Page 41 of Scarlett's Mountain Man
CHAPTER 12
SCARLETT
Iam growing more nervous by the day as we wait for Harold to make a move. It’s awful waiting for something to happen. He could show up at any point and hurt any of us.
And it will be all because of me and the decisions I made.
How could I have been so foolish? I should have known better, yet I didn’t. I was naive and dumb and get pregnant by someone in the mob.
But Daddy is in the mafia. How different is he from Harold?
A lot.
Daddy doesn’t hit me. He has taken care of me and helped me so much. He has made sure that I am healing and that Juniper has been taken care of as well. I didn’t think people like him existed, but with each day he is showing me there are good people.
They are just harder to find.
“What are you thinking about?” Daddy asks as he walks into the living room with Juniper in his arms.
I shrug and hold my hands out. He immediately sits next to me and hands me Juniper. Even though she isn’t blood-related to him, he has been taking care of her like she is.
How did I get so lucky?
“Little One,” Daddy sternly says.
“I’m just thinking about everything. How you have helped me and Juniper so much, but also about Harold. I’m just thinking about everything and trying not to worry, but it’s hard. How am I not supposed to when he is threatening everything that I have?” I ask and sigh. “We don’t know when he will come, and we don’t know what he is going to do, if he does anything.”
It’s stressing me beyond belief, and I don’t want it to.
“I have guys looking into him right now. We are going to figure out where he is before he comes. He isn’t going to hurt anyone, I promise,” Daddy gently says and kisses the side of my head.
“How can you be so sure?” I look down at Juniper. She is fast asleep in my arms, fast asleep. “I should never have come here and put you guys in danger. I’m sorry.”
The guilt has been eating me up inside. If I had never come here, then Harold would have never found me, and everyone at Whiskey Mountain Lodge would be safe.
“No.” Daddy’s voice is ruff. “You will not be saying that.”
“But it’s true.” I look at him with tears in my eyes. “All of you are in danger because of me, and I have to live with knowing that.”
“Little One,” Daddy gently begins, cupping my face. “We are grown men who can take care of ourselves. We are part of the Ricci Crime Family and know what to do in a situation like this. I bet the others would agree with me, things were getting a little boring around here, but you have spiced it up.”
I’m not sure I like being the one to spice it up. “What if everything goes wrong and someone dies? Will they blame me because I brought him here?”
Maybe I should leave before anything happens. I don’t want to leave Daddy or this lodge, but if it’s what I have to do, then Ishould. I need to think about Juniper and me. Will they hate us if anything happens?
“They will not blame you at all. It won’t cross their mind. There will always be casualties in life, but they will be happy that you and Juniper are safe. They will be happy that we took down Harold,” Daddy explains. “And if you need to hear that from my guys personally, we can do that.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m just worried and thinking about Juniper.”
“And I’m glad you are, but you don’t need to worry. You are safe here. You are wanted here. Both of you are.”
Sighing, I lean my head into his hands and close my eyes. This is everything I needed. This is everything I ever wanted in life.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?” Daddy gently asks.
“For everything. For taking me in when you didn’t have to. For getting Aiden to look over me and Juniper. For being such a good Daddy to me and for being Juniper’s dad,” I go on and on. “You didn’t have to do any of that. You could have turned us away after I woke up.”
