Daddy's Sweet Girl (Montana Daddies, #3)

by Roberts, Laylah

  “I was scared Max would hurt you.”

  “He couldn’t hurt me.”

  “You don’t know what he’s capable of.” A shiver rocked her body. “He doesn’t fight fair, Kent.”

  “When something is important to me, neither do I.”

  He wasn’t certain if she believed him or not and in the end it didn’t matter. Because it was the truth. And he had no intention of letting her brother hurt either of them.

  “There’s going to come a time when you and I will have a chat about all of this, keeping promises, telling me when you are in trouble so I can take care of you. Not telling me when you’ve been hurt or threatened or forced to pay off a debt you don’t owe. But that time is not now. All I want from you right now is to trust me.”

  “I do.”

  A throat cleared and he glanced over to where he knew Ed had been standing the last couple of minutes. Abby jumped in his arms and he thought she might try to climb off, so he held her gently against him.

  “My guys are here,” Ed said, walking forward. “Abby, I’m going to need a description of the guy who threatened you.”

  “It was so dark. I didn’t see much of him. He was tall. Had dark short hair. That’s all.”

  “Think you could look at mugshots for me? Be good to know who we’re dealing with and I’m thinking that he might have something to do with what went on here.”

  “I-I guess.”

  “Not tonight, she can’t,” Kent said firmly.

  “She’s going home with you?” Ed asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Wait. What? I am?”

  Kent leaned back and grasped hold of her chin, raising her face to his. “You are. You can’t stay here. It’s a wreck. And it’s not safe. I’ll get someone here to deal with the door. And I’ll arrange a cleaning crew.”

  “I can’t let you do all that.”

  “You’re not letting me do anything. I’m doing it. And I’m taking you home so I can care for you properly. Okay?”

  She took in a breath and then nodded slowly. “Yes. Okay.”

  “What about Markovich? Want to press charges against him?” the sheriff asked.

  She shook her head. No way. Ed sighed. “Figured that was gonna be your answer. Do you have any idea where Max is now? What this guy might have wanted from him?”

  “No. He wouldn’t tell me, he just said it was his pay-day and he wasn’t giving it back. I don’t where he is now.” She rubbed at her head and he reached up with his other hand and massaged her neck gently.

  “All right. You think of anything else, you let me know. I’ll be in touch about coming in to look at those mugshots.”

  Kent lifted her off his lap. “Let’s get some clothes packed for you and grab Bun-bun.”

  She gaped up at him, devastation clouding her eyes.

  “What is it, baby?”

  “They...they destroyed Bun-bun.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  His heart actually hurt for her.

  He glanced over at where she sat in the passenger seat of his truck. She seemed so small and delicate. When she’d told him that they’d destroyed Bun-bun, he could actually feel her pain. He’d hoped there might be some chance of resurrecting her stuffed rabbit, but when he’d seen it, he’d realized it was hopeless.

  Who the hell slashed open a soft toy like that? And all of her clothes were destroyed. Someone had gone through her small wardrobe. They’d done their best to destroy everything she owned.

  He pulled up outside one of the small clothing boutiques on the main street of Wishingbone.

  “What are we doing?” she asked, turning to him.

  Poor darling, she was so exhausted. Soft trembles rocked her body. He wanted to get her home, fed and into bed as soon as possible. But he also knew it would make her feel better if she had something to wear when she got up in the morning. He had a few things she could wear, but if she wasn’t comfortable with what he’d bought for her, he wanted her to have something she could put on.

  He wanted her comfortable in his place. With him.

  It was then that he realized this felt completely right to him. He’d had relationships last for months and never once had the urge to ask his girlfriend to move in with him. But with Abby, he was imagining...forever.

  “We’re going to do some shopping for you.”

  “Oh, right, yeah.” She frowned. “Um, I can’t afford to shop there, though. Normally, if I need something, I just go to Walmart.”

  “Walmart is on the other side of town. This is closer.”

  “No, well, I guess we could go to the secondhand shop that’s along the next block.”

  “We could.” He climbed from the truck and came around to her side. She was still sitting there, seatbelt on, staring at him in confusion. “Why are we getting out? Are we walking there?”

  He reached over her, his arm brushing against her breasts as he undid her seatbelt. She shivered. “Oh.”

  Kent bit back a smile. He reached up and lifted her down. He wished he’d brought the booster seat with him that he’d purchased for her.

  There’d be time to introduce that later. He set her on her feet reluctantly, but made certain to brush her body against his. Probably wasn’t very fair of him. She certainly wasn’t up to any play. But he loved the feel of her against him. He loved doing things for her. Like undoing her seatbelt, lifting her in and out of his truck. And he was definitely going to enjoy spoiling her.

  If anyone could use some spoiling, it was Abby.

  How little she had appalled him and now that he knew where all her spare money went...it was horrifying. No wonder she worked as many hours as she could. He cursed himself for having his head up his ass and not actually thinking about what all the clues added up to.

  “No, we’re shopping here.”

  She tugged at his hand. “Kent, I can’t shop in there.”

  He stopped with a sigh and turned to her. Gently he cupped the back of her neck with his hand. “Baby girl, you’re not paying for anything. I am buying you what you need.”

  She tried to shake her head but couldn’t with his hand holding her still. “I can’t let you do that. I don’t know when I can pay you back.”

  “You’re not letting me and you’re not paying me back.”

  “No.”

  “You’re very cute when you try to out-stubborns me. But it’s not going to work. Nobody out-stubborn me. Well, except for Clint. This is happening. I want to do this for you. I need to.”

  “I don’t want to take advantage—”

  “Baby, stop.” He placed a finger on her lips. “I offered. I don’t offer to do things I don’t want to do. I have to do this. It makes me feel like I’m looking after you.”

  “I don’t need your money.”

  He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I know you don’t. But this is important to me, so you’re going to let me do it.”

  She sighed. But she walked towards the shop with him without arguing. “Are you sure Clint can out-stubborn you?”

  “Hard to believe, isn’t it?” He held open the door for her. But she just stared up at him, clinging to his hand. “Not ready to let go, baby?”

  She shook her head.

  “All right, then you don’t have to. Just keep hold of me, I’ll steer you through.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Just keep hold of me, I’ll steer you through.

  As they drove through the gates that led to Sanctuary Ranch, those words kept running through her head. She resisted the urge to stare at the bags filling the backseat.

  She’d almost had a Pretty Woman moment in the shop. Especially when she’d seen the look on Clarissa’s face when she’d seen who Kent Jensen was buying up a storm for. Clarissa was one of Gloria’s friends. And she’d never even spoken to Abby.

  Yeah, that had been kind of fun. Seeing the way the other woman’s mouth had gaped open.

  But the thought of Gloria brought up another problem.

  Sh
e turned her gaze away from the window. Night had now fallen, and she couldn’t see much beyond the truck’s headlights.

  “I have work tomorrow. Late shift. Can you drive me in?”

  “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, sweetheart. For now, I want you to try and relax. Forget it all for a while.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “I can think of one way it can happen.” He reached the peak of a hill and down in the valley, lights blazed.

  “Wow, how many people live here?”

  “Probably not as many as you’d think,” he replied. “My place is up by security headquarters, it’s a bit of a rough ride so you’ll need to hang on.” He took a turn before he reached what she thought must be the main house due to the size of it. Wow, he wasn’t kidding when he said it would be a rough ride. She held on tight to the sides of the seat beneath her as she bounced around.

  Kent reached across her at a particularly rough spot, placing his arm over her to hold her in place. That was unbelievably sweet even if totally unnecessary.

  “Shouldn’t you keep both hands on the wheel!” She tried not to sound too demanding when really what she wanted to scream was, keep both hands on the damn wheel!

  Kent chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve driven this path so many times I can do it with my eyes closed.”

  “Well, don’t!”

  “Baby, I would never. Especially not with something as precious as you with me.”

  Oh boy, the things he said to her. They spoke straight to that place inside her that felt unnoticed. Insecure.

  He even slowed down slightly, although she wasn’t sure that made the ride any better. When they finally pulled up outside an A-frame log cabin with lights burning from the front windows, she felt like her head was close to rolling right off her neck.

  “Wait in here while I go light the fire and turn up the heat,” he said, not turning the truck off. “I’ll also carry in all your stuff.”

  “I can help,” she offered.

  He shook his head. “No, I don’t want you catching a chill. Just stay in here. I mean it.” There was a stern note to his voice.

  She nodded her head. Honestly, she was too tired to argue even if she wanted to. The manners her nana had drilled into her dictated she offer to help, but she was pleased just to wait in the warmth. There was a chill that had settled deep inside that had more to do with the wreck her life had become than the weather outside.

  “Abby, what if I said there was a way you could let all your worries go for a while and just be?”

  “I’d say it sounds impossible.”

  “Not impossible. But you’d need to let your Little side out. Your Little doesn’t have to worry about big girl stuff. She just needs to worry about obeying Daddy. And if she doesn’t, Daddy will deal with that. I know it’s fast and I know you’re probably not ready. But if you want me to take over, to take that role for you, then just know there is nothing I want more right now. I’ll give you some time to think. Stay here.”

  He’d give her some time to think? She gaped at his back as he strode up the steps onto the large porch at the front of the A-frame. Another time she would have been more intrigued by his place. But right now, her mind was caught on his words.

  The last thing she wanted right now was to think.

  And yet, as exhausted as she was, wasn’t that exactly what would happen as soon as she was on her own? But how did she let her Little out?

  She startled as the back door to the truck’s cab opened and he reached in to grab all the bags in one sweep.

  “I can hear you thinking from here, sweetheart,” he told her quietly. “It’s all going to be okay, Abby. Nothing happens you don’t want to happen.”

  She watched him walk into the house once more, this man who insisted she stay in the warm truck while he trudged back and forth in the cold. Who called her each night, telling her amusing stories about his day even though she was sure that he spent much of his day doing things that weren’t funny at all.

  He’d told her he would take care of her.

  This time she saw him come back out of the house and walk to her side of the truck. He opened the door and in his arms was a thick blanket. “Gonna wrap you up in this and carry you in, sweet girl so you don’t get so cold.”

  And that’s when she knew what her answer would be.

  “I’ll do it.”

  “What?” he asked as he reached across her to undo her seatbelt.

  “I want to try what you said. I want to let my Little side out. I don’t want to think or worry or stress. I’m just, I’m not sure how to do that.”

  “Leave that to me. I have an idea.”

  KENT GLANCED OVER AT where Abby lay on the sofa in front of the crackling fire. She had a blanket over her. He slid the grilled cheese onto a child’s bamboo plate that had a picture of a monkey on it. The matching cup was filled with water, knowing how she felt about milk. He’d cut the grilled cheese into quarters already. He slid his own sandwich onto another plate and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

  Then he juggled everything as he carried it into the living room. He had yet to expand on his idea to help her Little side take over. First, he wanted to feed her. Besides, this might help some.

  When he reached the couch, he could see that she was half-asleep. Her cheeks now had a bit of color in them. Her eyes were sleepy as she gazed up at him.

  “Oh hey, you didn’t have to go to any bother,” she said.

  “No bother, it’s just grilled cheese but I thought comfort food might be good after a day like you’ve had. I’m afraid it’s about the extent of my culinary skills, besides working a grill that is.”

  She smiled as she sat. “I like to cook. It was just never really worth it for one person.”

  She ran her fingers through her hair which had slid free of the ponytail she’d had it tied up in. It lay in soft curls around her face. The scent of strawberry wafted out to him as he placed the plates down then settled in next to her. He grabbed her plate. She studied it curiously.

  “Is that a monkey?”

  “Yep. I thought it was cute.”

  Her grin widened. “It is.”

  He picked up one quarter of her sandwich and blew on it. Her eyes widened as she watched him. He brought it to his lips...as though he was testing the temperature. Then he handed it to her. “Perfect temperature, little one.”

  She took the piece of sandwich in awe of what had just happened. She couldn’t remember anyone checking the temperature her food for her before she ate it. She had a bite, even though she wasn’t really that hungry. In fact, she felt a bit nauseous. He was right, though, it was the perfect temperature and as she ate her stomach settled. When she was ready, she reached for the plate which he’d put on the coffee table.

  “Uh-uh, let me.” He grabbed it, going through the same ritual. By the time the sandwich was eaten, she was feeling full, sleepy, content and completely cared for.

  She leaned back with a yawn. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, sweet girl.” He stood and gathered up the plates, handing her the cup of water. “I want you to drink all that, okay?”

  She nodded and drank it down thirstily.

  “Now, do you want a bath before bed?” he asked.

  “Actually, I’m so tired I think I’d just fall asleep in it,” she told him.

  “Can’t have that,” he said firmly. Then he reached out a hand to her.

  She was so tired that she knew she should go to bed and yet she also didn’t want to be by herself.

  “Could we watch television for a while?”

  He shook his head. “You’re exhausted. You need your sleep. Don’t worry, I’ve got some ideas to get you to relax. Come with me.”

  She took hold of his hand and he led her to a staircase. “Your house is gorgeous.”

  “Thanks. I like it. There are three bedrooms upstairs, the master has its own bathroom, so you can have this one to yourself.” He opened a door an
d she glanced in on a truly beautify; bathroom done in gray and cream, complete with sunken tub. She sighed.

  “Okay?”

  “I’m regretting telling you that I didn’t want a bath. That looks amazing.”

  He smiled at her. “You can have one tomorrow night. Now, for your room.” He walked through an open doorway across the hall and turned on a light. She followed him in, blinking in surprise. It was a large room with a big window taking up most of one wall. He walked over and pulled the drapes across. The bed had a soft pink bedspread on it. Laid out on the bedspread were a few pairs of what appeared to be onesie pajamas. Lying against the pillow were four stuffed toys. A giraffe, teddy bear, dog and cat.

  None of her bags were anywhere to be seen.

  “I put all your stuff away,” he explained. He turned on the lamp by the bed. The lampshade had stars cut out of it.

  In one corner of the room was a pink velvet chair in almost the same shade as the bedspread.

  “Did you decorate this room?” she asked.

  “Ahh, no, Eden did. She reckoned I might need it one day. Never realized what she meant. But I, umm, bought these, for you.” He picked up one of the garments from the bed. Yep, it was a pair of onesie pajamas with rainbows all over them. “Didn’t know which one you’d like. There’s a unicorn and a dog one, too.”

  She cleared her throat. “I like all those things.”

  He beamed at her and she was glad she hadn’t told him she didn’t want them or that he shouldn’t have gotten them.

  “I bought you these, too.” He waved a hand at the soft toys.

  Her eyes widened. “All of them? For me?”

  “Ah, yes. I thought Bun-bun might like some company. Is there one in particular you’d like to sleep with?”

  She stared at them all, but the reminder of Bun-bun just made her feel funny. She bit at her thumbnail. “I don’t...I’m not sure.”

  He rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment. “Hmm, I have an idea. Why don’t you go use the bathroom and put these on? There’s a spare toothbrush in the cupboard under the sink. Help yourself to whatever you need, I’ll be back in a minute.”