Page 48 of His Sassy Little

Arabella woke to the most delicious aroma. Daddy was making her favoritest food! She wanted to jump out of bed and run for the kitchen but when she tried to move, her ribs and abdomen protested. In fact, her whole body protested. She was so sore. She hugged Mister Fluffington tight and stuck her thumb in her mouth, debating if Fettuccini Alfredo was worth the pain getting up would cause.

She didn’t have to debate with herself for long before Daddy came in and saw her awake. He must have noticed her pain levels as well, as he dosed out her pain killers and gave her some water. Then he surprised her.

“Would you like to come out to the dining room and eat at the table?” She had figured that knowing she was in pain would doom her to another meal in bed, but here he was letting her decide. She really did want to get out of bed and she really needed the potty.

Arabella nodded her head and held out her hands to be picked up. Daddy wasted no time in lifting her from the bed.

“Do you need the potty first, Little Hurricane?”

Again, she only nodded. This seemed to be enough for Daddy as he headed to the attached bathroom. Daddy set her on her feet in front of the toilet, then knelt down and pulled her leggings and panties down before helping her sit on the seat.

“Not feeling very vocal right now?”

She shook her head.

“It’s okay. You’ve had a long day and Daddy knows what his Little girl needs.”

When Arabella was done doing her business, Daddy helped her back up and set her clothing to rights before carrying her to the sink to wash her hands.

Entering the dining room, Arabella noticed Stone sitting at the table waiting for them. She sent a questioning look to Daddy which he answered.

“Sapphire stayed home with the kids. They were playing dragon queen.”

Arabella sighed heavily. She wanted to play dragon queen too.

“Don’t worry, Little Hurricane. You’ll be back to running wild again soon. Right now, you need to let your body heal. You also need to eat your dinner. I made your favorite, but you need to eat some salad first. Vegetables are important.”

Arabella let out another heavy sigh. She should have known it would come with a catch. She didn’t necessarily want salad but with enough dressing, she could make it work in order to get her alfredo.

Daddy seemed lighter than he had since she was in the hospital. She didn’t know what he and Stone had been talking about while she napped, but whatever it was, she hoped it helped with the tiredness her Daddy was displaying. She hated seeing him with bags under his eyes. She knew he felt guilty and that was probably messing with him, but she didn’t want him to feel guilty. Nothing that had happened was his fault.

When Daddy set the plate of salad in front of her, Arabella just stared at it. Her whole body hurt and even the thought of trying to feed herself seemed overwhelming. Daddy was very observant, however, and he recognized her dilemma almost immediately. After setting a plate down for Stone and himself, he began to feed her bites of salad in between bites of his own.

Arabella thought that it was nice not to have to worry about those sorts of things. Daddy would take care of it and she trusted him to do it. Talk was light as they all ate. Before long, dinner was over and Stone was headed home.

Arabella was set on the couch by her Daddy and they snuggled together watching television. Daddy had put on one of her favorite shows. Maybe some would think that her liking little puppies that saved the day would be weird, but she loved this cartoon and could watch it for hours.

They were on the third episode of the evening when the doorbell rang. After Daddy answered it, he came back with Ham.

“I have the documents you might need for the time being. They’re under the name you don’t want to use but I am processing your legal name change. That takes time so you’ll have to go by Rose for legal things until it’s completed.”

Arabella took the envelope from Ham and shuddered when she saw the name Rose O’Conner on the papers inside. She understood it would take time but she never wanted to use that name again. Daddy, sensing her distress, took the envelope and told her, “I’ll just put these someplace safe in case you need them.”

When Daddy left the room, Ham asked, “How are you doing, Little One?”

Arabella shrugged her shoulders and immediately regretted the action as pain radiated through her being. She had no idea how her Daddy knew but when he came back into the room, he had meds and water.

“It’s about time for these meds, Little Hurricane. Think you can handle a big girl glass or do you need a sippy cup?”

In answer, Arabella took the glass he was holding and downed the pills. She knew that they would make her sleepy but it was worth it. This pain was no joke.

Ham had hardly gotten out the door, Daddy just barely getting snuggled back in with her when the doorbell rang again.

“Jesus,” Daddy muttered, “what is this? Grand Central Station?”

Arabella didn’t notice the two men entering the room a few minutes later, she’d been too caught up in puppy rescues. The clearing of a throat clued her in to their presence and she couldn’t say she was happy to see their visitor.

“I won’t take up too much of your time,” Sheriff Blake said, “I just wanted to let you know that the police department that’s handling your parents' case is taking a closer look into your ex. I contacted them when Aiden gave me your phone and showed me the picture you were sent. The evidence is on its way to them as we speak. I can’t promise anything but at least they’re taking it seriously.”

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