Kiera silhouette. And then throw another one, and then we can switch and I do it to you!”
Before she could even respond, Kiera had plastered herself against the canvas, pulled her safety glasses down, and put her right leg up and her left arm up.
Daphne grabbed a balloon, took aim, and let it fly.
The balloon bounced off the wall and splattered at Kiera’s feet, earning a high-pitched squeak.
“You has to throw harder than that!”
“Ok, ok, ok. I will!” She took aim again and this time the balloon broke where it was supposed to and pink paint ran out all over Kiera. She did this a few more times before there was the beginning of a Kiera shape on the canvas.
“Your turn!”
She took her place beside her and closed her eyes as she braced herself for the paint to splatter all over her.
Kiera was giggling so hard that the first balloon landed so far in front of her, the paint didn’t even touch her.
The next one landed beside her arm and the paint exploded all over her.
She couldn’t help but laugh. Being Little and carefree soothed her soul in a way she didn’t fully understand.
By the time they were done, there was paint all over the canvas and all over themselves. They were making paint angels on the floor when Liam and Eamon came in.
“Looks like you girls are having a messy good time.” She looked up and saw the amusement on their faces as they took in two very messy girls.
“Daddy!” Kiera leaped up and was about to hug her Daddy when he held out his hand to stop her.
“As much as I want a hug from you, hugs will wait until all paint is removed from your body. Let’s go take a shower.
” She could feel her cheeks turn bright red as they left the room.
She wanted that. She wanted someone to look at her the way Liam looked at Kiera.
She wanted someone who would love her enough to put her in her place when she needed it.
She wanted that more than anything. It was her ultimate fantasy and dream.
Her Daddy only existed in her dreams, though. No way she was going to have that.
“I should probably take a shower, too. Thank you for the fun afternoon, Auntie Freya. I had a really great time.”
“You are so very welcome, sweet girl. Now go get changed again, and we’ll eat dinner soon.” Auntie Freya patted her head and headed to the kitchen.
“I’m glad you girls had such a fun afternoon. Maybe tonight we can watch a movie and have hot chocolate after dinner.” Eamon was different. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he was different.
“Yeah, sure. That sounds fun.” She hurried to her room, not wanting to get paint anywhere.
She stepped into the shower and let the hot water scald her skin.
As she stood there, the weight of the message came crashing down around her and she lost it.
Heaving sobs wracked her body as she sat on the shower floor.
Her heart hurt as she thought of the danger she had put everyone in.
Eamon was dangerous, but Callum was unhinged dangerous.
What she saw in him, she would never know.
She hated herself for falling for his charismatic, narcissistic ways.
She would never forgive herself for getting sucked into his brutal world, a world no one but her knew about.
She knew she had to tell Eamon, but she didn’t know how or when.
When her sobs slowed, she washed her face and body before wrapping herself in one of the softest towels she had ever used.
She was appreciative that Eamon had large towels that would fit any girl and this one covered her entire curvy body.
She could get used to this level of luxury.
Still wet from her shower and in her towel, she flopped back on the bed groaning.
Fuck Callum and fuck his edict. She would not listen and she had a plan.
She would be smart, but fuck him for trying to control and scare her.
She would not be weak anymore and she would not leave the first place she felt safe.
Making sure she was in all new clothes, no jewelry or anything else from her past life, she grabbed a notebook and a pen and wrote on it, ‘Don’t ask questions, just play along.’
Going down the hall, she knocked on Eamon’s door.
“Come in,” he called out.
When she entered, she saw everyone and gulped. Finnean, Rory, and Kellan were in the room. Holding up her sign so everyone could see it, she saw them sit taller.
“I was wondering if I could come in here and color for a bit.”
“Of course you can. I think I have some crayons over here if you want to sit at the table.” Eamon gestured for her to sit close to him.
“Perfect! Crayons are the best. The waxy smell makes me smile.” She sat down and then looked at Finnean. “My head kinda hurts, do you think we could close the blinds so it’s not so sunny in here?”
“Of course. I’m sorry your head hurts. Do you want something for it?”
“No, I’m ok for right now. I just think being in a cool, dark space would help.” She smiled at them, but it was wobbly and fearful.
She wrote on her paper, ‘You trust everyone here, right?’
Eamon looked at it and looked at her. He nodded and then said, “Why don’t you turn on some soft music?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea.” She picked up her phone and turned on some music and then toggled to the text messages. She put it on the table so Eamon could see it and scribbled out another note: ‘I think my phone has tracking on it.’
She could see him go tense, his hands clenched, and his jaw was tight. He looked like he was about to murder someone. She thought she would actually be ok with that. He sent a text of his own and her eyes grew wide.
“Why don’t you color me a picture of Ghost? I would love to have one to put on his stall.”
“Yeah! Maybe Kiera can come in here and help and we can color all the horses and then they’ll all have cute name plates instead of the boring ones you have now.”
“Cheeky girl, that sounds good to me.” He smiled at her, his mere presence calming her nerves.
The door opened and Kiera and Liam stepped through.
“Yay for a coloring date! What are we coloring?” Kiera skipped over to sit next to her.
“We are coloring the horses and making them cute nameplates because the ones they have are so boring.”
“Yes! That’s the bestest idea ever!” She squealed and got to work beside her.
“Excuse me, Daphne, but I think you forgot to do something earlier?”
“Umm, not that I can think of, Uncle Liam.” She was confused. She had been a good girl.
“I looked at your room and you had clothes on the floor. What’s the rule?”
“Um, to pick my clothes up and not leave them on the floor?” Her face was scrunched up in confusion.
“That’s right. You knew the rule and now there will be consequences. I am taking your phone for at least 1 day. Maybe not having access to anything will help you remember to follow the rules.”
Understanding dawned on her as she whined, “But Uncle Liammmm.”
“You can either give me the phone or you can take five swats from each person in this room plus penalty swats from Liam. What’s it going to be, Little girl?”
She felt her cheeks burn as she slid the phone across the table to him.
“Good choice. I will take this into my room for safekeeping and you can have it back once I am convinced you will keep your room clean.”
“Yes, Sir.” She pouted, even though she knew this was a good thing. As he was leaving, Kellan held up a device to the phone, and she wasn’t sure what it did, but she trusted them to take care of her and of Kiera.
She had to.