Page 20 of Scarlett's Mountain Man
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong!” I raise my voice.
“I said no walking unless I am with you. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“Do you want me to pee in your bed?” I ask back, attitude clear in my tone.
“No, but if I wasn’t here, should have waited. If you couldn’t wait, I would have changed the mattress and covers,” he gently says.
I open and close my mouth several times. “I didn’t know how long you were going to be. I wasn’t about to lie in my pee for hours and not know when you were coming back. I have regained some of my strength. I wasn’t going for a walk. I just took myself to the bathroom to use it. Nothing wrong with that.”
“You could have hurt yourself!” His voice rises a bit.
“But I didn’t. I’m not going to say sorry for walking to the bathroom when I’m okay. It’s good for me to move around.” I look at him like he’s grown two heads.
I know when I first got here, Aiden wanted me on bed rest. I understand that, but it’s been several days, and I know I am okay to walk a little. I feel so much better than I did before.
“But you could have hurt yourself,” he gently says, cupping my face. “I don’t know what I would have done if you had. What if I got held up and couldn’t come for a few more hours and you were lying on the floor?”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I’m sorry for making you worry, but I am okay. I would have shouted until someone walking by would have heard me.”
“I’m getting you a phone. Next time, you can call me and I’ll come back to help you get to the bathroom,” he declares, ignoring what I just said.
“You don’t need to come back when I’m perfectly capable of walking to the bathroom by myself.” I scoff.
“Yes, I do. You could hurt yourself, and I’m not going to allow that to happen.”
“You can just get me a phone so if I fall, I can call you,” I suggest.
He shakes his head. “I am going to be here to prevent you from falling. I don’t want to get a call when you have. Nope. No way.”
I sigh and lean my face into his touch. I am not going to win this fight. Not when he is high on his emotions. If I am going to get through to him, I will need to wait until he calms down.
“Okay, sure,” I reply, huffing once again.
A wave of exhaustion weighs heavy on me. Daddy is intently looking at me with that reverence in his eyes again.
Love.
This time, I know I’m not imagining it. He really is looking at me like he loves me, and I can believe it. Daddy has made sure I’ve had everything I need, felt safe, and taken care of Juniper when I needed to take a minute.
“Do you need to lie down and rest?” Daddy gently asks. “Maybe take a nap?”
“No,” I whisper.
I’m sick and tired of staying in bed, taking a nap, and doing absolutely nothing.
“No?” Daddy raises an eyebrow.
“Yes, no. I don’t want to lie down anymore. I want to leave this room, please,” I beg.
Daddy looks at me, unsure. “I don’t know. I think you should rest a bit longer.”
“I’m not an invalid!” I raise my voice. “I want out of this room. I am going crazy. I feel like the walls are closing in on me, and I can’t do it anymore. You can carry me out of this room and place me on the couch, but I need out.”
Tears well in my eyes as I stare at him. He blinks repeatedly. What is he doing? Why isn’t he saying anything?
“Please, Daddy,” I beg, looking him in the eyes. “I need to smell fresh air. I need to be able to see out the window.”
“You’ll obey my orders?” he asks.
