Page 219 of Giddy Up, Daddy

“You can try.” She nibbled her lip. “I mean… you can ask, and I can try to answer them.”

“That’s fair.” I smiled and pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Do the best you can, okay? First, I just want to make sure I’m understanding. You’re a Little? Or at least are exploring being a Little?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t going to, but I talked to Reese and Wren a lot, and they’re really convincing. I don’t have to be a Little, though. It wasn’t my plan when we came here.”

“Stop, baby. I just need you to answer my questions. I don’t want to cause you to spiral into bad thoughts. Simple answers is all I want for now. Take a deep breath with Daddy.” I wanted her to know exactly how I felt about her being a Little. My Little. And what better way to start than jumping in with both feet.

She gasped.

“That’s not a breath. C’mon. Breathe with Daddy,” I repeated, and watched her swallow hard. I could see the wheels spinning in her head, but she obeyed and we took a few deep breaths together before I continued.

“Good girl. Do you feel a bit better?”

She nodded.

“I’ve always been a caretaker Dom, Rip, and I’ve always wanted to be a Daddy, but only to the right girl. The one special girl that I decided to keep for myself forever and always. I think I always knew that girl was you. Maybe that’s why it’s taken so long for me to find someone of my own. No one holds a candle to you, baby.”

I laid it all out for her. I needed her to know exactly where I stood on the entire situation. I didn’t want any doubts in her mind.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to lose our best friend for this to be possible, but I will forever be grateful to Randy for giving you to me. I didn’t quite understand what he was asking me to do in those last days, but it all makes sense now. He knew we would end up together. That’s what he wanted. It was his final wish.”

“It was? How come he didn’t tell me?” Ripley tilted her head in confusion.

I chuckled. “Because you wouldn’t have listened.”

Ripley furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to argue, but then froze. I could tell she was trying to think of an argument, and the exact moment she came to the realization that there wasn’t one.

“I might have.” She crossed her arms over her chest and pushed her bottom lip out in a pout.

“You’re adorable.” I cupped her cheek and stroked it with the pad of my thumb. “Was Randy your Daddy?”

She nodded. “Sometimes, but not a lot. We were dabbling right before he got sick.”

I felt marginally better knowing they hadn’t gotten too far, because it felt a lot less like they’d been hiding it from me.

“Okay, so tell me about today. How did we go from breakfast with friends to a paint fight in the Littles’ Wing?”

Chapter Eleven

Ripley

He called himself Daddy…

That’s all that kept replaying in my head while we talked. I should have seen the signs. Cade had every Daddy tendency, and even when he was trying not to be overbearing about certain things, it was obvious he’d been holding back. He’d held back a whole lot more since Randy passed, and it had been confusing, but maybe it was starting to make more sense? I know I hadn’t really given him any indication that I would welcome his hovering.

Now everything was being laid out in the open and I had to tell him about the ridiculous mess, literally and figuratively, I’d gotten myself into.

The pressure in my chest, the worry, the fear, the stress, it all seemed to melt away as I explained my morning from start to finish. Cade seemed highly entertained by the whole thing, and even when I got a little nervous, his smile and encouraging nod was enough for me to keep going. The whole time I talked he used a soapy washcloth to gently wash me clean. It was amazing, and I loved every second of it.

“So you have to sign that so I can give it back to Master Derek.” I pointed at the pink slip

“Just sign it, huh?”

“Well…” The butterflies danced in my tummy. “You’re supposed to sign it after a punishment, but I really don’t think that’s necessary. I will definitely never get in another paint fight. Mostly because I’ll never be around Wren and Reese and paint all at the same time ever again.” If I made sure to keep the paint away, then I wouldn’t find myself in this predicament again. It felt like sound logic to me.

“So if I were to sign it and not punish you, wouldn’t that be like a lie? How do you think Master Derek would feel about lies? What kind of Daddy would it make me if I helped you lie to the big man in charge? Or to anyone, for that fact?”

The butterflies flapped harder because I knew exactly where this conversation was going to get me. Over Daddy’s knee.

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