Page 33 of Daddy's Little Surprise

Daddy left her speechless. But he was so right with whathe said. They didn’t have to follow anybody else’s timeline but theirs. If they wanted to go fast right now, they could, and if a month passed and they needed to slow down, they could.

“You don’t have to say anything one way or the other. I just need you to know I have feelings for youandwant to spend the rest of my life with you. I can’t hide it, and I’m not going to.”

“But this baby isn’t yours.”

It was a worry of hers. Would he want nothing to do with her baby in a few years? What if she couldn’t get pregnant again?

“Rainey, I don’t care that this baby isn’t mine by blood. I’m still going to love you, and the baby like they were my own. If I need to remind you every single day that just because I didn’t help create this baby doesn’t mean I don’t want it, I will. I’m going to prove it to you every single day.”

“What if I can’t get pregnant again? Will you still love this baby like your own?”

“Yes,” he immediately replied, not even thinking about what she had said. “Do I want a child of my own with you? Absolutely. But if we can’t, then I’m okay with that. I still get to be the dad of this baby if you allow me.”

Tears pooled in her eyes once again, but this time, she didn’t try to hide them. Rainey thought she was going to be a single mother, but he was proving her wrong.

Daddy wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out together.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

RAINEY

“Idon’t really want you to go back to work today,” Daddy said as he pulled into the parking lot in front of her store.

It had been two days since she’d passed out in his arms. Two days of relaxing in his house. When the second day came around, she felt guilty because he wasn’t able to go to work, but he said he had a lot of vacation and PTO saved up.

Apparently, all the owners worked hard and didn’t take much time off until they found their Little girl. She wondered if it was because they were lonely at home. Even if she did have the money to somewhere, she didn’t know if she ever would. It was lonely to walk into an empty house. Not that staying in her antique coffee shop was any better. It wasn’t, but a home felt more real.

“I need to. I’ve taken two days off. I need to go back,” she gently spoke. “I know you want me to relax more, but I’m worried about the shop. Grace also doesn’t need to work a lot of overtime because I need the dayoff.”

“Maybe you should hire another person you trust to be a manager who can open. That way, you two aren’t working yourselves to death. And both of you can have time off and not work so much. You guys need to live your lives.”

“Well, Grace told me she could work a lot because she didn’t really have a life. Both of us didn’t have a significant other, so it didn’t matter. We don’t have many friends.”

When she had hired Grace, it was one of the first things she had said to her. She needed the job, and she could work as much as Rainey needed her to.

“That has changed for you, and you never know. It could change for Grace as well.”

Rainey stared at him for several seconds, processing the words he hadjust spoken.

“Does somebody have his eye on Grace?” she asked. “Who is it? Has he come into my coffee shop? Does she know?”

Daddy chuckled. “I’m not telling you who it is, or if he’s coming to your coffee shop, or if she knows him. You’ll just have to see when the time comes.”

Rainey whined and pouted. She wanted to know who it was and if she had met him before.

“Don’t ask Grace about it. Whether she does or doesn’t know, you will not ask her. Do you understand me?”

“But I want to know!”

“It is not your information to know. Maybe at some point you will, but right now, you don’t, and you won’t. You’re just going to have to live with that fact. I know it’s going to be hard, and you want to know, but I need you to be patient.”

Rainey sighed and nodded.

“Do you understand? If you ask and I find out, there will be consequences. And trust me, Iwillfind out.”

“I understand, Daddy.”

She did not like his answer, but she also didn’t want to get into trouble. Even though it was going to be so hard not to ask, she would have to do it. What if Grace knew but didn’t want other people to find out? She didn’t want to ask and risk other people finding out. Whatever the reason was, Daddy knew questions didn’t need to be asked.

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