AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His poor Little girl was cuddled into his side, eyes closed. Her breathing was still shallow, which worried him. Hopefully that would resolve by the time he was getting her down for a nap.
Unfortunately the bumpy ride to the cabin didn’t help matters any. By the time they reached the cabin, Cricket was making the most pathetic little noises, and they broke his heart.
“Can you walk, babygirl?”
“I don’t know, Daddy. I’m so dizzy and my head hurts.”
Cricket falling down on her way into the cabin wouldn’t improve anything, and wouldn’t be a good start to their life here, but he could probably shore her up enough to get her inside—
Then Taj was by his side. “If it’s okay with both of you, I can carry her in.”
“What do you think, Cricket? Are you okay with Mister Taj picking you up?”
“He’s not going to drop me?” she asked, cracking an eye open suspiciously.
“Promise,” Taj told her with a hand over his heart.
Between his oath and taking in Taj’s mountainous person, his love bug apparently believed it. To be fair, the man really was roughly the size of a barge.
“’Kay,” Cricket said and closed her eyes again.
Owen gave Taj a nod of agreement and helped Cricket get into a position so Taj could lift her up. As soon as he had her securely in his tree trunk arms, he headed toward the porch.
“Okay, little lady, let’s get you inside.”
Owen didn’t mind most times not being able to pick Cricket up—he loved her body and he was happy with his own and the combination simply meant that wasn’t a form of intimacy they could share. They made up for it in myriad other ways.
At this second though, he’d give a hell of a lot to be able to carry his sick Little girl over the threshold and lay her down on the bed. He tamped down his jealousy long enough to shake Taj’s hand. Wasn’t the boss’s fault he was so fucking enormous, and Owen was glad that Cricket hadn’t been forced to stumble up the stairs or across the cabin. He would’ve felt awful if she fell and scraped a knee or worse on top of this already hellish day.
“Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.”
“Anytime. You should have most of what you need for the next few days at least. The girls stocked your fridge and cabinets, made the bed. The guys cleaned the place up and got your woodpile started. Espen rigged up the generator so your electricity should stay on through an apocalypse. If you and Cricket want help unpacking, just holler. Otherwise we’ll leave you alone to get settled. Now go see to your Little girl. We’ll catch up later.”
Owen dropped a nod, and didn’t bother to show Taj to the door but sat down next to Cricket and smoothed back the hair that was matted to her face.
She hadn’t vomited again so that was good, but her clammy skin and pallor said she was probably still feeling like shit. Poor Little girl.
“How you feeling, love bug?”
“Super yucky, Daddy.”
“I know. Daddy’s going to get you some water, and then tuck you in for a nap. Hopefully your tummy will be happier by the time you wake up.”
He bent to kiss her forehead, and went to fetch a glass of water from the rustic kitchen. Cricket would love it once she could appreciate it. With its vintage appliances and wooden cabinets and cheerful curtains it looked like a cottage in a fairytale. For now, he was happy to find a sippy cup in a cabinet that he filled with water from the faucet.
He got Cricket to sit up enough so he could slide in behind her and cuddle her while she drank from the sippy.
“Are you still feeling like there’s a good chance you’re going to vomit?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. It’s a lower level icky, if that makes sense.”
“It does. I’m sorry you’re still nauseated though, that’s no fun.”
“No fun at all.”
“If you don’t think there’s any risk of you throwing up, I’ll put your mask on for nap time so you get better rest. But I won’t put your mitts on in case you need to take it off suddenly. You don’t need to ask Daddy to take your mask off if you’re going to be sick, just go ahead.”
“’Kay, Daddy.”
