“Brown eyes, that statement makes me sad as hell,” he told her bluntly.
“So do I get it?”
“What?”
“The elephant. Do I get it or do you want it?” She nodded down to the toy he still held.
“Huh. Yeah. Sorry.” He thrust it at her. “Like I said, if it’s not right or if you want something else or you don’t want a toy at all…”
“Daddy, it’s perfect. I love him.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I do.” She tilted her head, studying him. “You were nervous I wouldn’t.”
“I just…” he sighed and sat on the sofa, running his fingers through his hair. “Fuck. I’ve wanted this for so long. A Little of my own. But I could never find anyone who interested me. Someone who could deal with my rougher side. I know I can be intense. I can be fucking temperamental, but I’m going to watch my temper around you. I never want to scare you.”
“You don’t scare me. Sure, I have trouble with people yelling but I don’t want you to change who you are.”
He smiled and reached out to cup her cheek. “Wouldn’t hurt for me to think before I react. That’s something I’ve got to work on. You’
ve got to work on opening up. Talking to me. Letting me in.”
She nodded. “I’ll try.”
“Right, enough serious talk. Let’s feed you and get the two of you to bed.”
She still didn’t think she could eat.
He opened the lids of the containers to reveal soup. The smell coming off it actually made her mouth salivate. She couldn’t remember the last time that food was appetizing.
“Where did you get this, Daddy?”
He placed one bowl in front of her. It looked like chicken noodle soup. Yum. The plate held warm buttered bread. He then handed her a spoon.
“There’s a restaurant about a block down. The owner, Calla, does amazing home-cooked meals. Eat.”
She tried to. She really did. But even under the soft blanket with her elephant pressed close to her, and Ink just inches away she couldn’t stomach more than a few bites before her stomach started to ache. She put the spoon down, aware of Ink’s frown.
“What do you think I should call him, Daddy?”
“I don’t know, button. But I do know that wasn’t enough to eat.”
She sighed. “I can’t fit in anymore. It hurts. I think it’s just stress.”
He nodded. “Then maybe during meal times, Daddy will take over, hmm?”
She gave him a cautious look. “I don’t know.”
“I do,” he replied firmly. He sat his own plate down then patted his lap. “Come here, button.”
“You should eat first. It will grow cold, Daddy.”
“I’m gonna count to three. If you’re not sitting on my lap before I get to three then tomorrow, you’re going to be spending some time in timeout. With a red bottom. One.”
He didn’t even get to two before she moved. Albeit not that fast since she was still sore as hell. The bath had helped but she still thought she was going to wake up feeling like she’d been run over by a truck.
She settled on his lap and instantly a feeling of home stole over her. Protected. Cherished. He wrapped the blanket around her carefully, just reinforcing those feelings. Reaching over, he spooned up some soup.