Page 68 of Daddy’s Hunted Bride

“Hi, Daddy,” she mumbles around a mouthful of chocolate.

“If you think I won’t be keeping a tally of all the times you’re naughty so I can spank your bottom when the doc gives me the all-clear, you are seriously mistaken, little girl.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, I absolutely would. And will. That’s two tally marks already, so I suggest you watch yourself for the next week, my naughty little fox.”

Bottom lip pushing out, she swallows the chocolate in her mouth. “You’re mean.”

“The meanest,” I agree as I settle on the side of her bed. “How did your conversation with Sheriff Donnelly go?”

Vanessa drops her gaze and lifts her shoulders in a small shrug. “I dunno. Okay, I guess.”

“What did she ask you about?”

“Just how I got hurt and stuff.” She peeks up at me through her lashes while she picks at the blanket covering her legs. “I didn’t tell her I was trying to run away.”

Despite the pounding of my heart, I somehow manage to sound completely normal. “Oh? Why not?”

“I don’t know.” Poor thing sounds so frustrated, all I want to do is pull her into my arms and tell her it will all be okay. But this is clearly a conversation she needs to have, so I resist the urge and wait her out. “I wanted to. Or I thought I wanted to. If I told her what really happened with me and the other girls, we’d get to go home. We could be free.”

“Probably. The sheriff has kind of always had it out for us. It’s gotten better recently but I have no doubt she’d still jump at the chance to put us all behind bars.”

“Yeah, I kinda picked up on that. She was really thorough.” Nose scrunching slightly, Vanessa tilts her head to the side. “She had a lot of questions about Auntie Gray, which seemed kinda weird.”

“That sounds about right,” I say with a chuckle. “Your auntie and the sheriff have a… complicated relationship.”

“I knew I wasn’t imagining it!”

“You were not. But we’re getting off track. Why didn’t you tell the sheriff the truth? She could have given you everything you wanted, but you didn’t take it. Why?”

Vanessa rolls her eyes, and then winces, pressing a hand to her head. “Because I love you, dummy. Why else would I lie to the cops so I could stay with you forever?”

“You love me.” Emotions I haven’t felt in a very long time swell inside me, pressing against my chest cavity with such pressure it feels like I might actually burst.

“Yeah. It doesn’t really make any sense to me, either. In fact, I’m pretty sure I should ask for a seventy-two-hour psych hold because clearly I’ve lost my mind. But I’m not gonna do that, because against my better judgment, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you and your crazy-ass family. So now will you please figure out what’s going on with my discharge paperwork so you can take me home, Daddy?”

“Your wish is my command, little fox.”

CHAPTER 29

VANESSA

The sound of tires crunching over gravel wakes me and I blink my eyes open to stare at the giant wood cabin looming before me.

Home.

As hard as I’ve tried to fight it, there's no doubt this place has become my home, and I can’t wait to see my family. It feels like it’s been weeks since I saw my cousins and my uncles and Auntie Gray. But when I reach for the door, a heavy hand comes to rest on my thigh.

“Little girls wait for a grownup to let them out of the car,” Daddy lectures solemnly. “You sit right there and Daddy will come get you.”

“I can open a door on my own.”

“That’s three marks for when you’re feeling better. Would you like to make it four before we even get into the house?”

Flopping back against my seat, I cross my arms and wait. Seemingly satisfied I’ll stay where I’ve been put, Daddy climbs out of the truck and makes his way around to the passenger side, where he scoops me out of the seat so I can wrap myself around him. And okay, maybe it’s kind of nice to have someone do all the literal heavy lifting when I’m so tired already, but that doesn’t make me a helpless little baby.

It doesn’t.