Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“Daddy’s things to take care of you.”
That answer didn’t tell her anything other than she needed to be worried. Davis must have felt her leg muscles tense. He patted her reassuringly.
“Maybe I don’t want to be a Little girl,” she whispered.
“It doesn’t work that way, Cherry. You’re either Little or you’re not. Look, here’s our street.”
Sue’s head whipped to the right as he turned. She hadn’t realized they’d gotten so close. Watching as they passed three houses, Sue held her breath when he pulled into his driveway and triggered the garage door to rise.
“There’s plenty of room in here for both our cars. I’ll get my bike up on a rack to be out of the way. Do you like riding bikes?” he asked as he parked the car in the empty space inside. So far, she’d been parking her car in his driveway.
“I don’t know,” she answered, hating the tremble in her voice.
“Cherry, take three slow breaths and Daddy will be there to hold you,” Davis promised as he unfastened his seatbelt and opened his door.
In a flash, he circled the car and helped her out of the vehicle. Davis wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the side of her head lightly. “Are you scared?”
“Y-yes,” she fumbled over her answer.
“Why? Because your Daddy loves you and wants to take care of you?”
Sue froze in his arms and then leaned slowly away to search his expression. He looked concerned. She replayed his words in her head before whispering, “You love me?”
“I do. I love you, Cherry. Even more than you love your favorite cupcakes. My feelings will never go away or change. I love you,” Davis assured her.
She swallowed hard. That was huge.
“Let’s go inside.” Davis steered her into the house and stopped at the first chair, which happened to be at the kitchen table. Scooting it back, Davis sat and scooped her onto his lap. He rocked her slowly back and forth until she relaxed against him.
“Talk to me, Cherry. What’s going on in your mind?” he requested softly.
Tears began to cascade down her cheeks. Sue brushed them away and tried to make herself stop as she apologized, “I’m sorry I’m being emotional. I’ll try to be in control of myself.”
“That doesn’t sound like something you’d say,” Davis suggested. “Did someone tell you not to be emotional and to get yourself under control?”
“Y-yes,” she sobbed. “Troy never liked it when I cried.”
“Oh, sweet Little girl. You’re allowed to have feelings here.” Davis wiped away her tears before pressing a kiss to her lips. “This is your safe place.”
Sue rested her head on his broad shoulder and allowed herself to cry. She hadn’t ever grieved for her broken marriage, all the hateful confrontations she’d had with Troy after she found him with his boss, or through her financial difficulties after he’d left her.
Davis didn’t rush her. He simply rubbed her back and swayed slightly as he held her close. Slowly, her tears ebbed. Sue sat up feeling very self-conscious. His shirt was soaked, and she knew she wasn’t a woman who cried pretty.
“You had a lot of feelings to let go of,” he commented softly. Davis reached for a paper napkin in the dispenser on the table and held it to her nose. “Blow.”
Without thinking, Sue followed his directions and blew her nose into the soft paper he held. Instantly, she was able to breathe better. He wiped her nose and threw the crumpled paper toward the trash can. She watched it land inside before she looked back at him.
“I’m sorry for crying all over you.”
“I’m not. If all that was pent up inside you, it needed to come out. How do you feel?”
Taking a deep breath in, Sue allowed it to sigh out of her mouth slowly as she took stock. “I feel better,” she said, hearing the surprise in her own voice.
“Good. I’m glad. Now, do you feel like talking about being a Little girl?”
Nodding, Sue waited to hear what he’d say.
“Good girl. You’re so brave. I know you’ve been through a lot and I’m so proud of you for keeping everything together. You should be, too.”
When she nodded, he continued, “Being Little is in your heart just like being a Daddy is in mine.” Davis placed a hand over her heart, bringing Sue’s attention to her heartbeat. “I want to help you be happy, safe, and protected, but you have to allow me to be a Daddy. Do you think you can trust me to be the one person who always has your best interests in mind?”
“Like taking my temperature?” she whispered.
“That’s a very small part but it’s a big step in your mind.” When she nodded, he added, “Then I think we need to take care of that so you can stop worrying about it. Go get the bag from the back seat and bring it here. Be sure to pick up anything that rolled onto the seat.”