Page 52 of Coulda

His embrace tightened around her. “I love you, Amber.”

* * *

“No! Stop!”Amber thrashed to get away from the thousands of arms that held her from running away. They were dragging her into the depths of an endless hole she knew she’d never be able to escape from.

“Ella, sweetheart. You’re dreaming. Try to wake up.”

The familiar voice sounded so far away. She couldn’t lose Rio again. Renewing her struggle to free herself, Amber kicked the bonds wrapped around her feet. She was suffocating in the heat that surrounded her. “Daddy!”

“I’m here, Little girl. Let me help you,” he urged.

Amber could feel the air beginning to cool around her. Still, something held her feet in place. She’d never be able to reach Rio.

“I’ve got you, Ella,” Rio assured her. His hand swept down her side to loosen the hold on her legs. “How did you get so tangled? Concentrate on my voice, Amber. Try to wake up.”

“Daddy?” she whispered, trying to reach him. Her eyes blinked open to see him leaning over her, tugging the covers away. “You saved me.”

“That was some dream, Little girl. You tangled yourself in the sheets so tightly.”

“The sheets? I thought they were arms dragging me away from you.”

“Nothing can steal you away, Ella. I plan to always be here to save you,” he promised.

With her eyes open, Amber succeeded in freeing herself from the swath of material around her torso. Instantly, she threw herself forward to wrap her arms around his neck, peppering his face with kisses.

Muscles bulging, he pulled her out of the confining web around her legs and into his lap. Rio held her close, rocking her gently. “Want to tell Daddy about your dream?”

“It was awful. There were all these hands pulling me down into a big dark abyss. I knew I’d never get out again.”

“That sounds very scary,” he comforted her, running a hand through her hair.

“My heart was pounding.”

“You gave mine a workout, too.”

“I’m sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep,” she urged, feeling guilty.

“Never worry about waking me up, Little girl. If you have a bad dream, that’s exactly what you should do. How can I frighten away anything that messes with you if you don’t tell me?”

That totally made sense to her still sleep-addled brain. Nodding her agreement, she laid her head on his shoulder and tried to push all the dark thoughts from her mind. Nothing would get her in his arms.

He held her quietly for several minutes as her body and mind calmed. When she raised her head to press a grateful kiss to his lips, Rio hugged her tight.

“Better?”

“Yes, Daddy. Wow! I made a mess of the bed.”

“Go potty and I’ll straighten everything. I think Limey ran away.”

“Oh, no!” Amber scrambled from the bed to drop to her knees on the carpet. She searched around in the darkness on the floor for the stuffie. “I can’t find him. He didn’t get sucked into the void, did he?”

“We’ll find Limey. He’d never stray too far from you,” Rio assured her as he slid out of bed.

After turning on the bedside lamp, he spotted a bit of green plush. “Here he is. Limey was hiding under your pillow.”

“That’s a good spot,” Amber celebrated, scrambling up from the floor. “It’s really dark in here without the light. Limey might be a bit afraid at night.”

“Hmm. We can’t have Limey frightened by the dark, can we? I’ll get a nightlight in the morning.”

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