Page 31 of A Little Christmas Jericho
"I have a card," he said. "I'll text you."
"Okay, thanks. Bye."
He hung up, and I looked at Colter, my heart in my throat. "Someone broke into my apartment."
His whole expression shifted, soft concern giving way to anger and a possessive protectiveness that instantly made me feel better.
He didn't say anything right away. He reached out and pulled me against his chest, one big hand cupping the back of my head. For a second, I let him hold me, breathing in the steady thump of his heart beneath my ear.
"Did they take anything?" He finally asked.
I shook my head. "Not that Mr Vorster could tell. TV and big things are still there."
Colter exhaled through his nose. "That's almost worse."
"Yeah," I whispered. "Someone going through all the trouble to violate my space and thennottaking anything? That'sscary. It makes me feel unsafe, Daddy."
He tipped my chin up, eyes steady on mine. "Youaresafe. Here, with me. And you don't have to go back there until we know exactly what's going on, understood?"
"Daddy—"
"No, baby." His expression softened, but the edge in it left no room for argument. "If you need to go there, I'll go with you. You were already going to stay here for a couple of days anyway. What's a few more between a Daddy and his boy?" He shrugged. "I'll go with you to talk to the police later, but you're not going there alone."
My throat felt tight, emotion threatening to bubble over. "You can't just..."
"Yes, I can." He brushed his thumb over my lower lip before leaning over to give me a soft kiss. "Let me handle this for you, okay? Let me be the Daddy. You've had enough thrown at you the last few weeks."
The lump forming in my throat made it hard to swallow, but there was still an overwhelming amount of relief flooding mysystem, knowing that someone else was going to take care of me for a while.
"Okay, Daddy."
"Good boy," he murmured, kissing me on my temple. "Now how about we get dressed, get you some breakfast and wait for that call from the cops?"
I nodded again, slower this time.
Colter gave me another kiss before climbing out of bed. He tugged on a T-shirt, then reached for my hand in silent invitation. It was such a simple gesture but it meant so much to me. I slid out from under the covers and let him help me out of bed, loving the feel of his hands on my waist as I stood in front of him, looking up into his handsome face.
"I know this is scary, baby. But if you let me, I'll be with you the whole way, and you won't need to worry about anything other than giving your Daddy grief for feeding you veggies, okay?"
I nodded in response before giving him one last, quick, chaste kiss. "Breakfast, Daddy?
He smiled, nodded, and grabbed my hand, and led me to the kitchen.
Chapter 19
The next couple of days blurred together. The detective's call had come and gone, and the visit to my house had been worse than I'd expected. Nothing had been taken, just like Mr Vorster had thought.
But not having anything stolen only made it worse. I felt violated in a way I couldn't explain, and didn't think I'd ever be comfortable going back there again.
Colter had been amazing, though. He hadn't let me go alone. Stayed close the entire time, one hand always touching me in some way.
By the time we got back to his place, I felt like a raw nerve, exposed and painful. He hadn't said much, just led me to the couch where he wrapped me up in a blanket and held me tight.
Now, two days later, the world felt a little lighter again. It was the day before Christmas Eve. There was Christmas music playing softly from the Bluetooth speakers, and the dogs had stationed themselves in front of the boxes of decorations like furry little guards.
Colter stood by the bare tree, rolling up his sleeves. "You ready to make this place look festive, baby?”
I smiled, the first real one in days. “Only if I get to put the topper on.”
