Solitary.
I didn’t like people in my space.
But shit…
“Did you know my name is Eva, and I amfee?” She held up three fingers. “How many are you?”
That time she only got an exasperated shake of my head as I shoved the tent into the small bag and forced the zipper closed.
I stood, and the little girl did, too, that smile unending and canted in my direction, which meant she basically had her head tipped all the way back. Soft curls the same cinnamon color as her mother’s framed her cherub face, the brown locks tinted with wisps of shiny red, though the strands were messy and tangled.
Her shirt was smudged with dirt and debris. No doubt from being out here camping on my property.
Disquiet stirred through my being. My mind whirled through every scenario that might have brought Daisy to my door. What would have led her to take these drastic measures.
I was sick at the thought that she might have been in pain for even a day of her life after I left her.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way.
The child hopped from foot to foot. “Now we get to go to your house?”
Agitation stirred through my middle. “Looks like it.”
To my great misfortune.
“Iwikethat idea,” she drew out.
I didn’t. I didn’t like that idea a bit, you know, considering it was a terrible one.
Torture.
But I was owed this sentence.
I glanced at where Daisy knelt to help her little boy put his things into a backpack.
The older girl, Addy, who was the fucking spittin’ image of her mom, slung her bag onto her back and proudly stated, “All done.”
“Good job,” Daisy told her, soft encouragement from the woman, while a halo of turmoil whipped around her being every time she peeked over at me.
A disturbance pitched through my spirit, and I tossed the tent bag strap over my shoulder and snatched the blanket from the ground. “We need to go. It’s getting dark.”
Blue eyes going wide, Colin popped onto his feet. His wavy, short hair was lighter than the girls’. A golden brown that emphasized the freckles smattered across his nose and cheeks. “Are there monsters in the forest at night, Mr. Cash? I need to be ready ’cause I gotta take care of my girls.”
He held up two little fists and kicked an awkward foot into the air.
Duke barked, doing a circle around the kid, his tail wagging like he was offering his approval.
What the kid didn’t know was there were monsters everywhere.
Night and day.
Or maybe he did know. Maybe he had seen it. Witnessed it. Bore the ramifications of it, which was why he thought he needed to take care of his family.
Couldn’t fucking stomach the thought. The idea of Daisy falling into jeopardy.
She was supposed to be better off without me. The danger that I was removed from her so she could live without the tragedy I wreaked.
She was supposed to behappy.
