Page 45 of Savage Daddies
I clutch onto Daddy Axel for support as my legs momentarily weaken.
“How badly was he hurt? Was he shot?”
For the first time since I’ve known him, Daddy Axel appears lost. He swallows hard and takes a long breath as he holds my gaze. “He was stabbed... several times.”
I break away from Daddy Axel and run for the cabin.
When I arrive in Daddy Nash’s room, I find him unconscious and pale. He’s lying atop the thick covers, his clothes removed. A small thin blanket has been draped over his center to shield his nudity, but I’m able to glimpse the numerous bandages covering his left arm and both his legs. A dark purple bruise mars the side of his familiar, handsome face. I gently place my hand upon his and bend down to kiss his cheek, my heart breaking to see him so broken and lifeless.
Will he ever wake up? I know nothing of wounds like those he’s sustained. Residents of the techno-cities rarely get hurt. There’s no fighting in Emerald, no acts of violence such as this. Doctors, which I suppose the savages call healers, usually don’t treat anything more serious than a headache or a sprained ankle.
But joy resounds in my heart when Daddy Nash’s eyes suddenly open. I gasp and my vision becomes blurry as I stare down at him. I sit on the bed beside him, sniffling as I reach for his face. I trace the lines of his bruise, wishing I could make it disappear with my touch alone.
“Hello, Josie,” he says in a hoarse whisper. He offers me a fatigued smile, grinning just enough to reveal his one dimple. His eyes meet mine and light up with all the resplendence of the rising sun.
“You aren’t allowed to die, Daddy Nash.” I tighten my hold on his hand. “I forbid it.”
“You’re being rather bossy, little girl.” He manages to raise one eyebrow, though he doesn’t look as stern as he normally does when he’s scolding me.
“The danger is in the possibility of infection,” Daddy Erik says. “We don’t have antibiotics.”
“We should set out right now,” Daddy Gage says, “and steal some from the first Ranger we come across.”
My heart abruptly sinks and I don’t know what to think.
I hear footsteps and glance over my shoulder to see Daddy Axel entering the room. He’s carrying a small box labeled ‘medicine.’ It’s green and has a symbol of a sun setting over the mountains and I realize it’s from the techno-cities, as it’s the symbol that’s always on Rangers’ clothing and solar trucks. I gasp and look at Daddy Nash with renewed spirits.
“Pain medication and antibiotics.” Daddy Axel sets the box on the bedside table.
“I thought we ran out of medication last winter.” Daddy Nash stares at the box of medicine with a perplexed look. Hope rises in my chest. His color has improved since he awoke, and now we have medicine from the techno-cities to help him get better.
“Apparently, the King brothers raided a Ranger outpost when they stole Sarah several months ago. Allen King just dropped it off and told us to use as much as we need.”
No one in the techno-cities ever has to share resources or make sacrifices to help another, and I’m touched by our neighbors’ absolute kindness. They could have kept the medicine for themselves, but instead they chose to help another. In doing so, they very well might be saving a life. My daddy’s life. I marvel at the ways of this savage land as my heart swells with gratitude. The people of the wildlands are brutal and fierce, but they are also capable of great compassion.
With his un-bandaged arm, Daddy Nash reaches for me and strokes his fingers through my hair. Though I know the movement must pain him as he shifts closer to me, he doesn’t so much as flinch. As I stare at him, mesmerized by the brilliant flakes of gold in his otherwise dark eyes, I come to a life-altering realization.
I’m entirely certain I love him.
My throat burning, I glance at Daddy Axel as he rounds the bed and enters my line of vision. I know I love him, too. I care for the two savages who stole me away from Emerald more than I ever believed I could care for anyone. The emptiness and loneliness I felt in Emerald has been filled to bursting because of them. Though I fought them at first, they showed me affection, even if it was often preceded with firm guidance.
There’s enough warmth in my heart for Daddies Gage and Erik, too, even if I don’t yet know them as well as their older brothers.
“You look tired. Perhaps you ought to take anap,” I say with a bit of sauciness, because I know it’ll get Daddy Nash’s attention and perhaps make him smile again. When his face lights up and he laughs, I decide his deep chuckle is my favorite sound in the whole world.
