Page 18 of Her Hero Daddy

He quickly stepped back, “Oh, right. Sorry, little one. Sorry.”

He disappeared quickly, and she shut the door, hurrying to the toilet before she exploded.

When she returned to the living room, Kane smiled, and she couldn’t help but lower her eyes to the floor shyly. She didn’t know why she was so shy all of a sudden. Maybe because she was standing in the house of a man she barely knew, and he was looking at her with those warm, sexy eyes. Not that he had anything good to look at with her. She knew how bruised and battered she looked. Even the thought of looking at herself in the mirror made her cringe. She’d made sure to keep her head down so she didn’t see herself when she had washed her hands in the bathroom.

“Ready to go see your place?”

“Uh… sure. Yeah.”

He led her out of the door he had shown her and motioned for her to move up the stairs first. She was halfway before she realized that her ass was probably swaying right in his face. She blushed at that thought.

When she stepped into the apartment, she was greeted with a warmth that made her feel instantly welcomed. It was a large studio apartment with windows spilling in light all around three sides of it. A large bed sat in the corner with nightstands on each side, a comfortable-looking couch was on the other side of the room with a coffee table and flat-screen TV, and then the small kitchenette with a two-person dining table took up the other corner of the room. An open door near the bed disclosed a decent-sized bathroom. Her white Converse shoes sank into the thick plush carpet, and there were throw blankets on the couch, as well as at least six decorative pillows on the neatly made bed. It was heaven. At least it felt like it right then.

Turning to Kane, she smiled softly. “This is too much. I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you.”

Kane shook his head. “You will not repay me. So don’t even think about it.”

She would definitely think about it and figure out a way to save money to pay him, but she nodded, knowing he would turn into stern Kane if she pushed it.

“I had Ally pick up stuff for you. I think most of it is in the closet that’s through the bathroom. I asked her to make it as cozy in here for you as possible. But if you think of anything else, just let me know, and I will get it for you right away.”

Without thinking, Haylee turned, wrapped her arms around his waist, and began to cry.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Kane brought his arms around her gently, “Shh… baby girl, you’re welcome. You are safe here. I got you.”

She was safe. And even though she barely knew Kane, she felt as though she could trust him with her life.

10

KANE

Leaving her alone in the apartment had been hard. He didn’t want to leave her. She looked so small and afraid, but she had assured him that she was fine and that she just wanted to lie down for a bit. He had stood there awkwardly, just as he had done in the bathroom until she had finally asked him if he was okay. He was. But he so badly wanted to help her in the bathroom and help her get ready for a nap. It was a feeling that naturally tugged at him when it came to her. He wanted to pull her into his lap, put a pacifier in her mouth, and rock her to sleep.

Heading back into his bedroom in the main house, he kicked off his boots and pulled out his phone to call Luke.

“Hey, buddy, how’d the drive go?”

He told him about the drive and that Haylee was lying down for a nap.

“Listen, Luke, I don’t know if Ally should come over with you tomorrow. Haylee is in pretty bad shape. She had bruises everywhere, including on her face. I don’t want Ally to get upset.”

Luke cursed and muttered something under his breath.

“I can try to talk her out of coming, but I don’t think she‘s going to let me keep her home. She is dying to see Haylee and make sure she’s all right. I’ll try to prepare her, though.”

Kane nodded. He figured that would be the answer he got.

“Did you take her to the hospital to have her checked out?”

“I was going to, but she had a little temper tantrum about it, so I’m going to call Logan and see if he would be willing to do a house call to check her over.”

“She had a temper tantrum? With you?” Luke asked, sounding fully amused.

“Yep. Sure did. If she wasn’t in the situation she was in and hadn’t seemed to be frightened, she’d have found herself over my knee real quick.”

Luke snorted. “I told you not to scare her.”