“Appreciate that. Not too many marshmallows,” he calls after us as Daddy leads me into the kitchen.
Once we’re there, Daddy hooks his hands beneath my armpits and hoists me up onto the counter. “All right, bug. You have a very important job.”
“What’s that?”
Pulling a bag down from the cabinet, he hands it to me. “You’re on marshmallow duty.” Daddy’s grin flashes, quick and boyish and so reminiscent of who he was twenty years ago it takes my breath away. “And just ignore your Uncle Axel. He has some very weird opinions on what constitutes ‘too many marshmallows’.”
The familiarity of it, of running circles around the eldest Kincaid-turned-Thorne brother has tears stinging my eyes. And I realize then how much I’ve truly missed them. Not just theboy who became my everything, but all of them. How much I’ve missed having afamily.
“Aw, what’s wrong, bug?”
My instinct is to just smile and brush it off. Tell him nothing’s wrong.
But why should I spare him the misery he caused? If he wants to keep me here, then he should have to face the consequences of their actions. “It’s just hitting me how much I’ve really missed you all. I don’t think you understand what it did to me, losing my whole family all at once like that. You had each other, but I had no one, especially after my parents died.”
Regret fills his eyes. “There are no words I can say to tell you how fucking sorry I am, Josie. But you have to believe, if I could have brought you with me, I would have. It was just too dangerous. I missed you, every fucking day, but I could never have lived with myself if anything happened to you.”
I hate that his explanation makes sense. That I can understand how, in his mind, he was protecting me from the worst kind of danger.
And I hate even more that I can feel myself softening toward him, toward the others. That I can feel the righteous fury draining away with every second I spend in their presence.
I’m grappling with those feelings when Eli steps into the kitchen, his frown evident despite the beard obscuring most of his face. “Why is there a Little girl sitting on my clean counter?”
“Because her Daddy put her there, Elias,” Daddy shoots back as he pulls several mugs down from the cabinet. “She isn’t hurting anything.”
Eli grunts. “Just make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. Little girls shouldn’t be climbing on things.”
In the distance, the unmistakable sound of a palm cracking against a bare bottom echoes, followed by Lanie’s cries ofdistress. Glancing over at Daddy, Eli raises a brow. “What did she do now?”
“Refused to come inside when Axel said to and stomped her foot at him.”
Eli sighs and shakes his head. “Sometimes I think that girl likes having her bottom roasted on a regular basis.”
“She absolutely does,” Daddy agrees with a chuckle. He scoops brown liquid out of a slow cooker and pours it into one of the mugs before setting it beside me. “You're up, Marshmallow Queen.”
Despite the heavy conversation from earlier, a giggle bubbles in my chest as I scoop out as many marshmallows as I can fit in my hand and dump them in the mug.
“Perfect.” Daddy looks at the bag in my hand and frowns. “Eli, add mini marshmallows to your shopping list, we’re running low.”
“Will do.”
With a jolt, I remember that my whole reason for wanting to go out and play in the snow was so I could figure out where Eli’s car was and hitch a ride. How the hell did I forget my plan so quickly?
Determined to get back on track, I watch Eli move around the kitchen, preparing what looks to be sandwiches for lunch. “When are you going into town, Uncle Eli?”
“After lunch.” He looks over, another frown tugging at his lips, as if he can tell what I’m planning just from that one little question.
“Perfect,” Daddy says, surprising both me and Eli, if the raising of the latter’s brows is anything to judge by. “I need to pick some things up for Josie to hold her over until Maxwell’s package arrives, so we’ll just ride in with you.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Eli’s voice is rough and growly, making it clear thathedoes not think it’s a good idea at all. “What if she tries to run?”
I open my mouth to assure him I won’t do anything of the sort, but Daddy beats me to it. “She won’t, will you, Josie?” Laying a hand on the back of my neck, he squeezes, and my body recognizes the gesture for the warning it is. “Because not only is she myverygood girl, she knows that if she tries to run, or tell anyone that we’re holding her hostage up here, that we’ll have no choice but to eliminate the threat. And you don’t want to put anyone else in danger, do you, baby?”
He’s bluffing. He has to be bluffing. The boy I fell in love with would never threaten innocent people like that.
But all it takes is one look in his dark eyes to realize he’s completely, terrifyingly serious. The man in front of me is nothing like the boy I knew.Thisman would have absolutely no problem taking out anyone or anything he views as a threat to his family. And as desperate as I am to escape, I’m not willing to put anyone else in danger to do so.
So even though I can feel my hope withering in my chest, I force a bright smile. “Of course not, Daddy.”
