Page 26 of Haunted
“Well, I guess we haven’t technically gone on a date, but …” I stop abruptly, starting to get nervous. Did I overstep? Shit. I can’t remember dating. Dane was my high school sweetheart. Which explains why I married him—I was too young andwaytoo dumb.
Eli leans down and kisses my forehead. “I’m not sure I’ve ever truly dated, but I like the idea of doing it with you. I’m serious about you, Skittles. If you can handle everything that Ineed to tell you about myself, then you need to know that I’m all in. I don’t want to lose you.”
“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” I murmur, kissing his cheek before transferring my attention back to my daughter.
“Well? Let’s go find your bedroom!” I respond with excitement, purposefully to add to Cammie’s. I want this, but I need to make sure my daughter is happy, too.
Dad leads us to the first room in the small hall. It’s a bathroom-slash-washroom. There’s a stacked washer-dryer unit in the corner. A tub with shower, commode and small sink. On the wall by the washer and dryer there’s a homemade shelf that I assume is made to put detergent and things on. Underneath it is a mounted closet rod, to hang clothes on. It’s not ideal, but it will be fine for me and Cammie. Cammie doesn’t really have anything to say about it. It’s tiny but the white bead board and bright yellow accents help it not to feel closed in. Straight across from it is another door. Dad opens it and I swear it feels like my heart stops for a minute.
Inside the room is a bedroom that was clearly designed for Cammie. The paneled walls are painted a bright white, yet one wall is ballerina pink. There are fake flowers hung on the wall. A shelf that is holding a princess crown with pink gemstones. There’s a small loft bed, especially designed for toddlers because it’s got three wide steps instead of a ladder to the top. The bed is white with Olaf bedding on it. The bottom part has a pink curtain that makes it look like the entrance to a castle. Cammie cries out in happiness from beside me and the first thing she does is dive into the make-believe castle under her bed. Inside, I can see one of those Olaf beanbag chairs and new coloring books and crayons that are the big ones so Cammie can grip them easier. Cammie comes out holding Frozen coloring books and a stuffed Olaf that is over half her size. “Mommy! Is this really my room?” she says, her face happier than I’ve seen it all year.
“It is if we stay here. I think your Papaw and Eli fixed it especially for you.”
She turns to look at them. “You did?” she says, her voice full of wonder.
“We wanted you to like it, Pixie. Pez and I really would like to have you and your mommy closer to us.”
Cammie runs into my dad’s arms, and he lifts her up easily, hugging her close. Tears sting my eyes as Eli comes to stand beside me, his arm going around my back as his hand rests on my hip. My grin only deepens as Cammie climbs carefully up to her bed and tells her papaw how he’ll have to read to her standing up because her bed is so high. In reality it’s only about waist high on my dad, but he plays along exaggerating how he’s never seen a real princess bed before and he bets it’s just like Cinderella’s after she moved into the castle with the prince. I shake my head, feeling more content than I ever remember feeling before.
Eli leans down and points to the small door across from the bed. “That’s the closet. There are a few new outfits in there, mostly because I couldn’t help myself,” he explains.
“I don’t even know what to say at this point, Eli.”
“Would you like to see your bedroom?”
“I’m not sure it’s safe to be in there with you right now,” I tell him, meaning every single word.
“I would never do anything you don’t want, Daphne. More importantly, I would never try anything with your father and daughter in the next room.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about right now, Eli,” I mutter.
His body goes rigid and when I look up, he’s staring at me with a mixture of shock and happiness on his face. I roll my eyes and walk toward the room at the end of the hall. I open it without much thought, but I lose my breath when I look in the room. It’s bigger, almost the size of the living area andkitchen. It’s a little unusual. The floor is all tiled and one end is the bathroom. There’s a big shower, a decent sized sink, and also a large vanity. There’s a door beside the shower and one out from the vanity. My gaze moves to a seating area that’s out from the shower. It looks like it is set up for a person who reads. There’s a bookcase beside the oversized chaise. There’s a big bed. I’m going to say it’s definitely a king. There’s a coverlet on top in the color of coral and khaki. It has little flowers on the underside that you can see when it’s turned over. The top side is completely coral with just a border line of the khaki. There’s a mound of pillows on top, too. There are matching nightstands on each side with small lamps. At the foot of the bed is a matching cabinet. There’s a remote on the cabinet and when I pick it up, Eli leans over and pushes a button. Slowly a TV rises out of the cabinet. It’s a nice size. I’d say maybe a sixty inch. I look at Eli.
“Are you planning on watching the game in my bedroom, too?”
He grins. “The last thing I want to do in your bedroom is watch television, Skittles. I just figured on those nights when you missed me so much and had to watch it to get to sleep.”
“Do you think we could stop with just one kiss, Eli? Because I really want to kiss you right now.”
“Let’s find out,” he suggests, pulling me into his arms.
We didn’t stop with one kiss. I lost count at four, but we kept at it until Dad banged on the door asking if we were ready to see the downstairs. I wasn’t and I don’t think Eli was either.But we went anyway.
Chapter 20
Pez
“Do you like your nuggets, Pixie?”I ask. We’re having dinner at a diner just down from the spot where I’m hoping Daphne puts her bakery.
“Nuggies,” she corrects, but she doesn’t look up.
She seems pensive. I look at Sabre and he just shrugs. Apparently, he has no idea what’s wrong. Daphne frowns and watches her daughter closely. I can see the concern in her eyes and I’m suddenly afraid all of my careful planning with Sabre is falling apart. If Cammie isn’t happy here, there’s no way that Daphne will agree to move closer. I mean, if she hears my past and still agrees to a relationship with me, I can always commute to the clubhouse. It will be harder to make sure she’s safe though. I don’t think Dane would do anything stupid, but you never know. I don’t like being away from them. If something did happen, it would take too long to be by her and Cammie’s side. That doesn’t sit well with me at all.
“Cammie, sweetheart? What’s wrong?” Daphne asks, looking over at her daughter. Sabre is beside her and he keeps moving his hand up and down on her head, and I can tell he feels as useless as I do.
“Mama, if we move, what will happen to Nana Cory?”
I see Daphne grow stiff. This is obviously a reaction from Cammie that even she didn’t expect. I frown and see Sabre doing the same thing. She rubs her forehead with her fingers as she tries to find a way to approach the topic with her daughter.
