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A sob broke free, making her wince as it hurt her brain.
“Let me take care of you. If it helps you accept it, you can slip into Little space as much as you like. Daddy will be here for you. Daddy wants to give his Little girl the world.”
“Okay, Daddy,” she whispered.
“That’s my good girl. All you need to do is surrender to Daddy and he will take care of everything.”
Dominic’s phone started ringing as he settled her back into the hospital bed.
“Yeah? Ed? What’s going on?” He grabbed her cup and held the straw to her mouth. It was still hard to believe he wanted to do all these things for her. But it seemed that he did.
It would definitely take some getting used to.
“Really? What did he say? And you’re going out there now? Okay, keep me informed. Have you called Reuben? Uh-huh. He’ll be pissed. Not my problem.”
“What’s happened?” she asked as he ended the call.
“Kiesha was talking to Jonny Jacks . . . um, he’s a guy who lives here and he thought he might know the person that brought you to the hospital. Turns out that he does. His name is Arlo Stevens and he’s some sort of recluse who lives up in the mountains.”
“A real mountain man?”
“Yeah, well, he’s not fond of talking to people. But Jonny Jacks got a hold of him, and he owned up to bringing you into the hospital. But he says he found you injured. He gave Ed the location, so he’s headed out there now. And this guy is going to meet them there. Reluctantly.”
“Maybe they’ll find something about who took me.”
“Here’s hoping, baby. But that’s not for you to worry about. All you need to do is worry about getting better, understand me?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
32
“Wait there and I’ll come around and get you out,” Dominic ordered.
Yeah, she knew better than to exit a vehicle on her own. He ran around the front of the truck. She’d spent the last two days in the hospital, and it hadn’t been fun.
If she ever saw the inside of a hospital again, it would be too soon.
She was so glad to get out of there. At least her period had stopped. That had been another nuisance she just hadn’t wanted to deal with.
Dominic carried her up onto the small porch. To her shock, the door opened before they got to it. A dark-haired woman with a warm smile stood there.
“Hi, I’m Ellie! I’m so glad to meet you! We’ve been waiting for ages for you to get home. I’m sure we’re going to be great friends.”
“Ellie, why don’t you let them get in the door?” a deep voice said from behind her. “Remember, you’ve got to keep things quiet for Gwen.”
She glanced up at Dominic in alarm. Who were these people?
He gave her a small smile. “It’s all right. These are some friends of mine.”
“I’m so sorry,” Ellie whispered. “I can leave if you want me to.”
Oh no, now the other woman looked so crestfallen. What did Gwen say? Do? She opened and closed her mouth.
Her body felt like one giant bruise. The very worst was her head, though. It still left her groggy and disoriented at times. Dizzy and nauseous at others. She had spent a lot of time sleeping and yet when she woke up, she still didn’t feel rested.
And she knew it was leaving her a bit confused and slow to respond.
“Ellie, of course we want you here,” Dominic reassured the woman as a big giant of a man moved up and wrapped his arm around the small woman. “Thank you so much for getting the cabin ready for us. You too, Bear.”
Bear? His name was Bear? Actually, it suited him.
Bear turned to look down at her. Sympathy entered his face. “Bet you’re in pain, huh, Gwen? We’re going to get out of your hair. Ellie and the girls got you a welcome home gift. It’s on the table. There’s plenty of food in the fridge. Abby wanted to be here to greet you, but Asher still isn’t feeling great. That flu went through everyone.” Bear rubbed Ellie’s tummy as she nodded.
“It was awful. We’ll be back when you’re feeling up to visitors, okay, Gwen?” Ellie asked.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Thank you.”
Ellie nodded enthusiastically. “Come on, Daddy! Let’s go see the horses on the way home.”
Daddy? She was a Little? Actually, Gwen could see that.
“Wait for me,” Bear commanded as she moved toward the door. He turned to Dominic. “Kent went to the hotel and got all of Gwen’s things. He said he talked to you?”
“Yeah, he called earlier.”
She hadn’t met Kent yet, but he seemed like a really good boss. He’d cleared Dominic’s schedule for the foreseeable future and offered him more admin work instead so he could stay close to her.
