Page 22 of Guiding Little Gabi

The next thing she knew, her feet had left the floor as he lifted her to look him in the eye. “I don’t just think that, little girl. It’s true. Now tell me three good things about you.”

Argh! Did other Daddies dangle their Littles by their armpits like this? Probably not. Why couldn’t Raleigh be a pencil-pushing geek lawyer like the ones on the sitcoms?

Scratch that. She adored her Daddy’s muscles. To be honest, she loved the way he towered over her. It made her feel safe.

He gave her a tiny shake. “I’m waiting, teacup. Three good things.”

She hated having to think of things on the spot. He never let her say the same thing twice. “Um, I’m creative, I’m loyal, and I’m always right.”

Her Daddy snorted at her. How rude.

“Try again on that last one.”

“Fine. I’m almost always right.” At his raised brow and tightened lips, she caved. “Kidding! I was just kidding. Third, I’m funny. Right?”

With a low growl, he set her down and swatted her bottom. “Just remember, in comedy, timing is everything.”

Scurrying back to the bed before he had time to swat her again, she looked at the mound of bath bombs. He wasprobably right. She didn’t need that many. But maybe, if she had impressive gifts for all of them, they’d like her and want to continue being her friend.

She worked for another hour, ensuring each bag contained two bath bombs of every color. She included the stars and stripes headbands she’d found. They had the cutest sparkling stars shooting out from the top. There were a few other items, such as lotion, lip balm, and star-shaped sunglasses.

After she finished personalizing each bag, she stepped back to look at everything. It was too much. She had gone over the top. No one would think she was trying to be nice; they would think she was trying to buy their friendship.

Embarrassment crawled through her. Why could she never do anything right? She should call Sadie and back out of the whole thing. Maybe she could return the bath bombs to the gift shop. Her eyes burned with tears, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold them back.

Of course, her Daddy noticed. He was by her side in seconds. “What’s wrong, babygirl?” he asked. “Do you not like the way the bags look? They’ll love them, but if you don’t like them, I can run to the gift shop and get different ones. What can I do, teacup?”

It was overwhelming. He was being so sweet, and he didn’t even understand why she had given the gifts in the first place, but now he wanted to help her. He was such a wonderful Daddy. She really hoped he wouldn’t change his mind again. That thought turned her flowing tears into sobs.

“Oh, babygirl, don’t cry. Come sit with Daddy.” He lifted her bridal style and carried her to the couch. Sitting her in his lap, he said, “Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

Pulling in a hitched breath, she tried to explain. “It’s j-just… I should’ve… it’s not…” No matter how she tried, she couldn’t get her feelings and words to cooperate. “Oh, D-daddy. You were r-right. I sh-shouldn’t have done a-anything. They’re g-going tothink it’s st-stupid. Then they’re g-going to think I-I’m stupid and th-they’ll hate m-me. All I w-wanted was for th-them to know I l-like them and for th-them to like m-me.”

Raleigh pulled her head close to his chest and began stroking her hair. “Little girl, let me ask you a question. If you received a gift like that, would you like it? Would you be happy if someone were kind enough to give it to you?”

She hadn’t thought about that. She loved receiving gifts. That was why she loved giving them. “Y-yes, Daddy. But?—”

Raleigh held her closer. “Don’t interrupt. Would you feel grateful if someone thought of you, even if the gift was a bit more than you expected?”

“I suppose.”

He pressed a kiss to her hair. “I would, too. Now, little one, look me in the eyes.” He waited until she met his gaze to continue, “It is not stupid to be kind. You are the most intelligent person I know, especially when it comes to people. The only thing bigger than that brilliant brain of yours is your heart.”

He thought she was smart? The smartest person he knew? Smarter than Lovie? She’d been told she was pretty, and sweet, and a pain in the butt, but no one had ever thought she was smart.

But Raleigh wasn’t finished. “Listen to Daddy, babygirl. Never, ever assume for others how they will feel or respond. You can’t make that decision for them. You’ve got to trust them to tell you how they feel, and nine times out of ten it will be so much better than you could have possibly hoped.”

Had she been doing that?

Yes, you most certainly have.

She should probably hate that Beetlebrenda agreed with her Daddy, but Gabi couldn’t deny the truth that she’d been allowing her fear of how she was treated when she was younger to dictate how she was reacting now. Raleigh always liked the thingsshe did for him, whether they were big or small. So did the Musketiaras. The people who knew her better than anyone liked the things she did. She’d had it backward.

Raleigh brushed her tears away with his thumb. “Do you understand, babygirl?”

“I understand. My friends don’t like me for what I do for them. They like what I do for them because they’re my friends.”

A smile warmed Raleigh's face. Nodding, he said, “Now, when your friends arrive, you greet them with your head held high. You did something nice for someone else. That’s no reason to be afraid or ashamed. I am very proud of what you did, so if anyone has anything to say about it, you just refer them to me.”

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