Page 27 of Stowaway Whirlwind
I smirk. “Four. For the curse.”
She drops her head back, and I laugh quietly as I push off the door and gather her in my arms. She peeks up at me when I press a soft kiss to her lips, and she wraps her arms around my bare waist. I sway with her in my arms a few times, loving how she leans into me the longer I hold her.
Sliding my hands up to her jaw, I tip her head back and give her one more kiss. “Time for bed, honey.”
She flutters her pale lashes. “Ok, Daddy.”
And I’m hard again. This time, she’s the one who snorts as she flicks off the bathroom light and leads me by the hand to the bed. I change the bedsheets while she pulls on a clean pair of maternity panties and pajama pants so we can climb into bedtogether and get, god-willing, at least an hour of sleep before Lily wakes up.
I drag Goldie into the middle again to spoon her, and just as I breathe out a sigh of contentment when I bury my nose in her thick hair, already half asleep, Lily lets out a mewl.
“That’s what you get, Daddy, for not leaving the restroom.”
“Get what?” I ask, already climbing back out of bed to scoop Lily from her crib. I hum a lullaby as I snuggle her close but cough when I get a whiff of her dirty diaper.
Goldie laughs. “That.”
Chapter 12
Goldie
I’m on fire. I cry out, my eyes flying open to find the sun just beginning to rise. I roll forward, stumbling out of bed to escape the flames coming from between my thighs, my pajama pants and maternity panties pushed down just below my ass. I clutch my waistband with clammy hands, sweat breaking out on my forehead.
Something crashes into the wall behind me, and I spin, wiping away tears as I yank my pajamas up.
Davis flicks on the bathroom light behind him, staring at me with horror, his face drained of color. He sounds like a man teetering on the edge of a cliff when he says, “I’m so sorry. I was asleep. I didn’t—I wouldn’t—” He trips into the bathroom, closing and locking the door between us. It hardly muffles the sounds of his violent retching.
I pass Lily, still asleep in her crib, as I exit the bedroom to find the hall bathroom in the dark. My stomach churns with nausea as I sit on the toilet to clean myself up, my mind and pulse and breath racing with fear and dread.
I don’t know how long I’m in there for, holding myself around the middle until I’m no longer hyperventilating, having finally made sense of what happened—made peace with it, too.The calm I managed to find splinters when I make it back to the bedroom to find Lily missing from her crib.
I bounce off of Davis when I rush down the hallway into the living room. He’s fully dressed in his jeans and button-down, his ball cap pulled low over his eyes, with Lily asleep in his arms.
“Oh, thank god. There you are,” I whisper, even managing a shaky smile as I place a hand over my heart, willing it to slow down once more.
Davis steps back. He chews the inside of his scruffy cheek and won’t meet my eyes. He’s still pale, either from his horror or from retching.
I twist my hands. “Davis?”
“Just wanted to say goodbye to her before I put her back in the crib.” He swallows. “Didn’t mean to scare you…more.”
“Goodbye to her? But not to me?” I try to smile again, thinking this is some kind of horrible joke that I don’t understand.
Davis doesn’t respond, carefully passing Lily over, our arms brushing. He clears his throat and turns, and I follow him to the front door, where his packed duffel bag is sitting. Waiting.
“I have to leave,” he says, still hiding his eyes.
So,not a joke. “You were going to leave without saying goodbye to me?” It’s like a razor slicing across my chest.
Davis clenches his jaw, picks up the duffel bag, and swings open the front door, finally tipping his chin up far enough for us to make eye contact, though he quickly looks away, staring off to the side of me.
“Why would you leave without saying goodbye?” I can’t keep the tremble out of my voice. “Before we could talk about what happened.”
“Please, Marigold.” I suck in a breath when he says my full name instead of calling meGoldie,honey, or my favorite,baby,in our more intimate moments. “You’re not safe with me. What I did was unforgivable.”
“I know you didn’t mean to.”
“No.” He gives a sharp shake of his head. “No excuses. I shouldn’t have done that to you. And what I did on the porch and couch…and last night…it’s not right. I shouldn’t have—I’m sorry,” he says with a croak, stepping through the door onto the porch. With his hand on the doorknob, about to pull it closed, he nods to the table where he left his cash, the keys to the Ford, and his health insurance card. “I found Dr. Patel’s card. Call her.”
