Page 78 of Stay Baby Stay

“We’ll both take that,” Cal says. I smile at the thought of us sleeping with our bodies pressed tightly together.

I reclaim my bag once we reach the main bedroom and begin laying out changes of clothes on the massive bed for Kenzie and me.

“I’ll take the couch, then,” Austin says.

Kenzie glances at him, lips pursed like she wants to protest.

“This is perfect,” I say quickly. “Where’s the bathroom?”

Austin points to a closed door beside an antique dresser. “One there, and another one downstairs. The one down the hall isn’t hooked up yet, so stick to those two for now. I installed a double-size water heater for my eventual jacuzzi tub,” he says with a solemn nod. “Take your time. There should be plenty of hot water for nice long showers.”

I thank him and shoot Cal a look that saysI’ll be down in a little bit.

I fetch a cup of water from the bathroom and give Kenzie a couple of her painkillers before helping her out of her clothes. I undress, too, figuring I’ll jump in the shower with her. Hot water is a rarity at the motel, so we’d occasionally shower together to minimize each other’s time under the ice-cold spray.

There’s more than enough room for two people in Austin’s shower, and right now, Kenzie can barely move without wincing.

Being three inches taller than her makes it easy to wash her hair. I soap up her back, then her legs, careful not to press too hard on the dark-purple splotches. She doesn’t say a word throughout the whole process, but I can tell she’s in pain. I’m afraid if I open my mouth, I’ll start to bawl.

After we’re both cleaned and rinsed, I shut off the water and grab one of the fluffy brown towels from the nearby rack. I dry Kenzie off first and then dry myself.

Back in the bedroom, I help her into a pair of shorts and a tank top, then ease her into bed before shutting the blinds to darken the room.

“I keep meaning to ask,” Kenzie mumbles, her voice rough from lack of use.

“What’s that, Kenz?” I sit down on the bed so I can hear her better.

“Is Cal the guy you were sitting on at the party?”

“Oh...um, yeah.” I chuckle. “He was there undercover.”

“I knew you two looked cozy.” Her lips tilt into something resembling a smile. “Now you’re like,in looove.”

“Glad to see the painkillers are kicking in for you.”

“I might have had the shit beaten out of me, but my eyes are fine, Hollywood.” It’s so nice to hear her crack a joke, after seeing her so broken. She takes a deep breath and sighs. “I’m just stoked you took my advice and got yourself a sugar daddy.”

“You always did say I had daddy issues.”

“Hmm, don’t we all?” She closes her eyes, drifting along the gentle current of a well-deserved high. “Why wouldn’t you fall for a man who wants to take care of you? Who wants to give you everything you never had, because he loves yousooomuch?”

In her delirium, Kenzie has stumbled upon a kernel of truth. I don’t consider Cal to be my sugar daddy in the typical sense, though he makes a lot more money than I do. I think of him as my daddy because he cares for me and looks out for me the way a real daddy should.

But is Kenzie right about the rest of it? Am I in love with Cal? We’ve known each other less than a week, but of all the crazy things that’ve happened since the night we met, would falling for Cal really be the craziest of all?

“Want me to stay with you?” I ask her.

She shakes her head no. The little in me that’s desperate to grab a few spare moments alone with my daddy is thankful, while the friend in me is disappointed she doesn’t want me around.

Before we left the hospital, Mary pulled me aside and told me it could be a while before Kenzie starts to feel like herself again. She gave me her personal cell number and said she’d put us in touch with a trauma counselor—for both of you, she said.

I tuck Barnie the bear under the covers with Kenzie, wish her sweet dreams, then swing my bag over my shoulder and head downstairs.

I find Cal dozing on the twin-sized bed wearing only his boxers, in what was probably the den before Austin turned it into a home gym. I close the double French doors behind me and set my bag on the floor. It’s chilly in here, thanks to the window-unit a/c, but I don’t mind if it means that Cal and I get to snuggle.

He stretches his long, powerful, tapped-out body and opens his eyes.

“Hey,” he says sleepily. “McKenzie all settled in?”

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