Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
“It’s the music. It gets me every time,” Beau confessed.
“You really frightened me.”
“I’m sorry. I’d called your name twice as I came through the door. And how do you greet your Daddy after a long day at work? You throw pillows and run for something lethal in the kitchen.”
Giggles escaped from her lips as she saw her reaction through his eyes. “Sorry?”
“You will be sorry. Are you supposed to watch scary movies?”
“Well, we hadn’t really talked about it,” she hedged, feeling a prickle of awareness that she might be in trouble.
“Do you have a list of what you are allowed to watch?”
“Yes, but…”
“Is a canned meat murderer on the list?”
“No. But you weren’t here to tell me not to watch it.”
He just looked at her and crossed his arms, waiting for her to say more.
“Okay. It’s not your fault.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not in trouble, am I?”
“Not at all. I’ll just have to use my nightmare prevention Daddy tool.”
“What’s that?”
“You’ll see when I tuck you in tonight. Did you eat something other than chips and dip?” he asked, picking up the empty bag.
“That’s all I was hungry for.” When he raised one eyebrow at her, Maisie added, “Chet, on my team, is a weightlifter. He has one cheat meal a week. This was mine.”
“A cheat meal, huh? I can see how that would reward you when you eat healthy the other days of the week. Perfect. This week’s cheat meal is taken care of. We’ll have spinach salads on Friday instead of our regular pizza.”
“Oh, but we always have pizza,” she protested.
“Maybe next week, we can count that as our cheat meal.”
“That’s not fair. I like pizza. It can be healthy,” she argued.
“Next week. Time for bed, Little girl.”
“I’m not really tired.”
“That’s okay. You can rest your eyes while I sleep. I’m completely wiped.” Beau wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her toward the master bedroom. “There was a vicious fight over funding state highway improvements.”
“Who won?”
“The good guys, of course. In truth, everyone won. Each side compromised and ended up with some things they needed to have for their state. Anything exciting happen to you?” Beau asked as he undressed her.
Lifting her arms for him to pull off her T-shirt, Maisie shared, “Nice. We had a major breakthrough today, too.”
“That’s awesome. That’s going to look good as the team prepares for the next round of grants,” Beau suggested.
“It’s scary having a percentage of our budget coming from grants, but it does motivate the team to work hard.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever slacked off a day in your life,” Beau said with a smile.
“Probably not. I like to see results. Pushing my brain eventually creates results,” Maisie commented as he slid her shorts and underwear over her hips, leaving her standing naked in front of him.
“Such a pretty Little,” Beau complimented when he stood back up in front of her with her clothing slung over his forearm. He ran his hands over her shoulders and arms before cupping her face with one hand. “Kiss me, Maisie.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Maisie rose onto her toes to press her lips against his. She kissed him deeply as his hands rubbed over her back. Lifting her head, she whispered, “I didn’t like leaving my office and finding you still at work, Daddy.”
“I’m sorry, Maisie. I should be here tomorrow. Go turn on the shower for me, enchantress. I’ll get my suit hung up and join you. Wait to jump in until it’s warm.”
Looking over her shoulder as she walked forward to follow his directions, she watched him until she turned the corner and he disappeared from her view. Automatically, she walked into the large, open shower and held out a hand to feel the temperature of the water, missing him immediately. They hadn’t lived together for a long time, but already, he was such an essential part of her life. Maisie couldn’t imagine life without him.
As soon as the water warmed, she stepped into the spray with a groan of delight. Dipping her face into the water, she let the care of the day rinse down the drain.
“You’re not drowning yourself, are you?”
Maisie shrieked and twisted around. Her mind recognized his voice, but the lack of warning had rattled her stressed nerves. At his disapproving look, she promised, “Okay. No more scary movies. I promise.”
“That seems like an excellent idea,” Beau suggested as he lifted her bottle of body wash and squeezed some into his hand.
Maisie swept her hair over to the side to allow him to wash her neck and back. When he reached her bottom, she stood quietly as he cleaned her small cheeks.
“Feet apart, Little girl,” he reminded her. She knew he’d make her do this but never voluntarily took this position until he told her, just in case he might forget.