Page 14 of Manny's Surprise Baby

Pierce

At first Emily wouldn’t really give me her opinion on any of the things I pointed out to her. Comforters, curtains, lamps, clothing; she was shy about voicing her likes and dislikes about any of them. But once we’d had lunch, and I reassured her for the fiftieth time that her dad wanted to buy her these things, she began to loosen up a little.

I pointed to a full-sized carousel horse that was part of a display. “Oh, wow. Your dad would love it if we brought that home.”

She giggled. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope.”

“We could put it in the living room. Right in the middle.”

Her smile widened. “He would freak out.”

“His house is so perfect and almost sterile.” I patted the plastic horse’s head. “This might be just the thing to bring warmth to the room.”

She swatted my arm. “You’re kidding. Right?”

I grinned. “Yeah. I don’t think he’d appreciate it like we do.”

“Nope. All the pictures in his house are of the ocean.” She frowned. “He doesn’t have any photos of people. My mom had some pictures of me and her on the shelf over the TV.” She swallowed and looked around as if people were listening in. “I took one, but I didn’t tell Mrs. Smith. It’s in my suitcase.”

I frowned. “You should be allowed pictures of your mom.”

“I wasn’t sure it would be okay. So I hid it away.”

“We should buy a special frame for it, and you can put it on your dresser.” I gave her a one-armed hug.

“Really?” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think Mr. MacPherson would mind?”

“I’m positive.” I cleared my throat. “Emily, you should call him Dad. It’s weird not to.”

“It feels weirder calling him Dad to me.”

“But he is your dad.”

She chewed her bottom lip as she fingered a pink pillow with fringe. “I keep wondering why Mommy didn’t tell me more about him. Like, maybe he was bad or something.”

“No. He’s a bodyguard. He protects people; he doesn’t hurt them.”

Her eyes got huge. “He’s a bodyguard?”

I laughed. “Yes. Didn’t you know that?”

“I thought he was a fireman.”

“What? Why?”

She looked confused. “I don’t know. I just always thought he was.”

“Nope. He’s a bodyguard. He works for a company called Shield.” I grabbed a package with a comforter and held it out to her. “What about this one?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Too girly.”

“You know… you are a girl.”

She lifted her chin. “I want something more grown-up.”