I hopped out of the car and waited for his easy-going gait to catch up. “Morning, you lost?” he was her father, had to be; same hair, and my baby’s eyes.
“Is this the Harper farm?”
“Sure is, and you are?”
“Callan O’Rourke.” He sized me up but I could see he wasn’t too surprised by the name. I saw the little smile cross his face before it was quickly replaced by something else, something more formidable.
“Well now, I don’t know if to welcome you or kick your ass boy.”
Boy, he wasn’t much older than I am. The other, I’d leave alone for now until I found out why it was he wanted to kick my ass. Not that he’d ever get the chance. I’m in love with his daughter yes but I haven’t lost my fucking balls.
I just folded my arm and rested back against the car and let the man say what was on his mind. “And why is that?”
“Well now, I don’t know what all went on between you and my little girl and I reckon she’s of that age when she can do as she please. Her momma had her when she was about her age so I figure she’s grown. But what I didn’t figure was that when I sent my little girl off to the big city to make her way that she would come back here broken.”
I stood up from the car and advanced towards him.
“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you Mr. O’Rourke? The reason I’m asking is because you told me and he ma that we could trust you to look after her…”
“Where is she?” I started looking around like I expected her to materialize right in front of me.
“I don’t know if I should…hey.”
He was talking to the wind because I pushed past him and bounded up the three short steps and through his front door. “Kitten, Gabriella.” I think I lost my mind for a second or two. I ran through those people’s house opening doors and shouting for her with my heart in my throat.
Broken, he’d said broken. There were footsteps following the crazy man around the house by now, I saw a couple younger boys and one little girl watching me like I’d lost my fucking mind.
The father had entered the house by now and was whispering to a woman who I supposed was her mother but I didn’t have time for niceties.
I found her in the last room in the back on the second floor that looked over the fields and the barns. She was asleep on top of the covers. There were tear tracks on her face and she was curled into a ball.
When she made little whimpering noises in her sleep I thought my heart would break, but it was when she sighed my name on a sob that I really lost it.
I snatched her up from the bed and into my arms, probably gave her a heart attack. Her body felt lighter than it had when she’d left, when I’d sent her away.
She opened sad bloodshot eyes and looked at me like I wasn’t real. “Kitten, baby?” I kept my voice low to hide the horror of what I was feeling. It had only been a little more than a week, this couldn’t have happened in that short amount of time could it?
I looked around for someone to scream at, how could they have let this happen? But even as I thought it I knew it was my doing.
I don’t know how long I sat there with her in my arms rocking her, talking to her, promising to take better care of her.
I knew she was awake and listening when she started to cry, when her body shook with weak little sobs that tore my heart out and left it a bloody mess on the floor of that ole farmhouse.
“Shh, it’s okay baby, I’ve come to take you home, there’s no need to cry anymore now shh.” She refused to let go of me and I had to carry her bundled against the early morning chill when I went downstairs to talk to her parents.
I’m sure they were pissed and blamed me rightfully for their daughter’s condition but I couldn’t really think about their feelings right now.
I needed to get her the hell out of there and back home where I could take care of her. “I have a plane waiting I’m taking Kitten home.”
Her father’s brow raised to his hairline and he looked like he was about to argue until his wife placed a restraining hand on his arm.
“Why should we trust you with our girl Mr. O’Rourke? Look what happened the last time you promised to take care of her.”
I wanted to lash out and tell them that she didn’t look like this when I put her on the fucking plane a week ago, but I knew they were right, knew that it was my treatment of her that had brought her to this.
The Dom and the lover fought an ongoing battle, one of them wanted to whip her ass for being stupid, this was not following orders, she was supposed to follow her daily routines of health and hygiene and wait until I came and got her, she was supposed to trust that I would come back for her.