Page 8

Bash

I finished wrapping up my client's arm before shaking his hand. “See you in two weeks.”

He thanked me and headed toward the front to pay. It was my first day back since having the flu, despite my arguments that I wouldn’t get it. Elliot had sent me home about an hour into the registration party. Thankfully, he and Tyler had volunteered to watch Allyson so she could stay and help. He and Tyler had been adopted by my Little one who now called them Uncle Elliot and Uncle Tyler. The other Little ones were following suit and I loved that Allyson was adding to our family. I was amazed at how big her heart was.

“Daddy?” Allyson asked, peeking into my booth. She looked so precious in her pretty lavender dress, lacy socks, and white Mary Janes. My heart swelled with such a sense of pride that someone so innocent, so sweet belonged to me.

Opening my arms for her, I couldn’t help the sense of possession I felt when she smiled and ran into them. Snuggling into my chest, she stroked my arms with her fingertips.

“Yes, Allybaby?”

“There’s a man here asking for you.”

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I let her lead me to the front counter. I was surprised, and slightly concerned, to see Jasper standing in the front of the building. In all of the years I’d worked for him, I’d only seen him three times.

“Hey, I have some paperwork for you,” he said, holding out a manila folder.

“Thanks. Is there a timeline on it?” I had a sweet day planned for Allyson and I really didn’t want to rush off for a job.

He shook his head. “No, this one is a freebie. I think it’s something you might want to see.”

Before I could even say anything, Willow, one of Kay’s customers, walked in carrying a too-big basket of muffins. I frowned when I saw she wasn’t wearing shoes. Dammit. I’d said it before and I’d say it again, that Little girl needed a keeper.

“Why don’t you have on shoes, Little girl?” Jasper asked, his brow furrowed and arms crossed tightly.

Oh shit.

“I don’t like to wear shoes,” she answered nonchalantly as she struggled to lift the basket onto the counter. I reached out and helped her. “Thank you, Mr. Bash,” she answered in her normal cheerful tone. “I heard that the flu was going around town so I made some jars of elderberry syrup to pass out too. It helps you fight off those yucky germs.” Well, that explained why the basket was so heavy.

I smiled, unable to help myself. Willow was sweet, but she was far too trusting and didn’t take care of herself at all. I worried about her often. Before I could thank her, Jasper interrupted, “I don’t like broccoli, but I still eat it. You must wear shoes. The ground is filthy.”

“I like to feel grounded to the earth. I can’t feel grounded with shoes on,” she said, finally turning to face Jasper.

He raised his eyebrow and tapped his foot, looking very unimpressed. “You’ll be in the ground if you don’t take better care of yourself. You come in here carrying far too much weight with no shoes on. Where is your Dominant?” he demanded.

Shit.

She blanched. “My what?”

Oh, double shit.

“Come walk with me, we will have a chat,” Jasper commanded.

“I don’t think...” Willow tried.

“I wasn’t asking. Come,” he said, pushing the door opening and motioning her to follow him.

“I am not a dog!” she said, stomping after him, probably to give him a piece of her mind.

I shook my head. I was pretty sure that they’d each just met their match.

“Who was that man, Daddy?” Allyson asked, “Should we help her?”

“He’s just a friend from work, Little one. And Jasper is a safe person, he’s just used to getting his way. Willow will be well taken care of even if she doesn’t want to be,” I answered. “Are you all done with your work?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Well, that was my last client for the day. What do you say we go have an ice-cream date?”

She bounced on her toes with excitement. “Yes, please!”

“Okay, go get your things while I finish cleaning up my station.”

“Yes, Daddy!” She hurried away to do as I asked and I smiled at the sweet picture she made rushing off to obey me. She was such a good fucking girl.

I waited until she was out of sight before I sat down in my station and opened up the folder. Images of an older couple poured out. I flipped through them trying to make sense of it all. Jasper was usually much more organized and the jumbled mess in my lap didn’t make sense. It was only when I recognized a young face in a photo that I realized the file contained things about Allyson’s foster parents. I laid the papers out across my tattoo chair and tried to make sense of the contents of the manilla folder.

Suddenly, I realized exactly what I was looking at. Jasper had given Allyson justice. Flipping over a few more papers it was easy to see he’d dug out every filthy secret they had and exposed all of the skeletons they were hiding in their closets. It looked like Mr. Landry was subscribed to over thirty online porn sites, and had a hard gambling problem. And Mrs. Landry was involved in a scandalous affair with a younger man, a twenty-three-year-old high school teacher. Scanning a few more documents, I found an outline of an article that I was sure would hit the papers in a few days.

Town Favorites are A Fraud? The real truth about the Landry Family and their fourteen years of foster-care scamming.

I grinned, once again thankful for Jasper being for me and not against me. My girl was avenged and she’d never even know. I flipped over a bank statement and winced when I saw the state of the Landrys’ finances. It looked like they were negative several thousands of dollars. Fuck, his gambling must be killing them.

The last thing inside the folder was a large pink envelope. Scrawled across the front were the words For Her Future. Confused, I opened it and was floored to see the amount of one-hundred dollar bills placed inside. Pulling out a note, I read, I heard she wants to be a nurse, it isn’t fair she wasn’t given the tools to make that dream come true. Here’s fourteen thousand to get her started. Suddenly their negative bank account made a lot more sense. Bless Jasper.

Shoving everything back in the folder, I stuffed it in my desk and locked it up. I’d shred it later, and slowly deposit the money into a bank account for her, but right now I had a playdate with the sweetest Little girl in the world.

“Ready, Daddy?” she asked, bouncing from foot to foot.

“Ready, Allybaby,” I told her, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to my mouth for a kiss. I was ready for our little date, but I was even more ready to spend the rest of our lives together.

***

Allyson

“Sprinkles,” I told Daddy, holding my cup of cookie dough ice-cream at Scoop Circus , the local ice-cream shop. It was so adorable and set up like an old diner. I’d never been before, but had fallen in love the second Daddy had pulled up.

Daddy sprinkled them on there for me. “Do you want any cherries?”

“No, thank you.”

He added some to the top of his ice-cream creation.

“Anything else, baby?”

“No,Daddy.”

He finished putting some nuts on his ice cream before deciding he was done too. His ice cream looked very healthy, mine not so much.

I followed him to the register and we set our cups of ice cream on the scale. Daddy paid and then turned to me. “Inside or outside, baby?”

“Outside,” I answered. He led the way and held the door open for me. “Pick a table, baby.”

“I’m the boss today.” I giggled, choosing a table.

Daddy snorted. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m the Daddy today.”

“You think so?” Daddy chuckled, setting my ice cream in front of me and adding a spoon.

“Yas-huh.”

“Okay, Daddy. What are we having for dinner?”

I tapped my chin as I thought it over. “More ice cream.”

“What happens if we get a tummy ache?”

“Ummm, call Uncle Elliot.”

Daddy shook his head. “No. I’ve seen that man enough over the last few weeks.”

“Yeah…” He’d made lots of house calls for us recently.

“You know who I’m never going to get sick of, Little one?”

“Who?”

“You, pretty baby. Daddy’s never going to get tired of you. You are the best thing the world has ever given me. Each day that I wake up with you in my life is like winning the lottery.”

Instantly tearing up, I wiped my eyes with a sticky hand, smearing cookie dough ice cream all over my face. I reached up to wipe my face only to get that hand dirty as well.

Daddy chuckled and reached into my diaper bag, grabbing some wipes.

“Come here, sticky girl.”

Standing, I walked to his side of the table and stood between his legs while wiped my hands and then my face.

“I think maybe you should keep being the Daddy,” I said once he was done.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yas-huh. You’re very good at it.”

He pulled me onto his knee and kissed my forehead. “Thank you, Allybaby.”

Reaching across the table, he pulled my ice cream to us and scooped some on the spoon. “Open wide, baby.”

“Daddy,” I protested, wiggling on his lap. “What if someone sees?” We were in public, after all. “I don’t give a single flying fuck, Little one. Let them see me feeding my best girl some yummy ice cream so she doesn’t get sticky again.”

I hesitated, but then decided I didn’t give a “single flying fuck” either. I was proud to have Bash as my Daddy and I didn’t care if people saw him Daddying me. I realized how lucky I was to have him.

Opening my mouth, I stopped fighting him and accepted the bite he held out for me.

“Good girl, baby.”

Once the sweet treat was gone, I looped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheeks. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“You are very welcome, baby.”

“I’m the luckiest Little girl in the world,”

“And I,” he said, booping my nose, “am the luckiest Daddy in the world.”