Page 4 of Daddy’s Little Duckling (Ivory Mountain Daddies #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

EMMETT

S haking his head and muttering to himself as he walked down the hallway, Emmett made his way into Nan’s room. He didn’t like the look of those dark circles under Rae’s eyes.

They seemed to be worse than they usually were. The dark purple marks didn’t belong under his Little one’s eyes and it hurt his heart to see them there. Let’s not forget that he spotted the energy drink in her hands.

If she was his, he wouldn’t allow her to drink those unhealthy things. They were full of sugar and bad for her heart. There were much better and healthier ways to have an energy boost that wouldn’t stop her heart beating in her chest.

She wouldn’t need energy drinks anyway cause he would be making sure that she got plenty of sleep at night and would lay her down for a nap on her days off to help balance the lack of sleep she got on the days she worked.

She also wouldn’t be working back-to-back shifts like this if he was her Daddy.

Emmett had planned on moving slowly with Raelyn and taking the time to get to know her, but seeing her in this state just proves that she needs a Daddy and he wasn’t going to let anyone else step up to the job. Rae was his and it was time that she knew that.

With those thoughts in mind, Emmett worked out a plan to ask her out for dinner and set out to come up with the best date possible.

He wanted it to be one that would appeal to both her Big and Little sides.

After seeing her today he was even more certain that she had both and that made his Daddy heart soar.

Pulling out his laptop and settling in for the afternoon, Emmett waited for his Little girl to make her way back around to his Nan’s room. He started looking up restaurants that he thought Raelyn might like.

Deciding on one not too far from the nursing home, he shifted gears and picked out an arcade that was nearby. He didn't know of any Little girls or Little boys that could resist the excitement of an arcade and hoped that Rae would enjoy it too.

After a few hours, he finally heard a timid knock at the door and turned to greet the person walking in. Unable to stop the smile from forming from his face, he took in the darling girl standing in front of him.

“I was just stopping by to make sure Mrs. Jean was okay and that no one needed anything.” she softly spoke.

“Nannie Jean is doing just fine, but I require some assistance if you wouldn’t mind.”

Walking further into the room,

“Oh absolutely, what is it I could help you with?”.

Emmett quickly answered her “I found this restaurant right down the road from here that seems to have some pretty great reviews, but I would hate to go visit all on my own. Would you be so kind as to accompany me to dinner?”

His question must have caught her off guard as she blankly stared at him before giving him an answer. Just not the one that he longed for .

“Oh you wouldn’t want to take me to dinner, I’m sure that there is someone much more in your league that you could take.”

Growling at her response, “I can assure you that the only one I want to go to dinner with is standing right in front of me.”

Raelyn seemed to take a moment before responding to him.

“Well I would love to go with you, but I don’t get off from work until six tonight. After the long two days I have had, I would like to go home and relax.”

Emmett nodded and said, “Tomorrow night maybe we can go then.” Rae smiled again and shook her head.

“I work tomorrow until six again. I’m sorry, maybe another time.”

Emmett didn’t like the sound of her working another day when it was apparent that she needed the time off. At this point, there was nothing he could do about that.

He wasn’t her Daddy yet, even though every cell in his body knew that she was his. Nodding his head, he agreed with her.

“My next day off is Sunday. If you are still interested, I would be free to go then.”

Longing for the chance to spend time with her, Emmett agreed and they set the date for Sunday afternoon.

“Let me give you my cell and work numbers so that way you can get in touch with me should something come up,” Emmett said.

Pulling out his business card, Emmett wrote down his cell phone number on the back and handed it to her. Smiling, Raelyn accepted the card and he watched her slip it into her scrub pocket for safekeeping.

Wishing him a good rest of the night, Emmett watched as his Little girl turned and walked away. Suddenly Sunday afternoon couldn’t get here fast enough.