“Why would I possibly need to stay calm, Cupcake?” His voice was emotionless.
He would never hurt her. She knew that, but Preston? Not so much.
Her fingers twisted anxiously in the front of his shirt as shame and dread tangled together inside her. This was going to be so bad. She could already picture the disappointment in his eyes, the stern set of his jaw, and the very real possibility that she’d end up over his knee in the very immediate future.
Her voice came out tiny and shaky. “So, today… instead of finding a box on the back step and throwing it in the trash unopened, like I’ve been doing…” She swallowed hard, throat tight. “I, um, well… Preston delivered it in person.”
The confession felt like dropping a heavy stone into still water. She pressed her burning face deeper into his chest, heart hammering wildly, waiting for the storm she was certain was about to break over her.
Why wasn’t he losing control, or yelling, or maybe going to his truck to get his gun to track Preston down and shoot him?
Instead, he wrapped his arms around her.
“You must have been scared, Cupcake,” he said tenderly.
She broke into tears and nodded into his chest.
“It w-was so sc-scary, Daddy,” she said through her sobs.
They stayed like that, him letting her cry herself out for what seemed like forever. It was a miracle that no customers had come in. Breathing deep, Junie leaned back and looked into Tanner’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
Tanner reached over, taking some napkins from the dispenser and wiping her cheeks. Then he took some more and held them to her stuffy nose. “Blow.”
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment.
Looking into his eyes, she could tell he was having a hard time controlling his anger. It was like watching a tornado trapped in a bottle.
“Aren’t you angry?”
“Oh yes.”
“Are you going to punish me?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Are you….”
Tanner put up his hand.
“Babygirl, your bakery is still open, so we are going to have to wait to have a very thorough discussion about what happened today. I am going to stay right here and make sure that you stay safe until then.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“It’s okay, I’m going to take this gift off your hands. I’ll also need to use your office for a few minutes to make some calls.”
“Yes, Daddy, and can I please ask one more question?”
Tanner blew out a long breath. “Just one.”
“What are you going to do to Preston?”
“Whatever it takes to keep you safe, babygirl.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Flipping the switch on the neon “Open” sign was all it took to officially tell the world the bakery was closed for the day.
No further signs of Preston had appeared for the rest of the afternoon. Having Tanner there had been wonderful. Not a single word about the awful gift had passed between them the whole time. And he’d been so good at jumping in to help whenever things got busy, especially since it was Poppy’s day off. The steady afternoon rush had kept her mind blessedly occupied, pushing away thoughts of what was coming once the workday ended.
