Blissful volume 2 (New Adult Romance) (4 page)

“What are you doing? She was just playing. What’s the big deal?” I say to him as he comes up to me with her in his arms. She’s screaming now.

“
Not your business,” he says, his teeth barely separating as he speaks.

What the hell. Why is he so crude? What did I do to him?

“Yes, it is my business. You’re making her cry. Why do you think that’s okay? You were yelling at her for God sakes.”

He turns to me and puts her down on the ground next to me. Madeline is trying to run away, but he grabs her shirt and holds
on for life.

“
I know what I’m doing. Don’t tell my how to raise my own kid,” he hisses.

That’s it. I don’t have to put up with this. “As if that has anything to do with it. You know what? Never mind. This picnic is a lot less fun than I thought it would be. I’m outta here.” I turn around and don’t give him another look before storming away. He’s such an asshole, all I want to do is slap him in the face, but I can’t do that in front of Madeline.

Snorting, I release the horse from the tree and jump on it. This time I succeed without help. As if I need
his
help. Asshole. How dare he treat her that way? It was only a little water. Wasn’t like she was in deep. She wasn’t going to drown. He shouldn’t have treated her like that. Poor Maddy, now she’s bawling her eyes out.

“Wait, Amy. Don’t!” Jack yells, but I ignore his pleas as tears well up in my eyes.

And with that I tell Lucy to make a run for it.

I’m riding through the forest on my own, trying to get away from all this. I don’t know what urged me to do this. It’s not just the way Jack treated Maddy. It’s more than that. It was just the opportunity I needed to run. Run away from everything I’ve been experiencing lately. I need to get out.

The horse is going faster and faster, and I don’t know where I’m going. I have no clue which way is which and where the farm is. Looking back, the beach is disappearing and I’m surrounded only by trees. Alone.

Shit. Where the hell
am I? What did I do? I have no idea how to get back or how to get to the farm. What do I do?

Panic wells up inside me, and I think Lucy feels it, too. She starts racing
, and soon I can’t control her anymore. She’s chasing phantoms, barely avoiding the trees as we bolt through the forest. I get scratched by branches, and the pain makes me yelp. I can’t keep my eyes open, afraid something’s going to hit me.

Trying to stop
Lucy only makes her increase her pace. She’s out of my reach. I can’t calm her down. She’s not stopping, and I have no idea where she’s going. She even starts bucking in between. Shit, this isn’t good.

Then suddenly I feel her stumble over a huge rock. I lose my grip on the handle and
feel my feet come free from the stirrups. No, no, no! My body feels light and my butt rises into the air. I fly through the air and land on a hard piece of ground. It hurts. Then my vision fades to black.

Jack

Cleaning up the picnic, I keep Maddy close to me. Fuck. Why did I have to be such a prick again?
Amy’s just so annoying sometimes, meddling in my business. It’s my job to keep Madeline safe, whatever the cost. If she cries, then so be it. She will not go into the water. Period.

I sigh. But I can’t be so rude to Amy either. Now she’s gone. Shit.

I brush my fingers through my hair and pick up Maddy again. She’s still crying, so I shush her and pat her on her back. “Sorry, Maddy, but you know the rules.”

She doesn’t respond. It’s not what worries me most right now, though. Amy’s run off with Lucy
, and I know for sure she can’t find her way home. Neither can she come back. That girl’s got a sense of direction like a compass that’s pointing at the south. She’s probably lost by now. And it’s all my fault. Fuck.

I put Maddy on the horse and climb up myself. I
have to catch up with her before she goes so far that she’s out of my reach. Shit, shit, shit! Why did this have to happen? Why couldn’t she just let it go? Why can’t I just let it go? Fuck, I hate myself for being so cautious and strict with her. But what else am I supposed to do? I don’t want something to happen ever again, and I’ll do pretty much anything to prevent it.

If only I could get over it.

I shake my head and laugh. Tough chance, McCallister.

I ride and ride until I no longer see anything but trees. She’s nowhere to be found
, and it’s making me nuts. I don’t know what to do, so I start shouting her name. There’s no response.

My heart’s beating like crazy and my muscles are tensed up. I need to find her. I need to make sure she’s okay.
I’ve never been this worried about a girl, but I am.

Suddenly I see a blue pair of jeans in the distance.

“Amy!” I shout, and I hurry over to her.

Jumping off my horse, I make sure Madeline stays on before walking to Amy. She’s lying on the cold leaf covered ground, her head against a rock. Panting, I raise her head and find blood underneath.

“No!”

I rip a piece off my shirt and push it against the wound at the back of her head. “Amy? Amy? Please, wake up, Amy!”

She groans, and I let out a sigh of relief. Her eyes briefly open and then shut again.

“Amy? Amy, stay awake. C’mon.” I lift her head
farther, pull her back, and crawl underneath so that she can rest on my lap.

“Is she okay, daddy?” Madeline says, still whimpering.

“Yes, just stay there,” I tell her. Of course I’m not going to tell her everything’s
not
all right.

“My head …”
Amy whispers.

“You’
ve hurt yourself quite a bit,” I say. Looking around, I see Lucy eating some leaves off the trees up ahead, not far away. I’m glad she hasn’t run off.

“Hmm …”
Amy mutters. “Asshole.”

I laugh. Even when she’s hurt she still has the strength to tell me what she thinks. To be upfront and tell me that I’m an idiot. And she’s right.

“I’m sorry …” I pull back the piece of cloth and notice it’s stained red. “Fuck. The bleeding really needs to stop.” I rip off another piece of my shirt and wrap it around her head, securing it tightly.

She winces when I tie the knot.
“Ouch! You’re hurting me.”

“Yeah, well this ain’t the first time. I’m sure you can handle it.”

She chuckles, and it makes my heart calm down, because it means she’s recovering. Or that she’s at least alert.

I push her up
, and she moans.

“Sorry, I don’
t wanna hurt you, but I do need to get you outta here. Get your wound cleaned up, see if it’s bad,” I say.

Wrapping one arm under her legs and the other around her armpits, I lift her up. She’s not the lightest person I’ve carried, but I’ll manage. I have to. I have to get her to safety.

“Scoot up,” I say to Madeline, lifting Amy’s legs over the horse. Buckled over, she can’t even sit straight. Her arms are around the horse’s neck and her head is resting in its hair. Tying Lucy to my horse, I make sure they both go home with me. I take a deep breath and haul myself up, so I sit in between Amy and Madeline. It’s not very spacious, but it’ll have to do.

***

I’ve never had this much trouble getting home before. Normally, I would be laughing right now, the way we’re all sitting on one horse as awkward as it can get, but it’s not even close to funny.

I let Madeline slip off first
so that I have more room to get off. “Maddy, go get daddy some bandages. You know where they are, right?”

She nods and then runs off into the house.

I sling my legs over and get off, but Amy’s sinking away, too. She’s barely awake, and her body is slumped over. She drops into my arms, and I can barely keep her standing. Dragging her inside is difficult, and we’re both covered in mud now, but that’s the least of my problems. I take her to the couch while Madeline comes rushing down the stairs with a box full of supplies.

“Here!” Maddy says
, and she hands the box to me. Peering over my shoulder while I take off Amy’s coat, Maddy says, “Is she going to be okay?”

“I hope so,” I say.

Madeline’s quiet. I guess that was a little too much reality for her. She takes a few steps back, and I briefly glance at her. Her eyes are glazy and big. Shit. No, no, no! She’s thinking about it again. About Rose. I know it. I recognize that look. That’s what I wanted to avoid. Shit, I shouldn’t have said anything. Damn you McCallister!

“It’s okay, Madeline. She’s going to be fine. I’ll make sure of that.” I put my hands on her shoulder. “When Amy wakes up she’ll be thirsty. Why don’t you go get some water, huh?”

“Okay …” she says, and she bolts to the kitchen.

This gives me some time to check
Amy up, see if it’s really bad. Otherwise I might have to get a doctor, or worse, drive her to a hospital. Fuck, I hope that’s not the case. I feel guiltier by the second.

Amy
groans, and it instantly draws my attentions. Her eyes flutter open, and she winces. “Shh … don’t move too much,” I say, taking off the piece of cloth bound around her head. It’s still bloody, but less than before.

Inspecting
it, I see it’s not a large gash; it’s just a surface wound. They tend to bleed a lot longer and more, but aren’t that dangerous. My blood pressure immediately goes down discovering this.

“Is this okay?” Madeline says as she comes back with a glass of water half filled, because she normally spills half of it on the floor b
efore reaching her destination.

“Yes, thank you, Maddy. Amy will be very happy.”

“It was hard!” Madeline says as she hands me the glass.

I chuckle. “I know, sweetie, but you have to get used to using the steps
in the kitchen. You’re a big girl right?”

She nods.

“And you did it,” I add.

Her smile makes me feel a little better about what I did. “Now, go play upstairs. Amy needs to rest a little.”

Madeline picks up a few dolls lying on the floor before rushing up the stairs.

Rummaging through the box, I grab some real bandage and
clips to tie it around Amy’s head again. Raising her head is difficult, but she manages to sit through it. I’m already glad she’s able to stay awake. I hope she doesn’t have a concussion. I also hope that she forgot about being mad at me.

Damn, why do I care so much? I’ve never cared this much. Not about anyone. Well, except Rose … but not since. I don’t understand why she’s so important to me. Maybe it’s because she reminds me of Rose. No … I can’t do that, that’s not okay. Rose is Rose, nobody can replace her.

Squinting, Amy gazes at me, and it almost feels like she can see right through me. As if she’s reading the thoughts as they enter my mind. Damn, I feel watched.

“You okay?” I say.

She hums. “Better.”

Her eyes drift off to the window
, and she sighs. Dang, there goes my plan of hoping she forgot what I said.

“Look, I’m sorry for what I said, all right?”

She doesn’t give me anything. Not a look. Not a word. Not even a hum. Nothing.

I lean over and let my forehead rest on her hand. She’s cold, so I take her hand in mine and start rubbing. Blowing some hot air against her skin seems to warm her up, but it also heats me up on the inside. My lips are on her skin
, and all I can think of is kissing her until she smiles again.

Fuck, I’m really falling for her.

Suddenly I feel something wriggle through my hair, and when I look up I see it’s Amy. She’s caressing my scalp, her fingers drifting through my long brown hair.

“
It’s okay,” she mutters.

I sniff as the tears well up in my eyes. Not because I’m sad, but because it’s been a long time since a woman has touched me so gently, so full of love. So
forgiving.

“But only if you tell me why,” she adds.

“Or else you’re not going to forgive me?”

“Nope.”

Didn’t see that one coming. She’s going to make me explain why I did what I did? Damn that infuriating woman, always digging up the past I’d rather keep buried away.

I sigh. “Fine.
If you have to know, Maddy can’t swim.”

“Can’t swim?” she mutters. “But it was only the shoreline.”

I turn my head away and watch the clock hanging from the wall. The ticking makes me feel at peace with myself, but Amy’s constant questions push that calmness out of the way. It makes room for sorrow, and I don’t want to feel it. How can I ever grow over this pain?

“Water … scares me,” I say. Hearing myself almost makes me laugh. It sounds pathetic, but it’s the truth.
“Maddy can’t handle it, okay? You’ve seen what she does with her dolls, those stories of her.” I run my fingers through my hair from frustration. “I just want to protect her.”

She looks befuddled for a second, but then tries to get up to grab her glass of water. She winces, her legs probably still painful from the bruises. I hold her back and get the glass for her, nudging it into her hand. Amy smiles and takes a few sips before handing it back to me.

“I’ll take you upstairs so that you can get some rest.” Standing up, I wrap my arm under her legs, but she starts protesting.

“What? No, what are you doing?” she says while I try to lift her from the couch.

“Carrying you upstairs. What else do you think I’m doing?” I put my other arm under her armpits and lift her again.

“Why? I can walk.”

I sigh and start walking toward the stairs. “Just let me do this for you, okay?”

She squints, but then a lopsided grin appears on her face. I know she’s watching me
, and it makes me flush. She sees right through me. I feel guilty, and I want to carry her upstairs, even if she can walk on her own. I just want to be of help. For her to like me again. And I know she realizes this.

It doesn’t matter. What does matter is the fact that my cock is already getting stiff just from feeling her body. Just from smelling her flowery perfume. Just by looking into those coaxing eyes. Goddammit, I really want to touch her on places she never knew existed, get my hands all over her,
and find release inside her.

I want to fuck her until the night
is over and all my pain is gone.

Fuck me, I’m really pathetic.

Shaking my head, I put her down on the bed in the guest room and cover her with a blanket. Meanwhile, she keeps gazing at me as if I’m some sort of laughable idiot, which isn’t strange at all, considering my actions.

Without thinking about it, I give her a peck on her forehead, just
as I always do with Maddy. The strange gesture makes her open her mouth, but it makes me feel weird. Shit, what the fuck am I doing?

“I … I’ll let you rest a bit,” I say, and I quickly leave the room to avoid any more embarrassing scenes.

I was terrified today, and I don’t know what to do with these feelings anymore. I’ve never felt so worried about another woman before, not since Rose. I’m drawn to Amy more and more, and I don’t know if I can stop it. I don’t know if I even want to anymore.