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I grabbed our food and put her food on one of her plastic plates. She hated the sound of the Styrofoam. Didn’t know why, but it really irked her nerves.
Once both of our plates were ready, I sat at the table beside her, feeding her shrimp and crab in between bites of my own food. I had her favorite movie playing on TV, and it held her attention, her giving me just enough of it so she knew to open her mouth when I was ready to feed her another bite.
It wasn’t often that she regressed this far, but I didn’t mind when she did. She relied on me, and fuck, I’d treasure that trust she gave me for the rest of my life. I’d never do anything to fuck it up. She was everything to me.
Once she was done eating, I washed my hands and our dishes. Then, while she was still engrossed with the movie, I went to start her a bath. I put her favorite lavender-scented bubble bath in as well as Epsom salt. After adding her toys, I went to retrieve her.
This was where we drew the line in our relationship, though. I would prepare her bath, but she did the rest by herself. We weren’t on that level—didn’t know if we ever would be—and I’d never push her for something she wasn’t ready for yet, even if my balls cursed me seven ways to Sunday every time I denied myself a glimpse of her naked body.
I set about cleaning up her small house, folding her blankets, picking up her toys, and wiping down her counters. Normally, I had her do this with me. It helped to keep structure and discipline, but today had been hard enough for her. Tomorrow, she and I would have a discussion about calling me when she was feeling really bad.
I couldn’t help her if I didn’t know what was going on. And she knew she was my first priority. She came beforeeverything, even work.
“Daddy?”
I quickly turned at the sound of her sweet voice, my cock hardening in my board shorts. She was rubbing her eyes, her favorite blanket clutched in her fist. “I’m tired.”
I quickly moved toward her and lifted her into my arms, carrying her to her bed. Once she was beneath the covers, I kicked my shoes off and pulled my shirt over my head, laying down in bed beside her. She cuddled up to me, her blanket squished between us, still held tightly in her small fist.
She nuzzled her nose against my chest. “Night, Daddy,” she mumbled. “I love you.”
This girl was going to induce a heart attack because I was pretty damn sure my heart wasn’t supposed to always beat this hard and this fast. “I love you, too, baby girl. More than you’ll ever fucking know,” I whispered.
* * *
Raleigh’s fuckingphone was ringing, and my sweet girl was whining in protest. She was a mess when she got woken up before she was ready when she was in her little headspace.
I snatched her phone off the charger and pulled it to my ear when I saw Lyla’s name on the screen. “Hello?” I gruffly answered.
“Colwyn?” she asked. I grunted in response, tugging Raleigh closer to me. “I’m really sorry, but I can’t make it in today to open. My brother-in-law had some complications in surgery and—”
“Don’t fret,” I told her. “I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you,” she rushed out.
I quickly ended the call with her, cursing when I saw there were onlyfive fucking minutesuntil opening time.
“Fuck,” I swore. “She couldn’t have called earlier?”
That snapped Raleigh out of her headspace, and she blinked up at me through weary eyes. I clenched my jaw. Today was going to probably end up being another bad day. But thankfully, I was off, so I could be with her while she worked. Hopefully, I could prevent another day like yesterday.
“Raleigh, baby, I need you to get up. We have to hurry to open the store.”
She looked at the time on her phone and groaned. “Oh, no,” she mumbled, her face paling.
She hated things being out of order and this wasreallyabout to throw everything around.
“Come on,” I soothed, helping her up from the bed. “I’m off today. I’ll be there. It’s going to be okay.”
She nodded, and after leaning up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to my cheek, she hurriedly grabbed clothes to get dressed, slipping into the bathroom. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of the drawer I had in her dresser and quickly yanked them on in record time. By the time she came out, I had my shoes on, my hair was tamed, and I had even brushed my teeth in the kitchen sink.
“I’m ready,” she told me, her hand reaching out for me.
I instantly took it in my own and pulled it up to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Deep breath, baby girl. I’m with you. Today is going to be a good day.” I always tried to reinforce optimism with her, speaking good things into existence.
She drew in a deep breath and nodded. “I’m ready.”
I gently squeezed her hand and quickly led her out of her house, making sure to lock the door behind me.
