Page 2 of Daddy's Little Surprise

Grace waved her hand in the air. “Thank you again for hiring me, but I don’t think that’s it. There’s like, a sadness of sorts to you. But at the same time, I feel like you’re scared.”

Rainey took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a coupleof seconds. She was scared. She had left in the middle of the night, telling nobody where she was going. Pete may come looking for her, and she had no way to defend herself. She was terrified that if he found her, he would kill her.

The month before she left, Pete had gotten more physical, especially when he was drinking. All his rage just came out, and he decided to take it out on her. If he found her, he would get that angry again—or worse.

“I need a couple minutes of fresh air,” Rainey rushed out. “Watch the shop.”

“Take your time. I’m sorry for asking all the questions!” Grace called out.

In the little time she had known Grace, Rainey had learned she wasn’t really sorry. It was more of a formality, but she would be asking those questions again. Rainey would just have to make sure she was doing something busy, so she didn’t have to answer them.

Rainey had already been nauseous when Grace started her questioning. It made her worry that Pete knew where she was. What if Pete was talking to Grace? Just the thought of that made her want to vomit.

She took several deep breaths in, trying to calm her nerves. It wasn’t working. If anything, she got more nauseous as she smelled the food from next door. Rainey turned in the other direction, trying to get some air that didn’t smell like food, but as she continued to breathe, the only thing she could smell was the aroma from her neighbor’s shop.

Rainey bent over, putting her hands on her knees as she tried not to throw up. It was not on her bucket list to puke in front of her coffee shop.

“Are you okay?” a man asked.

Rainey held up her hand, signaling to give her a second. She was trying her hardest not to vomit. It was her least favorite thing. But the nausea wasn’t going away.

The man took her hand and gently started to rub it. “Are you okay?”

She turned her head and looked to see who the guy was talking to,but before she could get a good look, she felt herstomach roll as she smelled his cologne and puked on the sidewalk.

“Wow, you’re okay,” the man said as he grabbed her hair while still holding her hand.

Tears ran down her face as she puked once again. Rainey had thought it was going to be a good day and she wouldn’t puke when she woke up. Even though she was out of her first trimester, she was still throwing up at least four times a week.

“You’re okay. Everything is going to be okay. Here’s a handkerchief to wipe your mouth when you’re done,” he gently spoke.

She started to cry harder at his tone of voice. She couldn’t remember the last person who talked to her in such a gentle and kind way. Her hormones were all out of whack. She cried over the silliest things and got angry over nothing.

“Everything is going to be okay. How about we go into the coffee shop and get you some water and have you sit down? You just let me know when you’re okay to walk, and I’ll help you in there.”

Rainey took in several deep breaths, knowing it could make her puke again. She needed to fill her lungs with air, or she was going to pass out.

“You’re okay. I’m not going anywhere. You take your time.”

Who was this man? Why was he being so nice to her?

Most of the locals in town didn’t pay much attention to her. She loved that, but it meant whenever she was in a pickle, she was by herself. There were less than a handful of people willing to help, and she felt bad calling them. They had their own lives.

“Such a good girl for taking some breaths. I have a mint. Do you want it?” he asked.

She shook her head. She didn’t want anything flavored right now. Even if it would get rid of the taste in her mouth, she knew there was a slight possibility she would hurl again.

Rainey loved being pregnant but didn’t much like this part of it. She had hoped she’d be one of the women who didn’t get sick after the first trimester, but that didn’t turn out to be true.

Her brain finally wrapped around him calling her a good girl. She so desperately wanted to look up and see who this person was.

“Feeling a little bit better?”

“Y-yes,” she whispered.

Ever so slowly, she stood to her full height. The man wrapped his arm around her waist, and they both started to walk toward the coffee shop.

Rainey would have looked over had they walked up to the front door, but she was worried she would trip on her own two feet. She was clumsy and didn’t need to trip, especially in front of this kind man.

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