The Hot Daddy Box Set

by Lexi Wilson

  “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know, Mom. I’ve given her painkillers and cleaned up her wounds as best as I could. I think she just needs to sleep a bit now. I’ll talk to her in the morning when she wakes up again. For now, she just needs sleep. I just hope I did the right thing.”

  “I hope so too. But you think she’ll be fine?”

  “Mom, she says she’s been through this so many times, which is why she knows that she’s okay. Who would do this to her more than once? I don’t understand.”

  “Did she tell you who it was?”

  “She said his name was Bill, but that’s all she said. She wasn’t ready to talk. She could barely get the words out. I’m going to wait until tomorrow. But it’s time for me to get some answers. I’m so worried about her.”

  “You need to find out as much as you can. She’s in your house now, and this is about you now too.”

  “I will. Is Allie okay?” I asked.

  “Allie is fine. She has no idea. Mindy is here too. I thought it would be good if we kept her busy. The two of them are watching cartoons now. She’s having a great time. But what are we going to tell her?”

  “I don’t know. Just keep her for now. I’ll talk to Kaylee in the morning and we’ll figure something out.”

  “Okay. I love you, darling. Don’t worry. You’re doing the best you can.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure. Right now, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing.

  “She’s going to be fine,” my mother said, as if reading my thoughts.

  “I hope so, Mom. I don’t want to lose her.”

  I put the phone down and sat back with Kaylee. I pushed some damp hair out of her face and felt the tears rushing down my face as I looked at her.

  “I love you, Kaylee,” I said. “I love you so much.”

  Chapter 26

  Kaylee

  I woke up with a start. I didn’t know where I was or why my entire body was throbbing. At first, I thought I must be having a nightmare. I often had dreams about being abused by Bill, and the dreams often felt so real that it took me a long time to realize it wasn’t real. My eyes were still closed. I was too scared to open them again in case I saw Bill in front of me. I was confused. My body was too sore for it to not be real, and yet I felt somewhat safe and I wasn’t sure why. My eyes flew open as I realized where I was. I was safe. I was at Jaxon’s house, and I had never wanted to be anywhere else in my entire life. But where was Allie?

  “Allie!” I screamed. I sat up, but the pain was so intense that it knocked me right down again. “Allie...” I cried.

  Suddenly Jaxon was by my side. I was so happy to see him. He gripped my hand and told me that everything was going to be okay.

  “Allie,” I said again. “Where’s Allie?”

  “Don’t worry. She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s with my mother. And I spoke to my mother this morning and she told me that Allie is fine. They’re going to see a movie today, and she’s very excited. She had no idea what’s going on. I told my mother to just keep her busy and to spoil her lots so that she doesn’t realize what’s going on.”

  I nodded and the tears ran down my face. “Thank you,” I said.

  Knowing that Allie was okay was all that I needed. I was still coming to, and the memories from the day before were still forming in my head. I was so worried that Allie had been taken. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if Bill had managed to take her. I had never been more grateful for Jaxon and his family. I looked at Jaxon now. He looked exhausted, and I had a feeling that he had stayed up all night to make sure that I was okay. I wasn’t surprised, though. It was just the sort of thing that Jaxon would do. I reached out for him.

  “Thank you, Jaxon. You saved me. You saved me,” I said. “How…”

  “Don’t worry about anything right now. I’m going to get you some more painkillers, then I’m going to get you something to eat and drink. Okay?”

  “No food,” I said. “Just pills.”

  “No, you need to eat. I’m not giving you pills without food.”

  “I’m fine. I’m fine. Just pills,” I said again. I couldn’t bear the thought of eating right now. My stomach was churning, and I had far too many things to worry about right now. But Jaxon was having none of it.

  “You’re eating. I’ll be right back,” he said as he made his way to the kitchen.

  I could hear him pottering around making food and coffee, and I welled up. I couldn’t see him from where I was sitting but I could hear him, and the fact that he was going out of his way to help me made me feel so emotional. He was the complete opposite of Bill. When he came back he had a bowl of oatmeal for me and a cup of tea.

  “Nothing big to eat, I know you’re not hungry, but you need food in you. Let me help you sit up,” he said. He propped me up with some pillows and then handed me some pills with some water. I swallowed them gratefully and then took the bowl of oatmeal.

  The first mouthful was horrible, but the more I ate, the hungrier I realized I was, and I finished the entire bowl in no time. Jaxon seemed pleased and rushed off to get me some more. Once done, I sat with him on the sofa, both of us drinking some tea. I knew he was waiting for the pills to kick in before talking to me. He stroked my leg and smiled at me, and I smiled back.

  “I must look a mess,” I said to him.

  “You’re always beautiful to me,” he said. “Are the pills working?”

  “Almost,” I said. “Almost. Jaxon, could you help me take a bath?” I asked.

  “Of course.”

  I had a sudden urge to feel clean, and when Jaxon took me to the bathroom I gasped as I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I was bruised and beaten, and as Jaxon took my clothes off, I turned away. I knew the bruises would go away. I had been through this before. I knew that they always looked terrible at the start. I winced as I climbed into the water. Jaxon and I didn’t say a word to one another. He ran water and soap over my body and even managed to clean my hair. Then he helped me out and put me in some clean clothes. We then went back to the living room, where he made me a hot cup of cocoa. I knew that I owed it to him to tell him the truth now.

  “Jaxon,” I started. “Thank you for everything. You’ve been so good to me.”

  “Are you feeling a bit better? Because if you want to get a medical professional to look at you, we can still do that.”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m going to be fine. Thank you, Jaxon. The pills are helping so much. Having you here with me also helps me so much. I can’t thank you enough. How did you know how to find me?” I asked.

  “I didn’t. I just decided to come and help you with the pizza. I honestly have no idea why I decided to come and find you. All I know is that something compelled me to come and suddenly you were lying there on the floor. Do you remember what happened? Who is Bill? You kept saying his name.”

  I nodded. “Bill is the guy I ran away from. Bill… Bill is my husband.”

  “Your husband!” he gasped. “You’re married?”

  “I’m sorry, Jaxon. I should’ve told you. I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you. But I was never supposed to meet someone like you. I was never supposed to get close to anyone. That was never my plan.”

  “I know,” he said. “But I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. Are you ready to tell me what is going on? Because I’ve been very patient, but I really think I deserve to know now.”

  “You do deserve to know,” I said. “And you’ve been incredible with me. I don’t deserve you.”

  “Oh, Kaylee, you deserve the whole world.”

  I smiled between my tears, then took a sip of my tea. “I’m ready to tell you.”

  I took a deep breath as I prepared myself for the truth bomb that was about to go off. I knew I should’ve told him a long time ago, but I was grateful that he had hung around despite this.

  “I met Bill at church,” I said. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked suddenly.

  “
Ah, I’m just not surprised that church has something to do with this. I had a feeling that you didn’t want to come to church with me for a reason.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Church is where I met him. I used to play the piano in church, just like you did, and he was a deacon in training. He was older than me and very revered in the church community. When he asked me out, I said yes. He was a good-looking guy and he seemed nice enough. I didn’t feel anything toward him, but everyone promised me that I was very lucky to have a guy like this after me. Apparently, all the girls were into him. But he liked me. So, I went out with him a few times and it was okay. I was very inexperienced, so I had no idea how I was supposed to feel. My parents told me it was love.”

  “But it wasn’t?” Jaxon asked.

  I shook my head. “No, it definitely wasn’t love. I know that now. Actually, I think I knew that all along. Back then though, I wasn’t sure. My parents convinced me. I always just wanted to please my parents. I knew they wanted me to find love and be settled and they just wanted the best for me. I figured I’d keep trying in case I really was in love and just didn’t know it. And then they died in a car accident…and…” I choked at the words. It was such a hard time in my life, and I tried desperately not to think about it.

  “Oh, Kaylee, I’m so sorry,” he said.

  I nodded. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s life, I guess. It was a tough time, and Bill was there for me. He really was. When he asked me to marry him, I said yes. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to marry him but I thought it would be something that my parents would want. So, I said yes. After that though, Bill changed.”

  Jaxon squeezed my hand. “What happened?”

  “We hadn’t even had sex before marriage. He told me that we had to wait because of our religious beliefs. I didn’t mind. Like I said, I was very young and inexperienced. I was happy to wait. Something snapped in him the night of our wedding. I was nervous and I didn’t want to do anything, but he forced himself on me. I was so scared. I told him that he didn’t have to do that. I told him that we were married and that I would have sex with him soon, but he wouldn’t listen to me. After that, the abuse just got worse and worse. He forced sex on me all the time. There was not one time that I wanted to do it. He made me. And he told me that he wanted me to have lots of his babies. He believed that was his duty. He would quote scripture at me and would tell me that I would have to be submissive. It was horrible, Jaxon. It was so horrible,” I said, and I burst into tears.

  For a while I just sobbed while Jaxon tried to console me. The more I cried the more my ribs hurt, but I couldn’t stop. I hadn’t spoken to anyone about what I had been through yet. I had tried to be strong, especially for Allie, but I could no longer feel that strength. My body trembled as I finally allowed myself to let go.

  “And then I got pregnant, and that’s when everything changed for me. Bill never stopped abusing me. He still hit me, making sure to hit me everywhere but my stomach. And it wasn’t just physical. He abused me mentally too. Over and over again. When I had little Allie in my arms I knew that I had to get out. I knew then that I had to do it for my daughter. I couldn’t bring her into this world with a father like that. I just couldn’t. I spent three years planning my escape, saving money, and doing everything I could just to have enough to leave. It took me a long time. I kept waiting for the right moment, but the right moment never came. One day, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I knew I had to leave before Allie was old enough to really realize what was going on. So, we got in my car, and we drove. And drove and drove.”

  “And you ended up here,” he said.

  I nodded. “I ended up here.”

  “Why did you choose this town?” he asked.

  “I didn’t. I think the town chose me. It was the only place I felt safe in and I had no idea why. I guess it was because I was supposed to meet you.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in serendipity,” he said.

  I smiled. “I never used to. I do now.”

  “Kaylee, I’m so sorry that you have been through all of this. I’m so sorry. I would do anything to take this away from you. I hate that this has happened.”

  “I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you, Jaxon. You deserved to know.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I can understand. I had to prove myself to you first. I know that. I know how hard it must be for to trust someone.”

  “I trust you,” I said.

  He nodded. “I know.”

  Then I started crying again, amazed at the amount of tears that kept pouring down my face. Over and over again. I curled into a ball as Jaxon held me.

  Chapter 27

  Jaxon

  I let Kaylee cry for a while. I held her in my arms while she sobbed against me. I felt helpless and I wished there was more that I could do, but I knew that just being there for her was something. I hated to think how many times she had been through this without anyone with her to console her. The thought of her being all alone after something like this made me feel sick to my stomach. She’d suffered through this for years without anyone to help her, not even her parents. I wanted to be angry at her parents for pushing her to a man like this, but I couldn’t be upset with them. I was sure that they had no idea what he was really like. Some people were just good at lying.

  “Kaylee,” I said to her. “What happened yesterday? How did he find you? Did he mention anything? Was he the guy who tried to mug you the last time?”

  “I have no idea,” she said. “I came home and I was searching in my bag for my keys. Then suddenly I felt someone behind me, and I turned around and he was there. He knocked me down and told me that I couldn’t run away from him. He told me that I was his and that he was going to take me back. He kicked me and punched me. I screamed and told him to stop. It was awful, Jaxon. He had this look in his eyes,” she said, and then shuddered. “Then…then you arrived. You saved me. Did he… did he come back?”

  “No. He hasn’t. At least, not that I know of. I’ve had the door closed and I haven’t been to sleep. So as far as I know he hasn’t been back, but I have no idea if he’s been lurking or not. But, Kaylee we’ve got to call the cops. This guy came after you. He’s been searching for you, and I highly doubt that he’s going to just give up. He definitely doesn’t seem like the sort of guy that just gives up. What if he’s just waiting for us to come outside? We have to be smart about this. There is only so much I can do.”

  “No, Jaxon. Please. We can’t call the cops. We can’t.”

  “Why not? I don’t understand. This guy has just beaten you up. You are in the right here, not him.”

  “No, you don’t understand what he’s like. He’s so good at fooling people. And, worst of all, he’s a church guy who comes from a powerful family. They won’t believe me. They’ll believe him.”

  “What if you just try? What if you just go to the cops and tell them the truth? You might be wrong about this. You might discover that they believe you and not him. It’s worth a shot, Kaylee,” I said.

  She shook her head and looked me in the eyes. “Don’t you see, Jaxon? Don’t you see?” she said. “If we go to the cops then he’s going to tell them that I’m taking his daughter away from him. Do you know what’s going to happen then? He’s going to get custody of Allie. It won’t even be shared custody. He’ll take her from me. How can I take a chance on that? If Allie wasn’t in the picture, then of course I would go to the cops. I’m not thinking about me anymore, I’m thinking about her. You have to understand. And as much as I want to stay here with you, if you try to call the cops then I will leave. That is my only choice. The only thing I want to do right now is to protect her. I can’t take the chance of them taking Allie away from me. He’s a monster, Jaxon. A monster. Who knows what he will do to her?”

  I did understand. I hadn’t thought about it like that before, and as I sat back in my chair I thought about what a mess all of this was. I didn’t know what to do. I had just found out that the girl I had fallen in lov
e with was married to a monster. She was still married. I let that thought mill around in my head for a while. It was a hard pill to swallow. I probably should’ve known, though. She had all the signs of a scared and battered wife. I always knew that there was something very serious that she wasn’t telling me. How could I be mad at her? I had been the one to go along with it. I had sworn to protect her no matter what was going on. I knew that she hadn’t done anything that I wouldn’t have done if I were in her position. She was looking after her daughter, and there was nothing wrong with that.

  “Okay, okay,” I said to her. “It’s fine. I won’t call them. I promise.”

  Relief flooded her face. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, Kaylee, what are you going to do?” I asked.

  “I’m going to have to leave again,” she said. “It’s the only option. I won’t call the cops on him, but I won’t hang around, either. I’m going to have to go.”

  I stared at her in surprise. It was not the answer I had been expecting of her. “What? You want to leave?” I asked. “Why would you want to leave? I thought you said that you felt safe here? You told me that. You told me that this was the one place that you felt safe.”

  “I do. I mean, I did. I don’t know what to think anymore. How can I stay? He knows where I am now. He doesn’t just know the town I’m in but he also knows the house that I’m staying in. It won’t take long for him to also figure out that I work at the school. He knows now. I should’ve known that he’d eventually come back. He’s not the sort of guy to let me get away with this. He wants to be in control of me. I have no other option but to keep moving.”

  “And then what? He followed you here and he’ll just follow you somewhere else. At least here you have me to protect you. If you move you’ll be on your own. What’s the point in that, Kaylee? You’re only going to make things worse. Come on, stay with me. Stay and let’s fight this. I can’t let you go. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that you are out there while this monster is trying to find you. I just couldn’t.”