Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Owen
Behind the wheel of my patrol car, I sit in the hospital parking lot for a few minutes to catch my breath. The chaotic emotions of the last few hours have taken its toll on my heart. The fear that crept its way into my soul when I saw her lying on the rocks is unlike any I’ve ever felt.
It consumed me.
As I watched the EMTs work on her, all I thought was that she had to be okay. If Daisy wasn’t okay, I would never be okay again.
But when the responding officer came to talk to me while she was in imaging, blind rage ripped through the fear I had for her wellbeing.
Daisy didn’t fall.
She was pushed.
The woman who had called 9-1-1 and was holding her hand when I arrived, saw the whole thing. The bastard she was with pushed her and then ran off the trail. Witnesses watched him sprint through the parking lot and drive away.
Daisy doesn’t remember what made her fall, or the minutes that led up to it. The doctors think the backpack she had on saved her by cushioning what should have been a deadly fall. I think the fucker weighted it down to make sure she fell hard and fast.
Detectives recovered Wesley’s car at the Redmond airport. The vehicle had fake plates, and had been reported stolen two years before. His profile has vanished from the dating site where he’d connected with Daisy, and wouldn’t you know it the name he gave her belonged to a deceased man from Boulder.
The asshole is gone with the wind, but I will find him. And when I do. I will tear him limb from limb before I kill him.
While I was waiting for her to come back to the ER, the county officer and I spoke with the hospital staff. I made it clear that if anyone called and asked about her; she wasn’t here. Never was.
When her scans came back showing nothing more than a concussion, it was as though all my prayers had been answered. Then I looked at her, covered in scrapes and bruises, and a goose egg on her forehead and my rage screamed to be set free. But it was not the time or place.
Is it wrong not to notify her family? Sure.
Does it make me want to bang on my chest with pride that she trusts me with her secret? Yes, indeed.
Should I collect more information before informing her and her family about the attempted murder? Yes.
When the doctor said she couldn’t be alone for the next week, there was no other option than me. Was that because she wouldn’t tell her family? Yes. Do I give a fuck? Abso-fucking-lutely not. She’ll be with me where she belongs.
When I got back to the office, I put in my request to take the next week off. I called the team's head coach and took time off from the team, too. Daisy needs me, and I’m not going to half-ass things. She’ll have my undivided attention.
Yes, I know the doctor said four or five days. I’m rounding up.
Next stop was her place. I have a key, so I let myself in and gathered everything on her list. I also grabbed her slippers, her favorite blanket, and her pillow with the silk pillowcase.
I’ve heard the girls talk about how good it is for their hair and skin.
How they can’t live without it. I call bullshit, but if it makes her happy, I’ll buy her as many silk pillowcases as she wants.
After picking up her things, I hurried to my place and prepped my bedroom for her. I talked to Maui the entire time. Excited to let her know Mommy would be staying with us. Her ass shook as her tail wagged. She’s just as excited as I am.
Since my return to the hospital, Daisy has been quiet. Almost distant. The only words she muttered as I helped her into my truck were thank you. She’s been silent the entire ride home.
The quiet is unnerving. I’d give anything for one of her smartass comments to fall from her sexy as sin lips. Neither of us are quiet people. Especially around each other. Even when we’re between the sheets, neither of us can shut up.
Is she in pain?
Does she not want to stay with me?
Has she remembered how she ended up lying on the rocks at the bottom of a cliffside?
Not knowing what else to do, I give her space and remain mute. This only allows me time to think about the asshole who pushed her and what I’m going to do to him when I find him.
Daisy needs to know the truth of what happened, but not tonight. It’s late, and she needs sleep. If she knows this prick tried to kill her, left her for dead, and is on the loose, she won’t get the rest she needs. I’ll tell her once she’s feeling up to hearing the news.
Until that time comes, I’ll hope the detectives find additional information and there is more to tell her about her assailant.
Pulling up to the house, I finally break the silence. “Home sweet home.”
“Owen, are you sure? You don’t have to do this.” There isn’t any conviction in her words. She’s saying them because she feels they’re the right thing to say, but she knows this is where she belongs.
“Stay where you are.” I shut the driver's side door before she questions me further. She hasn’t figured out how to walk gracefully in her boot yet, and she’s still a little dizzy. I'll be carrying her inside, and I won’t hear a word about it.
When I round the front of the truck, her door is open and she’s trying to get out.
“Woman, I told you to stay where you are. Do you ever listen?”
The smile she tries to hide tells me she’s thinking about how well she listens and does what she’s told when she’s naked, in my bed with the promise of my mouth between her legs or my dick inside her tight pussy on the table. She’ll do anything I say in those moments.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Clover. The doc said no physical activity while you recover.”
“Whatever,” she says with a roll of her eyes that she quickly regrets, judging by her resulting wince.
Slipping my hands underneath her, I lift her from her seat and use my ass to close the truck door.
“You don’t have to carry me.”
“Quiet.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“The doctor released you to my care. You’ll just have to deal with the fact that what I say goes.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Once through the door, I carry her up the stairs to my bedroom.
When we pass both spare bedrooms and enter my room, she begins her bullshit protests again.
“Owen, no. You don’t have to give me your bedroom. This is too much. I’ll be fine in a spare—” She stops resisting, her eyes widening. “Wait. Is that my pillow from home? And my favorite blanket and my slippers?”
Taking advantage of her bewildered state, I set her on the bed. “I guess you didn’t need both slippers, but they’re like salt and pepper. They need to stick together.” I tap her boot as I slip off the shoe on her unbooted foot. “Come on, let’s get you situated.”
She’s quiet as I glide her sweatshirt over her head leaving her in a T-shirt and settle her against the pile of pillows in front of the headboard. She doesn’t speak while I adjust another pillow under her foot. It isn’t until I’m covering her with her light pink throw that she speaks.
“Owen, thank you.” Her voice is barely a whisper, but her feather-soft breath dances across my cheek in confirmation I didn’t make it up in my head.
Instead of replying, I keep fussing over her. All I want to do is inundate her with questions about her date, but I don’t want to scare her. I firmly remind myself that she needs to rest tonight.
She gives my T-shirt a tug. “Hey, look at me.”
My eyes meet hers, and it’s like coming face to face with an angel. Even covered in cuts and bruises, she’s still devastating.
“I mean it, Swift. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Sitting with me all day, getting my things, letting me stay here, and, of course, keeping my secret. I’ll try to be out of your hair as soon as possible.”
Like hell you will! You aren’t going anywhere.
“I’m happy to help, and you can stay as long as you need to. You certainly aren’t going anywhere until your concussion is cleared.”
“I know you’re busy with work and the team. You don’t have time for this.”
A whine comes from down the hall as if to say Hey, what about me?
“And of course, the dog.”
“Makes co-parenting a lot easier.”
This time she mouths her thank you as she settles back against her pillows. “I feel like a princess,” she says as her eyelids blink open and closed in slow motion. “I need to take a shower, but I’m too tired.”
“Don’t worry about that. It can wait until tomorrow. I can switch out the sheets when you do, and you’ll have a nice clean bed again.”
“Sounds good.” Her eyes succumb to her exhaustion and she’s asleep in a matter of seconds.
Taking advantage of the moment, I examine her features as I push her hair behind her ear.
The cut over her right cheek and the pink of the bruise on her forehead that I know will be purple tomorrow sends another dose of violent rage coursing through my veins, but I do my best to ignore it.
Instead, I focus on the perfection of her face.
Her long lashes, like a fringe beneath her eyes, practically resting on her high cheekbones, the freckles on her dainty nose that I’ve always wanted to count and so I do.
Thirteen. Some are barely visible, but now I can see them all clearly.
We aren’t hiding away in the dark. Tonight, in the fully lit room, I see everything.
Everything I’ve ever wanted is right here in my bed.
Her skin is flawless despite all the damage, still holding onto her summer tan. Her slightly parted, full pink lips call to me, but I don’t lean in to kiss them. That’s not what this is about.
She’s here so I can take care of her.
So I can keep her safe.