Page 48 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

“Just like Indiana Jones,” Sammi breathes.

“Nothing like Indiana Jones,” Matty responds, grinning.

Faolan squeezes her shoulders. “Except your pup stuffie named Indy.”

Matty swats him. “Daddy. Yougaveme Indy. And you named him.”

“Did I? Oh, right, I did.”

The daddies and mommies chuckle. Daddy humor. I trade sneaky eye rolls with Aggie.

Daddy leans over and whispers in my ear. “Saw that, little girl. You’re busted.”

I grind my teeth. I literally can’t get away with a single thing with Daddy around. “I claim an exemption.”

Daddy crouches by the picnic table, his eyebrows up. “An exemption?”

“I can’t be in trouble for reacting to bad dad jokes told by other daddies. I only get in trouble for eye-rolls to your bad jokes.”

“I don’t make bad jokes and I don’t think that’s the rule.”

“It’s anexemptionto the rule.”

“That would be anexceptionto the rule and I didn’t agree to it beforehand, so you’re still busted. I’ll discuss your chastisement with Warrin.”

Because Warrin has daddy-hearing, too, he pops up behind Aggie. “Did someone say punishment?”

“Not us!” Aggie and I chorus.

“Do we have two little girls who have strayed off the path of righteousness?” Warrin asks Daddy.

“We do,” Daddy says. “Gross disrespect for fine, daddy humor.”

Warrin chuckles. “I’m aware this is a fault my little girl suffers from. Egregious. What example can we make of these miscreants?”

Daddy rubs his chin. Oh, no, I know that evil glint. “I decree a round robin of knock-knock jokes from all the mommies and daddies. Failure to laugh appropriately to any joke results in one minute of tickling.”

“Nooo!” Aggie and I squeal.

“This is an excellent idea,” Matty’s daddy says as he rubs her shoulders. Great, another sadist. “I’ll begin. Knock-knock?”

“Who’s there?” The littles around the table groan together.

“Major,” Faolan says.

“Major who?” We chorus.

“Made-jer day with this joke, didn’t I?”

I can’t even muster a chuckle that one’s so bad, although I control an eye-roll. Only Sammi manages a half-hearted laugh.

Warrin and Daddy each hold up a finger. Bravo joins them.

Aggie, Yummy, and I groan.

fifteen

EMILY

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