Page 64 of Their Forever Daddy

“Thanks.”

She headed back up the stairs, acutely aware of Grant behind her and Jesse ahead of her. Already, she was annoyed by the questions coming her way and nobody had even bothered to ask her anything yet.

“Edie, I’m so sorry.” Jesse hesitated in the hall as Edie continued on to the main bedroom. Standing in the doorway, she wrapped her arms around her waist, her voice and expression stricken as she pleaded for understanding. “If I’d known they were here, I would have stayed hidden.”

Stopping in the middle of her bedroom, Edie turned, pinning Jesse with a glare that had her babygirl shrinking back against her Daddy. “Did I ask you to hide from anybody, little girl?”

“Well, no, I just assumed?—”

“In the future, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make assumptions about what I want. If I want something from you, I’ll damn well tell you. Understood?”

Confusion and relief both flashed across Jesse’s face. Grant, for his part, was doing what he always did. Watching, silently, and Edie could feel his gaze like an itch between her shoulder blades as she moved around the room, yanking on fresh underwear and jeans.

“So… you’re not mad?” Jesse asked.

“I’m plenty mad. But not at you, babygirl.”

“Oh.”

“Jesse, why don’t you go put some clean clothes on and we’ll go get breakfast for everyone.” Grant’s voice was a low, soothing rumble, and even though it wasn’t directed at her, Edie could still feel it easing her frayed nerves a bit. “There has to be a decent bagel place around here.”

“The Donut Shoppe is a couple miles out of town. No bagels, but great donuts and decent breakfast sandwiches,” Edie offered as she whipped off what she’d come to realize was his shirt after all and tossed it to him.

“Good to know. What’s it called?”

“The Donut Shoppe,” she repeated with a quick grin in his direction before pulling on one of the support tanks she generally preferred over bras when she was working around the house.

“Very original.” There was a hint of amusement in his tone, but not quite enough to cover the worry as he stepped into the room, gently grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. “Are you going to be all right if we leave for a bit? I thought you might want some privacy, but I wouldn’t want to upset you with my assumptions.”

“No, you’re right. But not because I don’t want you here. I don’t want Jesse around if things get… heated.”

Understanding flickered in his dark gaze. “Noted. I’ll text you when we’re done at the donut shop. Just let me know if you need us to drive around for a bit or something.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry our morning got, ah, sidetracked.”

“No apologies necessary, little pixie.” He kissed her again, a kiss that seemed more about reassurance than passion which she gratefully accepted. “You go talk to your friends. We’ll be around when you need us.”

Buoyed by that simple promise, she ducked into the bathroom to run her fingers through her hair, then headed downstairs to face the music.

Grant

* * *

He found Jesse pacing the floor in ‘their’ bedroom, her thumb in her mouth as she chewed at the nail. Which was a sure sign she was even more upset than he’d realized.

Crossing the room, he stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop her pacing and gently pulled her hand away from her mouth. “Come on, little outlaw. Let’s get you dressed.”

“Don’t wanna.”

He knew that sulky tone well. His babygirl was retreating into her Little space. It wasn’t at all uncommon for her when she was feeling scared or threatened.

Since he was holding her by the wrist anyway, he tugged her toward the suitcase at the end of the bed. Half the contents were spilling out onto the floor in a haphazard way that was so adorably Jesse he couldn’t bring himself to scold her for it.

Crouching by the bag, he dug until he found the hot pink tutu she’d packed along with the much more conservative wardrobe she’d been wearing for most of her stay. He grabbed a fresh pair of panties and a cute top with a picture of a grumpy looking cartoon kitten proclaiming she’d rather be watching true crime documentaries.

With the clothes sorted, he pulled her into the bathroom with him to wash her face, ignoring her mumbled protests. Because even if she was grumbling about it, she never actually tried to stop him as he washed and dressed her, which meant she didn’t really want him to give in. She was just in a mood and wanted to pout, which he was happy to indulge if that was what she needed for now.

After he had her clean and dressed, he did the same for himself, which took about half the time since he wasn’t dragging his feet about it.

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