Page 58 of Valentine's Daddy To Go
I could go out looking for her, but where would I begin? Amy thought Nellie had come straight home.
I could call the driver! Fuck, why didn’t I think of this earlier?
I call Zac’s number, and he answers immediately.
“Mr. Keller, how can I help you?”
“I need to know where you took Nellie today.”
“No problem. We went to the River Park Shopping Center, and then Petrucci’s. After Petrucci’s, I dropped Miss Newman off at the mansion. I helped her bring her shopping bags upstairs, and she dismissed me for the day.”
“So, you brought her back here?”
“Yes, I left the premises around 3:30. Is everything okay, Mr. Keller?”
“No. I mean yes, Zac. Thanks. I just wanted to check in.”
“No problem. Happy to help any way I can.” I say goodbye to my driver and then head upstairs. If those shopping bags are in our bedroom, then that means she came home and then left.
I check our room and don’t immediately see anything. I go through the closet, the bathroom, and even look under the bed, like I’m a crazy person. There’s nothing. I doubt Zac would lie to me. Maybe Nellie put her stuff away already? Where are those damned bags?
Or maybe she put them inherbedroom. If there was some kind of surprise, as Colt stated, it would make sense to hide it there. The only person to ever really go into Nellie’s room is Brenda these days, since Nellie is with me every night.
I go check her room and immediately see all kinds of bags. I look inside one of them, and it has a new lingerie set in it. She must have bought these at the mall with Amy.Phew. I’m relieved.
So she did come home, but where did she go afterwards? Clearly, wherever she went, she found her own way there. She probably took her car. I’m not sure whether or not I saw it out in our driveway, but that would be the easiest way for Nellie to get around solo.
I can’t stand around here, waiting for Nellie to magically appear. I’m not passive. I’m a man of action.
And I need to get my ass in gear.
I don’t know where to start looking for her, but I’ll feel a whole lot better if I’m actuallydoingsomething as opposed to calling her phone over and over again like a stalker.
I go downstairs and grab my keys and jacket. I guess I could start with Nellie’s apartment. I don’t think she’s been there since we moved in together. Maybe she wanted to get something from her house?
I’m about to leave when the door starts to open.
When it’s opened fully, I see that it’s Nellie. She’s back and looks totally fine. There isn’t a scratch or cut on her body, and her hair and clothing look normal. The relief that washes over my body almost knocks me off my feet.
“Nellie,” I say. I immediately bring her into a hug, needing to feel her curvy body against mine. I’m so overjoyed that it takes me a moment to realize that she’s gone limp against me.
I pull away, my hands on her shoulders. Looking at her face, I notice that she’s been crying. In fact, she’s been crying a lot. Her eyes are red like she’s been rubbing them, and her cheeks are wet with tears.
“Nellie?”
“How could you?” she demands. I’m shocked for a second. I’m not sure what she’s going on about. I’m just about to ask her, but then, I realize thatshe knows.
Nellie knows what I’ve done.
19
Nellie
Afew hours earlier.
I get back home, and Zac helps me bring all the bags upstairs. Looking at my haul, I’m quite satisfied with what I brought back from my mall trip with Amy. It a lot of things, but I think they were all necessary.
Everything is tossed haphazardly in my room. I’m not about to make Zac stand there while I try to find the best way to organize things. He’s already done so much to help me out. Organizing can be a job for me once he’s gone. I turn to him, so grateful for his help. It would have taken me ages if I had to do this alone.
