Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

Britt

It's been hours and hours since I dragged Karli into the ER. Even though we definitely got the VIP treatment, it was still an exhausting and terrifying experience. I've been lucky with Karli. So damned lucky. She rarely gets sick and even when she does, it's usually mild. This has been the most terrifying night of my life. Worse even than when I broke my leg. Of course, I was getting the good drugs then, so that's probably part of it.

Par for the course, Dakota was a no show. It was one of the reasons why I waited until we got to the hospital to send him a text. I didn't want Karli to overhear the conversation when he once more proved just how unimportant she was to him. I will never, in all my life, understand how a man can choose which of his kids to love. The son of a bitch.

I bundle Karli into the car and Dad is coming out with all the meds and another popsicle for Karli. He hands me the bag. "Thanks, Daddy." He's been Dad since I was in middle school. But when life goes to shit, the little girl in me comes out and he's Daddy again.

"You wanna tell me what's going on with you and the good doctor? You get it all squared away?"

Umm. No. That's not a conversation I want to have just yet, at least not until I have it with Silas first. But I also know it's not a conversation he will let me avoid entirely. "We're okay for now, but no decisions have been made. He's a good guy who I've gone on a few dates with. Maybe I'm making more out of all this than it has to be?"

"That man didn't act like it was just a couple of dates, Britt. He acted... invested."

I lean over and give Dad a hug. "I love you. And I appreciate all your advice, but now it's about me and Silas. You're out of it."

"Everything about you and Karli concerns me, Britt. I'll never be ‘out of it'," he says. "I'm not telling you how to raise her. I won't do that. But if he's gonna be part of her life, you need to know he's in it for the long haul. She doesn't need another man disappointing her. And tonight has upped the stakes. A lot."

"She's never even met Silas until tonight," I tell him. I don't have it in me to be mad at him when what he's saying matches perfectly with my own thoughts. "This was just a weird coincidence that she got sick on one of the nights he was on shift. We've talked about it. Whenever we talked about them meeting before, I always felt like it was too soon, too new for that."

He nods and gives me a big hug. "That's enough medicine to get her through the night. I'll swing by the pharmacy in the morning to pick up her prescriptions. And some breakfast for you. Go home, go to bed. You look like ass."

My daddy the sweet talker. "I hope you don't talk to Ava like that. I like her and want her to stick around."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll always be my beautiful girl, but right now you're my exhausted beautiful girl. In fact, I'm following you home."

It's not worth arguing about because I know I'll lose. "I love you, Dad. Thanks for being here."

"I'll always be there when you need me, Britt. No matter how old you get, you're always gonna be my baby."

I slide behind the wheel and start the car, but I don't pull out until I hear the engine of Dad's truck turn over. The drive home from the hospital feels a lot shorter than the drive to it did. When we make it back to the house, Dad gets out and comes to get Karli out of the car. He carries her inside for me and tucks her into her bed.

She's out like a light. He leaves her room, but leaves the door cracked. Then he gives me another hug. "For what it's worth, Britt, I like the doc. I liked him when he took care of you. I like the fact that tonight he took care of Karli and you. And the next time I see Dakota, I'm gonna tear that shithead a new asshole."

"He's not worth it. Seriously. The only good thing he ever did is laying in that bed in there, tucked in beneath her princess sheets. We're well rid of him. Eventually, she'll figure that out. It'll hurt. But it can't hurt more to know he's a fucking ass than to just keep getting disappointed over and over again."

"I'm still gonna fuck him up. Nobody hurts my girls."

I'm still smiling when he leaves. Then I go back to Karli's room. I get the blanket off the chest at the foot of her bed and curl up on the floor. I'm gonna hurt like hell tomorrow, but I don't want her to be alone.

It's after nine when I wake up. Someone is knocking on my door. It's probably Dad with Karli's meds. I get up from the floor, limping my way to down the stairs to the front door. When I open it, it's not Dad. It's Silas. He's holding a box of donuts from Sally's and a bucket size cup of coffee. He looks as tired as I feel. It's also complete déjà vu. Maybe this time it'll go better, though.

"Give me that. Give me that sweet nectar of life right fucking now."

He passes me the coffee. "I know I offered to stay, but you don't have to invite me in. I know Kari's here and that might be a weird thing to have to explain to her. But I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

He worked all night. He took care of my baby girl. And now he's here to take care of me. But after all the shit with Dakota, it's been so hard to trust that any man can be that good. Dad likes him, though. Dad likes him and he fucking hated Dakota's lying ass from day one. Maybe I don't have any confidence in my own judgment, but Dad's is pretty damn solid. I take a deep breath. "No. I want you to come in... I want you to come in because even though I'm not okay, I feel a lot closer to it with you around."

I step back and open the door wide for him to step inside. And I'm letting him into a lot more than just my house.

"If I tell you the donuts are chocolate, will you make out with me?"

"Coffee first. And a donut. Then I'm going to brush my teeth. And assuming Karli stays asleep, then I'll make out with you... Play your cards right, Dr. Blake, and you might even get invited to sleep over."