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Colwyn
“Colwyn?”
Raleigh’s sweet voice dragged my attention from the movie in front of me. I looked down at the floor where she had been coloring in her favorite coloring book. She was now peering up at me with those large, doe-like blue eyes, her sweet lips just slightly parted.
Raleigh and I had met by pure chance. She was dating some douchebag back then; it was a little over two years ago, right after I’d retired from the Navy and come here to be a lifeguard. She had been playing in the sand. Slater had thought it strange until I gave him a lesson on littles and the reasons some of them might regress into that headspace.
But then she’d started getting irritable, and her daddy at the time treated her like absolute shit. He wasn’t concerned with getting her what she needed to calm her down, and when he’d snapped at her, I’d just about lost my shit.
So, breaking protocol, I’d stormed over and proceeded to chew his ass out for being an asshole toward her. And when he ended things with her right then and there, I rented the umbrella and beach chairs right next to the lifeguard station and let her take a nap, which was all she’d needed.
I’d been protecting this sweet girl ever since then.
And falling in love with her, too.
But I was terrified of letting her know how I felt. The thing with littles, especially one like Raleigh, was that she tended to regress a lot. The trauma she’d experienced growing up with her mom made her regress more often than not, especially since she felt safe with me.
“Yes, sweet girl?” I asked her, leaning forward to run my hand over her long, dark hair. It fell down to her ass, but she never wanted to cut it. So, I’d bargained with her and told her she could keep it long,butshe had to allow me to keep it trimmed so it got no longer than what it was now. After a small fit, she’d agreed.
“I’m hungry,” she told me, a slight pout to her lips.
I smiled at her. “How does a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sound?” I asked her.
“No crust?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were her favorite.
“Never any crust, sweet girl. You want to help me?”
Eagerly, she nodded her head and hopped up from the floor, getting ready to rush into the kitchen. “Aht.” I gently stopped her with my arm around her chest. She leaned her head back to look up at me. Sweet girl only came up to my shoulder; I towered over her, but it just made me feel even more protective of her.
This girl was my entire world, and she didn’t even know it.
“What do we do when we’re done with something?” I asked her, giving her a pointed look.
Her pretty face flushed red. “Sorry, Daddy,” she mumbled, bending down to pick up her things.
My heart thumped wildly in my chest.She just called me Daddy.
Fuck.
We’d never crossed that boundary before—wasn’t sure how she felt about calling me that. Normally, that title was reserved for someone she was with romantically.
Did she look at me like that?
I waited for her to pick up her crayons and her coloring book, and I watched as she put them back where they were supposed to go. Then, I grabbed her hand in mine and led her into the kitchen. She grabbed the peanut butter and jelly out of the fridge. I knew most people kept peanut butter in the pantry, but Raleigh wouldnoteat peanut butter if it wasn’t cold. I’d learned that the first time I made her a sandwich, and I’d never forgotten.
I remembered everything about her because it was important that she always felt safe with me.
While she was eating, I cleaned up the kitchen, putting everything back up where it belonged. And then, I just leaned on the counter and watched her as she slowly ate her sandwich that I’d cut into triangles while she watched TV.
Even though Raleigh was a little, she was still very successful, and I was extremely proud of her for that. She had just recently opened Sizzle Sweets after saving all her tips and wages from Howie’s on the Beach. And she’d saved foryearsso she could finally afford to put a down payment on the building she now owned.
I was with her when she purchased, and I co-signed for her, though I made sure to have a contract drawn up that stated I gotnothingfrom her.
I just wanted her to be successful.
At twenty-one, she was. Her shop was thriving, and she barely had to go in, which I was thankful for. Too much stress or excitement made her extremely irritable. Her anxiety and depression were mostly controlled by meds, but she still had bad days.
