Page 61 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

She grins, the skin around her merged eyes crinkling. “You have to be all in with the house submissives, Daddy. Bren would have skinned you alive if you’d tried to limp along.”

“Very true,” I admit. “I still feel like I’ve failed them.”

“You haven’t failed them because you’re here now, fixing things. And I know my Daddy will help fix it. Because that’s what my Daddy does. He makes things better. He’s not Dumbledore. He can’t wave a wand at it. He’s my Batman Daddy. He’s the one who fights the hard fight. The fight he’s not sure of winning. He’s the one who does the things that need doing. The hero we deserve.”

My throat tightens again. “Is that what I am, baby doll?”

She puts down the cookie and loops both arms around my neck. “You are. You’re proud of me? I’m double-proud of you. Triple-proud, even. You could have walked away, too. You could have just been a club member and ignored the problems with the house subbies. You could have left it to Master Ryan. It was hisproblem. You made it yours. You stepped up. I love you so much, Daddy, and I’m a zillion-times proud of you.”

I pull her off the stool and into my arms. She wraps her legs around my hips. “A zillion-times, huh? That’s lots of proud.”

“It is.” She presses kisses over my chin. “I know helping the house subbies has been hard. It’s made you feel guilty. It’s made you feel inadequate. But my Daddy doesn’t shy away from hard things. My Daddy keeps his baby on the horse until all the stinky green stuff comes out. My Daddy asks the hard questions and keeps asking until he gets the real answers. My Daddy doesn’t give up.”

“Baby, your faith in me, it’s everything.”

She squeezes my neck and hums a tune I recognize, “If I ever lose my faith in you ...”

“Won’t happen, baby girl. Because I will never give you a reason to lose your faith in me.”

She plasters kisses all over my face and giggles when I carry her upstairs to bed.

eighteen

EMILY

Livvy is a psychic baby.

I didn’t know babies could be psychic but Livvy’s the most awesome baby in the world and she’s psychic.

She’s quiet and alert from the moment she wakes up at 7:05—Gracie’s amazing schedule at work—staring at me the way she stared at Cappa. I lean in as we dress her so she can see my face clearly. She blinks and grins her gummy grin but doesn’t coo or gurgle. When I blow kisses at her, she puckers her lips like she’s blowing kisses back but doesn’t even giggle.

“She’s quiet this morning,” Logan remarks as he carries her downstairs.

The house is as quiet as the baby. Bren and Mac ate an early breakfast and left for her shop. Master Mac wanted to get in a run and a shower before he opens his daycare, where Livvy’s going for the first time today.

While we share whole wheat bagels and lox from the deli down the street for breakfast, Daddy watches the morning news and I curl up next to him on the couch with Livvy on my lap. She blows milky bubbles but still doesn’t make a sound. Sablehops up next to me and extends a tentative white paw, batting gently at the fringe of tiny pompoms on the hem of Livvy’s dress. I praise him until his rusty purr starts up and I get a whiff of his breath. It smells like a sewer bursting. Sweet baby Jesus.

“Daddy, you gave him an oatmeal cookie, didn’t you?”

Daddy crosses his heart. “I swear I didn’t. Although I also admit that I didn’t put the plate in the fridge, either.”

There were at least three oatmeal cookies on the plate when Daddy carried me upstairs last night. There weren’t any left when I put it in the dishwasher while I was making breakfast. I glare at my cat. He freezes with his paw in mid-air.

Livvy suddenly rips out a fart. The first sound she’s made today.

Daddy chuckles.

“Are you sympathetically stinky, baby?” I ask Livvy.

The smell hits us both and Daddy begins to guffaw. Men and bodily functions, I swear.

“Goodness gracious! We’re doing a diaper check after that one, Livvy-bit,” I tell the baby.

She grins.

“I see you inherit your sense of humor from Daddy.”

Once she’s in a fresh diaper, I bundle Livvy up and pop her in her stroller for the walk to Brenna’s shop. I leave Daddy in his office, planning something nefarious with Max. Sable follows me to the front door, meowing.

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