Page 179 of Broken Daddy
That was not jealousy he felt.
Pulling over, he got out of the car and ran around to the other side to open her door.
“This is silly,” she told him. “You shouldn’t stop just because I had a nightmare.”
“Why wouldn’t I stop for that?” he asked as he undid her belt and crouched before turning her carefully toward him.
“Well, it doesn’t really seem important enough.”
“Your health and happiness are always the most important thing, Devi.”
She opened her mouth.
“Argue with me about that and you’ll be in trouble.”
She scowled at him. “I will not.”
“Oh yes, you will,” he said as he kneeled on the hard ground and drew her into his chest. He had to hold her very carefully as her injured arm was between them.
But he felt the tension in her shoulders ease as he held her, rocking her back and forth gently.
There was very little that he wouldn’t do for this girl.
37
“Ithink we need to talk about these rules,” Devi said with a scowl a while later.
It was dark outside and they’d been driving so long that her butt felt numb. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.
Knowing Hayes, he’d insist on pulling over so he could massage it or something.
She shifted on the seat, trying to ignore the pressure in her bladder. Even though they’d stopped several times to use the bathroom, she was still close to bursting.
“The rules?” he asked.
“Yes. I want to make sure I know them all. One of them is no calling myself names or saying bad things about myself.”
“Right.”
“But that has nothing to do with safety or health.”
“It affects your mental health,” he said. “And it’s blatantly untrue which means you’re lying.”
“Does the ‘no lying’ rule go both ways?”
“Of course,” he replied instantly.
All right, then.
“And you have to tell me if you need something.”
She wouldn’t be doing that unless it was something important. And she couldn’t imagine what she might need.
Well, except for a toilet. That would be awfully helpful right now.
For the first time in her adult life, she was kind of wishing for diapers. They hadn’t come across a service station or town in ages.
A cramp hit her lower tummy.
