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3
Colwyn
The morning hadn’t gone well. Raleigh and I had done our best to placate customers, but many that came here before heading to Savannah for work were extremely irate about Sizzle Sweets not being open on time. Not only did I have to deal with angry customers outside of the store, but I also had to deal with irate customers calling to file complaints.
Once Meghan had shown up for the afternoon shift, I’d quickly whisked Raleigh out and taken her home, letting her fall into little time to get herself together. And that was how we had spent the rest of our day before I tucked her into bed and passed out on the couch.
“Daddy,” Raleigh mumbled from the doorway of her room, her tired eyes blinking at me before she reached up to rub one of them, “I don’t want to be by myself today.”
I offered her a sweet, soft smile and quickly moved toward her. I had been setting up a pot of coffee—didn’t have to leave for an hour or so to head into work. Apparently, Raleigh was still struggling from yesterday.
“Come on. Let’s braid your hair so you can spend the day with me.”
She settled herself on the stool in front of her vanity, and I set to work on brushing out her hair before French braiding it, the smell of coffee wafting into her bedroom. Once her hair was braided and secured with a clear rubber band, I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Get dressed. I’ll make sure your bag is packed.”
She nodded and moved off her chair. I quickly grabbed her beach bag, making sure she had sunscreen, a beach towel, and her beach blanket. Then, I made us both lunch, packing that into my cooler that I normally took with me.
She emerged from her room wearing a brown swimsuit with white polka dots, a white cover-up on top. She looked sexy as hell, and it took every bit of my willpower to pull my eyes away from her. I handed her a sippy cup of orange juice. She rewarded me with a kiss on the cheek before she moved to the table and sat down, waiting on breakfast.
While I cooked eggs and pancakes, I turned the TV on to SpongeBob to keep her occupied. Once her pancakes were done, I cut them up into small, bite-sized pieces and placed them on her Lion King tray before doing the same with her eggs, placing them on another section of the tray. I set them in front of her and refilled her sippy cup before sitting down with her to eat.
I kept a watchful eye on her, leaning over with a wet wipe we kept on the table to clean her face and chin as she ate. She hated things touching her skin that weren’t supposed to be there, and while I knew most other daddies would make their little wait until they were done, I knew how irritable Raleigh could get. She’d stop eating altogether if I didn’t keep her cleaned up.
She had her quirks that probably drove many men up the wall, but when she looked at me with those big blue eyes, nothing else mattered to me in the world but making sure she was happy and content.
Because Lord knew she fucking deserved it.
* * *
“Daddy?”she asked, her hand held tightly in mine. I was carrying her beach bag over my other shoulder and my cooler with our lunches, her sippy cup, water, and juice in my other hand. All I needed her to do was watch the sidewalk to make sure she didn’t trip.
“Yes, little one?” Her calling me Daddy would never get old. I wanted to hear her call me that name over and over and over again.
“Thank you for not leaving me at home today.”
I gently squeezed her hand. “I’ll always take care of you and do everything I can to make you happy, sweet girl.”
A blush stained her pretty cheeks, but she tightened her hand around mine, letting me know I hadn’t overstepped my boundaries. In fact, our boundaries seemed to be blurring more and more.
I wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but I was just going with the flow. And if she ever decided she truly did want more with me, then I would give her more. But until then, I would take what little bit she gave me and settle with it. Because, for me, there was no other woman. Raleigh was it.
Once we got to the end of the boardwalk, I tugged Raleigh gently to the side and knelt down to unstrap her sandals. Once they were off her feet, I slipped on her flip-flops so she could get across the hot sand without burning her soles.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
I pressed a kiss to her nose in response before leading her to the lifeguard station. After dropping my things off and nodding once at Slater in greeting, I went to rent her the loungers and umbrella beside the stand. And after setting her up and making sure she had everything she needed, I settled my ass on the golf cart.
“So, it’s not often you two show up to work together,” Slater said just loud enough for me to hear him.
I shrugged. “She had a bad day yesterday. Her assistant manager is dealing with a family emergency and didn’t let Raleigh know until the last minute.” Slater cursed because he knew as well as I did how a shift in Raleigh’s schedule could set her back. “I dealt with most of the customers, but everything was still too much for her. And I think she’s still trying to reset her mind. She woke up this morning and told me she didn’t want to be by herself today.”
Slater shook his head. “I get that she’s got a family emergency and all, but she couldn’t have let Raleigh know ahead of time?”
My thoughts exactly, but I also knew Lyla was too good of an assistant manager to let go or write up. Family emergencies happened. Raleigh had known what she was getting into when she decided to open up a store; I’d made sure she did.
Blowing out a soft breath, I glanced over at Raleigh and had to do a double take. It wasn’t like her to sleep in the morning once she was up; normally, she didn’t get tired until right after lunch. But there she was, fast asleep on the beach chair, the beach blanket draped over her and the towel under her head as a pillow. Her sippy cup was clenched in her hand and hugged to her chest.
A soft smile pulled at my lips.
