Page 15 of Her Hero Daddy

“It’s grape flavored. Drink it.”

She shook her head. “I can assure you after taking some last night that it does not taste like grapes.”

Poor thing. Maybe he should offer to get her a suppository pain reliever. He’d bet his left leg that she’d suddenly love the grape-flavored liquid if he did. Taking the miniature measuring cup from her small fingers, he held it up to her lips and tilted it back slightly.

“Drink.”

When she obeyed and drank the entire cup, making an icky face toward him when she was done, he felt a surge of satisfaction. He handed her the protein shake to wash it down.

“Good girl. Thank you for obeying. I will make sure when we get home to buy a better-tasting medicine.”

She nodded. “I like the orange kind better.”

Well, shit. He would find the orange kind, then. Whatever she wanted, he would find for her, especially if it meant she would willingly take her medicine.

“I want you to try to sleep while I drive. It’s going to be a long drive, so you might as well rest.”

“I’m not tired anymore.”

He gave her an incredulous look and began maneuvering toward the interstate. Haylee was fast asleep with her mouth hanging open ten minutes into the drive.

The drive itself was uneventful. She slept for nearly four hours before waking up suddenly with a loud gasp and jolted up, looking around with wide eyes as she gasped for air.

“Hey, you’re okay. You’re safe.”

It killed him not to touch her, to try to calm her down, but he didn’t want to frighten her more than she already seemed to be. Taking an exit into a rest area and pulling the car to a stop, he turned to her and waited patiently as she caught her breath.

“Shh… Breathe in and out. In and out. Good girl.”

She breathed with him for several minutes until her rapid breathing slowed, and she relaxed against the seat.

“I’m so sorry. I had a bad dream.”

Reaching out for her slowly, he took her hand and squeezed, rubbing the back of her knuckles with his thumb.

“Baby girl, you don’t need to be sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

Shaking her head, she swiped her wild hair from her face and stared out the windshield silently. He fought the urge to unbuckle her and pull her into his lap to cuddle her fears away, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her or do something she was uncomfortable with. But damn, he wanted to take care of her.

She squeezed his hand back. “Thank you. You’re being so nice to me.”

He studied her eyes when she turned her face toward him. She looked so sad and lost.

“You deserve all the niceness in the world, baby girl.”

Her plump pink lips turned up into a small smile. He wanted to see that smile of hers as much as possible.

“Do you need to go potty before we start driving again?”

“Um… yes, please.”

Kane nodded. He got out of the car, opened her door to help her out, and walked with her to the bathrooms, keeping his hand on her elbow. He didn’t want her to go very far from him, since rest areas weren’t exactly the safest places. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to constantly touch her. Not at all. He knocked on the bathroom door and opened it to make sure it was empty before he held it open for her.

“I’ll be right here.”

When she reappeared from the bathroom, he held out his hand for her, unsure if she would take it. She slipped her small hand into his and smiled up at him as he led her back toward the car. Talk about feeling like he’d won the lottery. When she climbed into the seat, he automatically grabbed the seat belt, reaching over her to buckle it. She took in a sharp breath, and he pulled back quickly, hoping he didn’t startle her. When he looked into her soft blue eyes, he didn’t see fear. Instead, he saw something warm flicker across them, and he felt his body react to being so close to her.

He straightened himself up. “Safety first, little one.”

---