Page 50 of Morally Gray Daddies

I was grateful to be stopping, because even though I had Erik’s body heat up against my side as the sea breeze hit my face, I was chilled to the bone. Grabbing a blanket from the pile on the back of the boat was an absolute must for me. The cold reminded me of back home.

Both Rue and Dabney looked exhausted, and by the way they each huddled up against Pasco and Shay, they were obviously just as cold as I was.

Erik hopped off the boat first, then immediately helped me to the ground. Losing his body heat put my teeth to an instant chatter. I was so stiff from the frigid ride, I was worried my limbs would shake right off me.

Erik reached for my bag and fumbled inside until he pulled out my heavy wool coat. “Why didn’t you ask for this earlier if you were so cold? Your lips are damn near blue,” he scolded.

“We were driving so fast, and I didn’t want to stop you?—”

“You let me decide what is best for us from now on,” he interrupted as he wrapped the coat around me, assisting my arms into the sleeves. “Not telling me something—like you’re freezing—is the same as lying. I hate liars. So from now on, if you need something, I better damn hear it. Clear?”

I couldn’t tell if he was mad. His stern lecture, his deep voice, and his scowl said yes. But then his gentle touch helping me with the coat said no. My head still spun with the confusion if I was supposed to like this man as my rescuer or hate him because he was my kidnapper.

He paused and looked me straight in the eyes, grabbing me firmly by the chin. “When I ask you a question, I expect an answer. Are. We. Clear?”

I nodded and swallowed hard. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

He released my chin and went to the pile of blankets on the boat then went over to a fallen tree. He spread one of the blankets out on the ground and called out, “Come on over here and get warm. We’ll get a fire started soon.”

His promise, and that I now had my coat on, warmed me already. We were going to have a fire and blankets, and I didn’t hesitate for a second to go to where he was and do exactly as he asked. Rue and Dabney did the same, and the three of us wrapped the blankets around our shivering bodies and snuggled up close, sitting on the ground with the thickness of the log pressing against our backs for support. The men were busy setting up camp for the night while we watched in what I felt was fear and fascination.

“What are they going to do to us?” Rue whispered. Her voice was low enough, and we were all so closely cuddled up, that I was confident the men couldn’t hear us.

“They said we were theirs now,” Dabney whispered back.

“We aren’t,” I snapped.

“Do we have much of a choice?” Rue asked. “We never met the men who ordered us. Those men could have been fat, ugly, cruel, or Lord knows what other awful things. At least these men?—”

“Are thieves,” I said, “and have pissed off some powerful men who are expecting their package.”

“But they haven’t hurt us,” Dabney added. “And they could have…”

I nodded, not fully convinced these men were bad, though they definitely weren’t good. “But they don’t just own us because they say they do.”

“Then what do we do?” Rue asked. “I don’t see much choice in the matter.”

“We continue to do what we’re doing. We play nice and do as they say,” I said.

“And then what? Are we going to try to escape?” Dabney asked. “Are they really that bad? Rue has a point. Who’s to say that our future owners or husbands or whatever awaited us would have been any better than these men? At least these ones are the devil we know.”

“Exactly. And if we did try to escape, where would we escape to?” Rue looked around. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, with nowhere to go. We have no money, no resources, nothing.”

“I don’t know yet,” I said. “All I know is that we shouldn’t be forced into anything with them. They didn’t pay our families anything. No deal was made. They don’t own us.”

Dabney pulled the blanket tighter around her throat. “Maybe you’re wrong there. I think they feel they do own us.”

I was growing frustrated with the conversation and just how easy it was for Rue and Dabney to simply accept our situation and not have even the smallest amount of fight. Yet, I had nothing of value to say at this time. I didn’t know what we were going to do. “Just do as they say for now. I’ll figure something out.”

Pasco drew near, interrupting our conversation. He had a pile of wood in his arms, and he set in on starting a fire. He would occasionally look up and glare in our direction, but he never said a word. Something about him made me dislike him more than the other two. Shay seemed quiet and simply went with what the others said. Erik seemed darker than the rest, but not as cruel. Maybe that was because I saw the softer side of him with his concern for all of our warmth, but Erik didn’t seem as vile as Pasco.

Both women tensed on each side of me, and their obvious fear of the man made me want to lash out. Rue and Dabney may have felt that we had no other choice but to do what our captors/rescuers said and be owned by them, but the knife hidden in my boot said otherwise.

Erik came over with the pots and food supplies and began making a meal once Pasco had the fire going. Shay was still gathering wood and adding to the pile Pasco had started.

Erik looked up from his preparations and asked, “Are you getting warmer?”

I nodded and offered a weak smile. “Yes, thank you. Would you like us to help you with cooking?”

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