Page 47 of Scarlett's Mountain Man
CHAPTER 14
SCARLETT
Several days have passed since Daddy told me the whole place was safe. He eventually took me around the perimeter to see the guards and settle my nerves. It did wonders, and Daddy knew I needed it.
He was the one to bring it up when I told him it was fine after looking at the screen for almost an hour. He just knew and took action to make it better.
“Do you want to go for a walk, Juniper?” I ask her as she gazes up at me.
Daddy is currently out on the back porch on the phone, but he won’t mind if we stay near the house. I’ve done it several times before and Daddy has never told me no.
But this time, he looks a little stressed. Maybe I should stay inside until he comes back and then ask him. Juniper coos at me, and I turn to her, taking that as her yes to go outside. Standing, I pick her up and hold her close to me as I head to the front door.
Living up here the past several months has been amazing, and I never want to leave. Thankfully Daddy doesn’t want to get rid of us, which is perfect because we never want to leave him, either.
“Isn’t this nice?” I ask as we step onto the front porch and take a deep breath of the fresh air.
Juniper holds onto my shirt and leans her head on my shoulder. It’s about her nap time, but I can’t go back inside and put her down.
“You are staying out here with me. If Daddy is cross at me for not putting you down for a nap when I’m supposed to, I’ll take full responsibility,” I babble as I walk down the stairs. “You shouldn’t have to deal with any of that. Not that you really can, since you are just a baby. Though I wonder if I could say you wanted to go outside and Daddy would believe me.”
I shake my head at the thought and look around. Daddy says sometimes deer come out and find little scraps of food, but I haven’t seen them since I got here. Maybe they realize I’m here and Daddy doesn’t need the company anymore. Or maybe they went to Uncle Aiden’s house to make him feel less lonely.
“We are going to go to Uncle Aiden’s house and see if the deer are there. Then maybe you can see your first deer.” I start the journey toward his house, but I stop and look back at the cabin.
I should tell Daddy where I’m going so he doesn’t worry, but he knows the only place I know on the property is his or Uncle Aiden’s cabins. Well, and Brix and Elijah’s cabin, but they aren’t here, so I can’t go there.
“You won’t be able to get close to the deer, though. We could get hurt, or they will run off before we can even get close to them,” I tell Juniper as I continue to walk. “I know, it’s so sad that we won’t be able to pet them, but maybe we can get Daddy to get us one as a pet so we can go out and touch it at any time.”
That would be amazing if he could actually do that.
“But I think Daddy will say no,” I ramble to her. “Daddy doesn’t want any pets, I don’t think. Or he hasn’t mentioned it, but at the same time, he just got us and is probably a littleoverwhelmed with everything right now. Especially since my ex wants to come after me.”
And now I’m in a bad mood just thinking abouthim. I shouldn’t be thinking about him at all. We are safe here.
“Scarlett!” someone yells. “Where are you?”
My eyebrows scrunch together as I look around the forest trail. Why are they shouts my name?
“Juniper? Scarlett?” Another person calls from a different direction.
Worry churns in my stomach as I continue to walk down the path.
“We are almost at Uncle Aiden’s house.” I hold Juniper tighter against me, not liking the bad feeling washing over me. “Everything is going to be okay.” But I’m talking to myself when I say that, trying to help keep myself calm.
“Little One!” Daddy shrieks, panic clear in his voice.
I turn around and take a step back. Daddy sounded close, yet I don’t think he’s close enough to me.
Not when Harold is standing right in front of me, a smug look on his face.
“Hello, Scarlett,” he wickedly says. “Is that our daughter?”
I hold Juniper closer to me, moving to shield her from him. “Mydaughter. She is no daughter of yours.”
He growls and takes a step closer. “She is when we fucked and I got you pregnant. She is my flesh and blood.” He points at me.
I shake my head and take another step back, trying to put distance between us. Maybe Daddy will find us soon enough, or some of the other guys will save Juniper and me.
