Page 73 of Retribution

“Daddy…” She lowers her voice to a whisper.

“Yeah?” I whisper back, leaning over the side of the bed to get closer to her.

She crouches down and I furrow my brows in confusion.

Her tiny index finger lifts and points behind me as a quiet giggle escapes her lips.

I crane my head to look at the direction she is pointing, and it dawns on me.

Of course.

“Ah, yeah…” I breath, as if I’d been caught red-handed.

Well, I kinda have.

She stands up to her full height and places her hands on her hips, looking down at me.

I carefully sit up, trying not to wake Indie.

It’s difficult not to laugh at Willow when she’s looking at me like she’s a mother, telling off her son.

“Come on, missus,” I say, tipping my head towards the bedroom door.

She steps back and I stand up from the bed, my pajama pants hanging loosely from my hips.

She taps her foot impatiently and rolls her eyes at me, quietly stomping away. Following after her, we head downstairs and into the kitchen.

“You’ve got some explaining to do, daddy.” She pouts her lips and crosses her arms, leaning against the kitchen cupboards.

“Lo, I’ve got something to tell you…” I wince, getting onto my knees before her so that she has the advantage on the height.

She turns her head away from me with an angry look on her face.

“She’s my Indie, not yours.” She grumbles, avoiding eye contact with me.

I have to bite my cheek to stop myself from laughing at her reaction this this. My moody nine-year-old daughter isn’t angry because I’m in bed with another woman, she’s angry because she wants Indie all to herself.

“Lo–”

“No, daddy. Indie likes me more than you. It isn’t fair she gets to have sleepovers in your bed. She should be having sleepovers in my bed!” She scowls at me, finally facing me.

“I know, but–”

“No buts, daddy! You say I’m not allowed to say but!” She retorts.

My smart girl.

“Okay, Lo. You’re right. It isn’t fair.” I confess, trying my best to appear sincere.

She scrunches her nose and looks at me fiercely, almost making me smile.

“See, this is what I’ve wanted to talk to you about,” I begin, and she looks at me expectantly, “Indie is going to be around, for a while. You’re going to be seeing a lot more of her around here.”

I tread lightly, not ready to break the news of the marriage yet.

“Wait, really?” Willow gasps, her eyes growing wide.

“Yeah, I kind of really like her too…” I admit, trying to break this down easily enough for a child to understand.

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