Daddy’s Wild Girl (Montana Daddies #16)

Chapter 45

45

B ebe felt so drained.

Four days had passed since her mother confessed to being her stalker. And to hiring someone to attack her, even if she swore that the attack was meant to happen after Corbin and Hayes had gone.

Which was a thousand times worse.

But she’d entered some weird kind of funk and couldn’t get out of it. The only time she managed to stop the voices in her head was when she was Little. However, she couldn’t be Little all the time.

Corbin had insisted that she keep coming to work with him, he was probably worried about leaving her alone.

However, she’d had enough.

“Right, baby. Let’s get you ready to go.” He reached into the coat closet for her jacket.

“Can I stay here?” she asked.

He drew back and stared at her.

“It’s just . . . there’s not much for me to do there. And there’s no longer a reason to go with you, right? It’s safe here and the stalker never existed.”

“That might be the case, but I’m not sure you’re in a good state of mind for me to leave you.” He crouched in front of her where she sat on the sofa.

Maybe not, but . . .

“I just want some time to think. I have a therapy session at ten. And I was also thinking of putting the house up for sale.”

“Hmm, we might need to get a contractor in first.”

She bit her lip. “I can’t really afford that, especially if . . .”

“Especially if what, darling?”

“If I go back to college. It’s just a thought at the moment . . . but I figured I could look into whether it’s possible to do it via distance. Maybe through a college close by, so if I needed to, I could go there in person sometimes. What do you think?”

He smiled widely. “I think that’s a perfect idea. I’m so proud of you, darling. I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to go back to college.”

“I’ll have to sell the house to hopefully pay some of the tuition. Or dip into my trust fund. I guess I could do that to pay the contractor.”

“You don’t have to worry now. I’m going to help you with your tuition.”

“Corbin, it’s expensive and?—”

“Baby, I don’t exactly spend a lot. I’ve worked for a long time and saved a lot of money. Plus, one of my sisters is an investment broker. I’ve got a healthy portfolio. And, more importantly, you’re mine. So I’m going to do this, understand?”

“All right,” she whispered. She’d learned that on some things, he just didn’t budge. “Thank you.”

“My good girl. Everything is going to be all right now.”

“Even though my mother is crazy and my father is only realizing that now?” And trying to make it up to her by calling her several times a day.

“Yep. Because we have each other. And that’s all we need. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone yet though.”

“I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“You’ll stay in the cabin?”

“Well, I thought I might go for a walk to see the horses later.”

“All right. But text me when you leave and get back. Not because I want to control you, but . . .”

“But you worry,” she finished. “I know. I’m all right.”

She thought. She hoped.

“All right,” he said. “Call me if you need me, okay?”

“I will.”

A knock on the front door caught her by surprise.

Nerves filled her as she stared at it. Should she open it?

Don’t be silly, Bebe. You’re not in any danger, and even if you were, someone bent on attacking you would hardly knock, would they?

Moving to the door, she opened it. To her surprise, there was a small woman standing on the front porch. She had curly, crazy dark hair and a wide smile.

“Hi!” Reaching out, she grabbed Bebe’s hands, squeezing them. “I’m Ellie! And I’m sooo pleased to meet you!”

Ellie? She’d heard of Ellie. Abby had said something about her and, oh, her name was on the card Bebe had gotten the first day. But how come she hadn’t met her before now?

“Hi, I’m Bebe.”

“I know! I helped put together your welcome package. Abby said you liked it?”

“I loved it, thank you.”

Movement over Ellie’s shoulder caught Bebe’s attention, and her eyes widened as she saw the enormous man standing there. Bebe gulped nervously.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is my husband, Bear. Bear, this is Bebe.”

Bear just nodded as Bebe awkwardly waved.

“Do you both want to come inside?” she asked.

“I will! Thanks! Bear just walked me over because he’s always worried that I’ll get lost.” Ellie turned to Bear. “I’m going inside with Bebe. You can go back to work now.”

Bear just crossed his arms over his wide chest and frowned at her.

Ellie huffed out a breath. “All right, I’ll call you when I want to leave and wait for you to get here. Love you!” She sent him kisses.

And to Bebe’s shock, the big guy pretended to catch one and placed it over his heart.

Well. If that wasn’t the sweetest thing she’d seen in forever, she didn’t know what was.

“Sorry about that,” Ellie said cheerfully as she stepped inside and started pulling off piles of clothes. “Bear is super overprotective. But I’m sure you know all about that.”

Bebe shut the door behind her. “I do.”

“He doesn’t like me walking around on my own. He claims that I get lost a lot. But I’ve lived on the Ranch for long enough now that I know my way around. I think he just likes to feel useful.”

Ellie took off another layer and stepped further into the cabin. “Ooh, I love what you’ve done with the place.”

“Thanks. I haven’t done much.”

Ellie waved her hand dismissively. “Truthfully, I’ve never been in here, but I’m sure what you have done is amazing.”

Bebe had to giggle.

“What?” Ellie turned with a big smile.

“Uh, nothing. You’re just so sweet and cheerful.”

“I’m so happy to be out of my house,” Ellie claimed as she sat on the sofa. “I’ve been stuck inside for the last week with a bad head cold. This is the first time that Bear has let me out. He wouldn’t even let me come see you.”

“Oh, is that why you were so wrapped up?” Bebe asked, looking at the pile of clothes on the floor.

“Hmm? Oh no. That’s what he makes me wear every time I go out during the colder months. Crazy, right? Takes half an hour just to get dressed to go anywhere. These Daddies are nuts.”

“Oh, Bear is your Daddy?” Bebe asked as she sat. “Wait, that’s probably rude to ask, right?”

“Not rude. I said it. And yep, he is. Here at Sanctuary, there are lots of Daddies. And people won’t really get offended or shocked at questions like that. Do you like it here?”

The question felt like it came out of nowhere, but Bebe found herself nodding. “I . . . really do. Everyone has been so welcoming, which is surprising.”

Ellie’s blue eyes widened. “Why is that surprising?”

She shrugged, wishing she’d never said anything. “Well, you know, because of who I am. People often make . . . assumptions before they meet me.”

“Well, that’s just rude!” Ellie said, sounding upset. “Why would they do that? So dumb. Anyone can tell that you’re lovely as soon as they meet you. And I don’t believe what I see on TV. Especially on reality shows. I don’t like to judge people without meeting them first.”

Bebe stared at her in wonder, then she gave her a big smile. “You’re a special person, Ellie.”

“Thanks. So are you. Now, do you have any hot chocolate?”

“I do. Someone very special helped pack me a welcome pack with some in.”

Ellie giggled.

Bebe did well the first day that Corbin left her at the cabin, especially with Ellie visiting her. And the second day didn’t go too badly. But on the third day, she lost all that calm.

Holding her phone, she scrolled through the images. She knew better than to go on social media.

Nothing good ever came from it.

And there they were . . . images of her parents. Acting all cozy and together.

So much for her father’s promises that he was done with Barb. That he was leaving her.

Would he be hugging her in a public space if he was as upset with her as he claimed? Or kissing her on the cheek.

She could feel her emotions boiling up.

Anger. Betrayal. Disappointment.

You’re just not good enough.

Why would you think I’d want to stay with you forever?

I found someone better.

No, no, no.

She didn’t want his voice in her head. Grabbing her phone, she accidentally fumbled and dropped it onto the floor. Picking it up, she grumbled as she saw the broken screen. Shit. She couldn’t make out anything on it. Why wasn’t it turning on?

It was old and decrepit.

Maybe it had finally given out. Which meant that she couldn’t call Corbin.

She really needed Corbin.

Setting the phone down, she ran to put her boots on. She didn’t bother with a jacket. She needed to get to Corbin. But as she raced out of the cabin, she remembered that he had a meeting right then.

Crap. Crap.

The horses. Yes, the horses would calm her down. She ran toward the stables, unaware of the tears running down her face as she sobbed.

When she reached the stables, she walked through the building until she found her favorite horse, Popcorn.

Would anyone mind if she went for a ride? After putting a halter on, she led him out. She didn’t want to take the time to saddle him. And she’d ridden bareback plenty of times in her life.

She managed to get herself up onto his back. Luckily, he wasn’t a tall horse and he was gentle so he stood still for her. Patting his neck, she set off slowly to begin with. The wind whipped at her cheeks. And for the first time, she noticed how chilly it was.

There was a storm in the air.

That suited her mood just fine. She rode around the enclosure. She didn’t want to take him out if a storm was coming. He would be scared.

But she just needed this.

“Bebe! Bebe!”

Glancing over, she saw Clint standing there with baby Annabel. She waved back at him.

Then she thought of what she used to do as a kid.

Could she still do it?

Slowing Popcorn down, she carefully raised one foot up, then the other. Oh yeah. This was what she needed. A way to get rid of the voices.

Standing on Popcorn’s back, she finally felt at peace.

She felt alive.

Corbin was going to kill her.

It was only fair, considering she’d just taken ten years off his life with this stunt.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“I didn’t want to yell again and spook her,” Clint explained. “But, Corbin, after you get her safely off . . .”

“I’ll take care of it. She . . . Bebe does extreme stuff when she gets upset or stressed or things just get on top of her.”

Fuck.

Why had he left her alone? She’d been doing so well. Still . . . he knew it wasn’t good for her to be idle. To think too much. Even though it wasn’t healthy to keep so busy that she didn’t have to face any of her issues.

“This is her bitch of a mother’s fault.”

Clint nodded. “Yeah, Kent briefed me.”

Under other circumstances, he might be happy that Clint was obviously doing better. He seemed more rested. And even though he still had Annabel with him, he didn’t growl when Corbin got near.

“Once she’s safely down, I’m going to ensure she doesn’t sit comfortably tomorrow.” And maybe for the next week too.

Finally, she slowed and slid down so she was sitting. And that’s when he took off. He ignored Clint’s grunt of agreement, the wind whipping around him, and he just headed straight to Bebe as she led Popcorn into the stables.

“Bebe.”

She startled and turned to him. “Hey, Corbin.” She smiled, but he saw the guarded look in her face.

Oh yeah.

She knew.

“Um, how long have you been here?”

“Long enough to know that you’re in a hell of a lot of trouble, Little girl.”