Page 62 of Butch

Daddy turned from the paperwork he was looking at and shook his head. “I still don’t know where Edmund is, and I would rather you didn’t go out without me.”

“Please, Daddy. We can take someone with us if you want. But I really want to go with her. She said she was going to introduce me to the owner and apparently another girl called Demi,” Rae said.

“Demi? Who works at one of our bars?” Daddy asked, giving her his full attention.

“That’s what Echo said. She mentioned that Demi was feeling a little down and didn't have anyone to hang out with, so she wanted to meet up with us. I think it would be good for me.” Raelynn was fiddling with her hands as she waited for Daddy to tell her yes or no.

“How long are you guys going to be out for?” he asked as he stood.

It didn’t take him long to reach her and wrap his arms around her.

“Maybe an hour or two? I don’t know. I’m meeting them for the first time, so it might not even be that long, but Raelynn said they wanted to meet me, and I do want some more friends. I mean, it seems like I’m staying here for the foreseeable future, and I would like to have some girls to talk to,” she said as she shuffled her feet back and forth. “I mean, this is my home, after all, so I think I should put down some roots and that means making friends.”

Daddy slightly pulled away from her and cupped her face. “I’m so happy you’re considering this your home now.”

She shrugged. “You told me not to worry about him, so I am trying to do that and pretend everything is okay. I’m trying to pretend nothing is wrong and to move on with my life. The next step is to make friends.”

She had been so nervous when she first thought about it. Before she could go to Echo to ask her to introduce her to people, Echo came to her, saying two people wanted to meet her. Now she just needed to go out and meet them.

Oh, she was going to be sick from thinking about it.

“Okay, you can go. But I want you to text me when you get there, in the middle of it, and when you are coming back. I want to know everything so I’m not worrying as much.” Daddy gave her a pointed look. “I will also be sending Reaper with you. I don’t want to hear any arguments.”

“I wasn’t going to argue. I already said I would take someone with me. It would just make me feel a little better,” she replied. “But I don’t want them to be behind me the whole time. I know the other girls understand, but I don’t want to feel like I have to watch what I say around him. Especially if they ask about you.”

Her cheeks heated at the thought. She knew they were going to ask about their relationship, and with Reaper telling her she was like a little sister, she didn’t want him to hear what she had to say about her Daddy.

“Good. And when are you wanting to leave?” Daddy asked.

“She talked about right now. Apparently, Demi and Rainey are already at the coffee shop and will be there for a couple more hours,” Raelynn explained. “But if you would rather me not go, that’s fine as well. I can talk to Echo about pushing it to another day.”

Daddy shook his head. “No, you guys have talked about today, and we’ll make it happen. I’ll get Reaper to meet you at the front door. You are to message me several times. If I don’t hear from you, I’m going to assume something happened, and I’m going to come after you. If you don’t want me to make a scene and track you down, you reply to my text messages. Understand?”

“I understand. I promise I will text you when I get there, an hour later, and when we’re about to leave,” she replied.

“And if I text you and you don’t reply within three minutes, I’m coming after you.”

She raised her hand and shook her head. “Three minutes seems a little excessive. What if I’m in the middle of telling a story, and I can’t reply to you right away?”

“I don’t care. If I text you and you don’t reply within three minutes, I’m going to assume something happened and come after you. You have a threat against your life, and I don’t take that lightly. You are my world, and I will do anything to protect you. If that means coming up with these outrageous rules, as you probably call them, that means I will,” he said. “Your life is no joke. Your life is my life. If anything happens to you, it will affect me. You are precious to me. There will be some rules that you might not like, but it’s going to keep you safe, and it’s going to keep my worry to a minimum.”

“But what if they make fun of me for it?” she asked. “I’m trying to make friends. I’m not trying to make them never want to meet with me again. I don’t want to be the laughingstock of this town with how protective you are. I appreciate it, but I’m also a little worried.”

It hadn’t meant much when they were in high school because everybody thought it was hot for him to care so much. She still thought it was hot, but they were adults now, and she wanted to make some friends.

“They aren’t going to make fun of you for it. I’m pretty sure Deccan will have Echo text him several times and reply to him within a certain time frame. We are all protective bastards and will do anything to keep our women safe. And as for the other two, I know the owner, Rainey, has to message her Daddy throughout the day. No one is going to make fun of you, and no one is going to think you’re weird and not want to be your friend. If anything, they’re going to see you as normal and want to hang around you,” Daddy explained.

“Okay, fine. I agree to your rules, and I will try my best,” she agreed.

“Good, now come give me a kiss before I let you meet Reaper,” Daddy instructed.

Raelynn shyly walked up to him, stepping onto her tippy-toes before planting a kiss on his lips. Daddy’s arms encircled her waist, tugging her tightly into him as he deepened the kiss.

After pulling away, she gave him a lazy smile. “If we continue this, I’m never going to be able to go to the coffee shop.”

Daddy leaned down, so their faces were inches apart. “Guilty. I don’t want you to leave me. I just want to keep you right next to me all the time,” he murmured against her lips. “If I could, I would stuff you in my pocket, so you never left my side.”

“Daddy,” she whined.