Chapter Thirty-Three
Master
TALEAH HAS NEVER once rushed past me the way she just did.
Even if she’s in the middle of something, she tells me to give her just a minute.
I turn and watch her rush into the bathroom and hear her getting sick before the door even closes all the way behind her.
Taking a few steps toward the bathroom, I stop because Annistyn rushes around the corner and places her hand on my arm.
“Let me help her, Rex. We don’t know what’s going on and you might be the last person she wants to see right now. Women don’t like their men seeing them when they’re getting sick,” she says as I look down at her.
“What if she needs me?” I question her, already thinking of all the possibilities that could be wrong with her.
“If she needs you, I’ll get you immediately. For now, let me help her and make sure she’s okay. Why don’t you get her some Ginger Ale and crackers?” she says, starting to move toward the bathroom door once again.
“I can do that,” I say to her retreating back as Annistyn disappears in the bathroom and I hear Taleah throwing up again. Heading for the bar, I look at Evan. “I need a Ginger Ale. Keep it in the bottle.”
“Got it, Master,” he responds, turning to grab the drink from the cooler as I head for the kitchen.
I rarely come in the room and have no clue where the hell anything is in here.
Moving to the pantry, I open the door and look at all the food filling the shelves.
It takes several minutes, but I finally find a box of crackers and grab the entire thing.
If Taleah needs them, I’ll make sure she has as many as she needs.
There’s at least two more boxes on the shelf so if I take a whole one, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Walking back in the common room, I grab the soda from Evan and head for the table Cali’s sitting at with Ridge in her arms. I set the crackers and soda down before taking a seat with her.
She’s holding Ridge in her arms and I know it’s because Link isn’t here.
He’s doing something with Reckless. Link always has his son in his arms if Ridge isn’t nursing or sleeping.
He’s definitely a hands-on dad and I hope to be like him one day.
Reckless is the same way with his kids. Both men would rather hang out with them over going to any party, bar, or strip club.
Some of the guys in the club tease the hell out of them, but their response is always the same.
They want their kids to grow up and know both of their parents were there for them every single day.
If any of the kids are sick, hurt, upset, or happy, they’ll be with them so the kids don’t feel as if they were only raised by their mom.
I don’t want any son or daughter I’m lucky enough to have feeling as if everything came before them and that I wasn’t there for them when they needed me the most.
“I thought you were comin’ right back?” Count asks, walking in the common room.
“Taleah’s sick. Annistyn is in the bathroom with her right now. I need to make sure she’s okay before I get back to work,” I tell him as my eyes drift toward the hallway where Taleah is.
“Fuck. I’ll grab some drinks for us while you wait for her. If you need to take her to the doctor or anythin’, let me know and I’ll keep puttin’ the files together while you’re gone,” he says, walking away and grabbing bottles of water and soda from Evan.
I usually keep drinks and snacks in my office, but I’ve run out.
For now, we’ll just grab stuff from the bar until I can get to the store for my favorite drinks.
I don’t really do energy drinks, but some of those iced coffees in a bottle are good and I keep a few on hand for when I’m exhausted but still have work to get done.
Count keeps a few energy drinks in my office as well.
He’s always trying new ones and doesn’t want anyone else to take them when he’s not here.
The Feral Girls take whatever they want without caring if it belongs to someone else.
He’s caught them with his drinks several times in the past and learned to keep them in a locked room.
Since no one enters my office when I’m not there and the door is always locked, it seemed like the best solution to his problem.
As Count disappears back down the hallway, I hear the bathroom door open and it takes a minute before Annistyn and Taleah make their way back out.
Taleah’s face is pale and she looks as if she’s ready to collapse where she stands.
I want to go pick her up and take her home so she can get in bed and rest. That’s the last thing she’ll want right now.
Taleah is miserable when she’s sick and doesn’t let anyone touch her for any reason.
It was rare I could get her to let me give her a backrub when we were younger and she was sick.
“Are you okay, Doll?” I ask when she gets up next to me.
“We’ll talk about it later when we’re alone,” she mumbles before Cali stands from the table and looks at the girls.
“It’s time to start making dinner,” she announces as I watch Taleah’s body relax the slightest bit. She turns away from me and heads into the kitchen with the girls.
What the fuck is going on with her?
Shaking my head, I walk back to my office and enter so I can get back to work.
We’re putting the final details in place for what’s going to happen at the auction.
Count has been helping me every day because he doesn’t want me to remain locked up in my room when Taleah is home alone.
He makes me leave earlier than normal, knowing when my girl goes to bed, I’ll get back to work at home on my laptop.
“Is she okay?” he asks me when I take my seat and start typing again.
“I have no clue. She’s in the kitchen with Cali and Annistyn. Mumbled some shit about us talkin’ later when we were alone,” I answer him and notice the smirk on his face while he continues working. “She didn’t even touch the crackers or Ginger Ale.”
“I have a feelin’ she’s okay, Master. Think about it and put two and two together,” Count says as if he already knows what’s going on with my girl when I have no clue.
“Let’s just get this work done. We’ll talk when we get home after dinner. I didn’t know we were all eatin’ at the clubhouse tonight, but that’s okay,” I say, keeping my attention on the computer as so many possibilities race through my mind.
Count and I worked until Evan knocked and told us dinner was ready.
I made sure my programs were running so more information would come in when we weren’t in the room.
We joined everyone in the common room and I found my girl walking around with a large smile on her face.
Walking up to her, I take the dishes from her hands and set them on the bar with the rest of the food before leading her to the table next to where Reckless and Link are already sitting.
She doesn’t say anything to me and avoids looking in my direction before I leave her to fill a plate with food so she doesn’t have to get back up.
Looking at the spaghetti, garlic bread, plain Italian bread, and meatballs, I’m really not sure what to give her. If she’s got a stomach bug of some sort, this might not be the best meal for her. It could irritate her more and I don’t want her to get sick again.
“She can eat it, Master,” Cali says as she steps up next to me to get the kids food. “Give her smaller portions than you normally do, but she’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?” I question her as Reckless steps up and takes two of the plates from his ol’ lady’s hands.
“I’m positive. Make sure you give her some salad too. She was munching on the veggies when we were cooking and it didn’t bother her at all. Taleah was dipping them in dressing without a problem,” she says, smiling at me as I finally relent and start getting her food.
By the time I take Taleah’s plate back over to her, Dakota is sitting next to her, talking a mile a minute. Taleah is trying so hard to keep up with the little girl next to her, but I can tell she’s struggling.
“My main girl, Dakota!” I call out, setting the plate down on the table and leaning down closer to Dakota. “What are ya doin’?”
“Massy!” she says, laughter filling her voice when I pretend to take her nose as normal.
Dakota has called me Massy since she started talking more. She couldn’t say Master properly so she shortened it. Or just said Massy instead. It doesn’t bother me and I think it’s adorable. Dakota is the only one who will ever call me Massy.
“She was telling me all about her day and Kylan being rude to her,” Taleah says as Kylan walks up and stands next to me.
“She runned and wasn’t ‘posed to,” he says, his little voice holding a hint of anger as I look down at him.
“Let me guess, she was tryin’ to get to Link and Annistyn’s house again?” I ask Kylan as he nods in response. “Dakota, you’re such a little trouble maker.”
“No, Massy,” she says, turning a pout in my direction and I have to turn my head so she doesn’t see my smile while I try to hold in the laughter.
“Kids, your dinner is over here,” Reckless says when he steps back over with their plates. “Ready to eat?”
“Here, Daddy,” Dakota states as she turns to face her dad.
“You want to eat with Taleah?” he asks her, an indulgent smile on his face as he moves to bring her food over to our table. “Do you guys mind?”
“Not at all,” Taleah responds while moving Dakota’s chair closer next to her so she can help her. “Did you already cut her spaghetti up?”
“Yeah. She’s good to go. Cali will bring her milk over in a minute,” Reckless says before he leads Kylan to the next table and gets him settled in a chair.