Page 140 of Like A Moth To A Flame

“That means I am your daddy, and I will take care of you. Always.”

“But what does thatmean?!”

I didn’t mean for my voice to rise or for the tears to prickle in the corners of my eyes, but they happened anyway.

I heard the sound of his heavy boots stepping across the room, and before I knew it, I felt his fingers dip below my jaw and pull my eyes up to meet his. The minute those deep whiskey-shaded hues encased my heart, I couldn’t look away. I very nearly couldn’t breathe.

“It means I love you, my Little Moth.”

“Y-you said… " I gulped, feeling like a sandy beach had suddenly taken up residence in my mouth. “Wifey. Does that mean… ?”

“Does that mean I want to marry you? Yes. I do.”

My breath sucked in in a deep, shocked gasp.

Fuck. Fuck, I hadn’t been expecting this.

“A-are you…asking me? Is this you—”

He chuckled, a low grumble in his throat that hit me straight in the groin.

“No, baby,” he said softly. “Not like this. But if I were… ?”

“I’d say yes.”

The smile that folded his lips was something I wasn’t sure I had ever seen from him, and the heart in my chest lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Good,” he said, leaning down to me and placing a single, soft kiss against my lips. “Now that I know that, it may be sooner rather than later. But for now? I need to check the house and keep you safe. So keep playing little homemaker, and daddy will be back.”

He left me standing there, breathless, as he walked out of the room. Before I knew it, I heard his boots walking around the house.

34

I wanna watch you change from a butterfly and into chains

Moth

It was finally cold enough that I closed the top of my convertible. It was well into November, and I wasn’t ready for winter. The leaves on the trees were a range of colors, from fiery red to lemony yellow and everything in between.

I hadn’t spent winter in my dad’s house for years. He was notorious for waiting until the temperatures dropped below freezing before turning on the furnace, but as soon as I returned home, I would immediately crank up the heat. I just hoped it worked. What if it didn’t? The old fireplace had long been boarded up, but it was on the agenda to be fixed, but that would take a while.

Now, I sat in the front seat of my car, staring at the old, abandoned vet clinic on the outskirts of town. The low, evergreen hedges out front were overgrown, long pieces reaching out like tentacles to grab at passersby. The clapboard siding, painted a deep, earthy brown, was faded and peeling, the paint curling up and sloughing off in long strips to reveal a pukey greenunderneath. The windows were caked with grime and cracked in places, spiderwebs taking up permanent residence in the corners. Near the front door, a wooden cut-out showed the silhouettes of a dog and a cat—and opposite, a matching cow and goat.

Dr Addams had been both a small and large animal vet. He went on farm calls and then returned to care for everything from cats and dogs to rabbits and birds.

Could I do that?

Dr Addams was the best around. He was the vet who came out to put Gunner down, and also my childhood dog, Petey.

Could I ever be what he was? Did I have what it takes to work on cows and pushy horses that kicked and bucked at the slightest touch?

Biting my lip, I pulled out my phone and turned it on, going to my contacts and finding Amelia. It only rang once before she answered.

“Amelia’s crematory and pizzeria, where today’s loss is tomorrow’s sauce. What can I get started for you today?”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Amelia could never be serious. She couldn’t be serious if her life was dependent on it.

“God, Amelia. What if I was your mom?” I asked, and she giggled.

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