He hugged me tighter and kissed the top of my head. "I'm so glad that we have each other again. I missed you so much, Daddy."
Maybe it was just me being overemotional. Maybe it was my hormones, but at that very moment he was my daddy and I was his little girl.
A few minutes after, we were heading back to the farm. Conner hadn't said much to me since I had snapped at him, but instead of bringing it up, he pulled me close into his arms. "It's goin' to be alright, Amy. I promise you, it will."
Chapter 16
Conner
I never wanted to hurt someone like I wanted to hurt that mother fucker for destroying Amy's salon. What kind of monster preys on women like this guy? The police said they would do their best to find him, but I wasn't that convinced considering how they treated Amy during their questioning. I could have punched that little prick out for what he said to her. Didn't people have any compassion? She was devastated.
My sister about pitched a fit when I told her that we were packing up and heading to Kentucky. I don't think she realized just how bad the salon was, even after I showed her some pictures that I took from my phone. "Why can't you just stay here?"
"Randa, I don't have time to argue with you. She's pregnant and I promised her father that I would get her out of here until things cool down. That bastard threatened her life. You think I'm just goin' to stand around and wait for him to hurt her? She's carrying my child, for Christ sakes."
Ty came in and leaned on my sister's shoulders. "Baby, if I were Conner, I would do the same thing to keep you safe. He's doing the right thing."
"I know. You're right." Once she finally agreed that taking Amy to Kentucky was the right decision, she got up and helped her get her things together. For all of the times where I had tried to prevent Amy from being stressed, she was more stressed than ever before. I had to get her away from all of this.
An hour later, we were climbing into my truck. I kissed my little nephews and my niece goodbye and hugged my sister. I wasn't sure when we'd be able to come back to North Carolina. For someone that never wanted to move here, it killed me more to be leaving.
Kentucky was great, but raising my kids alongside my sister was always something that I wanted to do. I was miserable when she lived here and I lived there. Maybe I was being selfish. I knew she had her own family and I was about to start mine. Everything was happening too damn fast.
Once we got on the road and had been driving for a while, I couldn’t stand the silence. This had all happened so fast and we'd never stopped to talk about us going to Kentucky. Amy had just gone along with it.
"You hungry?"
She shrugged but never looked my way.
"When did you eat last?"
"I don't remember."
That was one thing that drove me crazy. She forgot to eat all the time. “I’m goin' to stop at the next town and get us some supper."
"I can't eat right now, Conner."
I clenched the steering wheel and bit my tongue. Was it necessary for the woman to be so hardheaded when I was trying my darndest to take care of her? "You need to eat."
"Please don't do this right now, Conner. I'm not in the mood to argue with you."
I pulled over the truck, unable to hold it in anymore. "This ain't about Rick or the damn salon. You are carryin' my child and I will be damned if I'm goin' to sit back and watch you fall apart. We are stoppin' at the next town and if I have to force feed your stubborn ass, I will."
She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. I caught a glimpse of a dirty look as I pulled back onto the road. "Whatever!"
"For the record, I don’t give a damn if you’re pissed at me. You'll get over it."
"What if I don't?"
Was she really going to threaten me with that shit when I was trying to do the right thing? I knew she was all pissed off. I got it. I guess I didn’t think she was going to take it all out on me. I wasn’t sure that I liked being anyone’s punching bag. "You will!"
I stopped at a diner at the next town. Amy said nothing as she climbed out of the truck and followed behind me. I placed my hand on her back as we entered and I swear she seemed irritated. Once we got our seats, she kept being the same way. I looked at the menu for a second. “What are you gettin’?”
She put her menu down and looked right at me. “Why don’t you pick for me, since you think you know what I need.”
I placed my palms down on the table and looked right at her. “I get it. I’m your punchin’ bag. Does it make you feel good to treat me like shit?”
She rolled her eyes and covered her face up so I couldn’t see her expression.