Love (Gimme 6)

“Oh no.”

“I knew we should have looked harder for her last night,” I snarled as I carry her up to my bedroom.

“We were in the garden earlier, son. She’s never come back more than once in a day. Now come lay her down in the bed and we’ll get her some clean clothes and food. She looks like she’s been losing weight.”

I set her on the bed as lightly as possible to not disturb her sleep and then unlace her shoes, tossing them lightly onto the floor. She’s still wearing her purse which I slip off her as my mom pulls the covers down.

Regrettably, I leave her for a minute to dig through my drawer for a long sleeve shirt and a pair of thermal socks I keep when I stay here in the winter. “Get out,” I snarl at Troy.

He lifts his hands and goes. “I’ll just be outside if you need anything.”

“Maybe you should go too, Elijah. Leave the girl some dignity.” I start to grumble but she adds, “Just because you’ve decided she should be your wife doesn’t mean she knows it yet.”

“You know?”

“Son, please. You are a great man. Everything your father wasn’t and everything I hoped you would be. She’ll be lucky to have a man like you. But give her a reason to fall in love with you.”

“Okay. I’ll be right outside. Get me as soon as you’re done.” I give her one more look before I leave. Troy smirks when I meet him at the door. “Asshole.”

“Hey, it’s for the best. From what we can tell she’s been kicked out by her stepfather or worse she had to leave for safety reasons. She’s got a lot going on. Give her some time to get to know you before you try to see her naked.” I want to punch him, but he’s right.

“Fuck.” I can’t wait to get back into the room.

“You’ll see her in a minute.”

“I want her information to find out who her stepfather is, and her purse is inside the room.” I pull up my head of security’s number and call him. “I need you to be ready to dig. First name is Haley. I’ll have the other information in ten minutes. I’ll need everything you can get in the next twenty-four hours.”

“Yes, Elijah.”

“How was the situation with Miss Van Kamp?”

“She ran with her tail between her legs. Van Kamp’s desk was cleared out yesterday and her personal things were returned by the end of the business day.”

“Good. I’ve already spoken to HR and handled her termination officially. Hopefully this is the last of that nasty situation.”

“Still, you will need someone to work on your menial details.”

“I think I have someone in mind for the job.” And so much more. “I’ll probably be traveling to Europe by the end of the week.” My mother opens the door and I go straight for Haley’s purse. I open it up and see her name is Haley Smith. Really? This is going to be fun. “Here is the rest of the information. Get me everything you got. Piecemeal it to me. I don’t care. The more I have, the sooner the better.”

“Yes, Sir.” I end the call, tuck my phone into my pocket, and walk over to the bed, setting the purse on the nightstand.

“She’s shivering,” I say.

“It’s probably from being chilled all night. It was warm, but it cooled for a bit this morning. It has been one of the coldest days so far this summer.” It’s only the end of June, so it’s the start of the season. In the Midwest you never know what you’re going to get. I cover her with the blankets and brush my hand over her hair.

“I’m going to have beautiful grandbabies,” my mother lightly squeals. I look at her and shake my head. She’s right, but she’s getting ahead of herself given she just told me to back off. “I tried to introduce you two before.”

“When?”

“Oh, I never mentioned it to you. I didn’t think you’d like it, but I was going to spring it on you. Unfortunately, Haley’s asshole stepfather dragged her away, saying you were too old and only out for one thing. I wanted to kick him in the balls, but then I thought he was her dad and attempting to protect her like all dads do when it comes to men.”

“I’ll break his jaw if he put his hands on her.” I look her over from head to toe even though she’s covered by the blankets.

“I’m going to make some coffee. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”

“Sounds good.” My mother kisses my cheek and leaves me alone with Haley.

I stay in my seat for hours, waiting as patiently as humanly possible for her to wake up and making plans on my phone. As emails come in with more on my sleeping beauty, the more things come together perfectly. All I have to do is make her see that she is perfect for me. Haley is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.