Page 38 of Her Gentle Daddy

She smiled up at him, “Hi, Daddy! I missed you.”

Warmth spread through him as she stepped into his embrace. She fit him perfectly.

“I missed you, too, baby. Did everything go okay?”

“Yeah, I think so. Still have some stuff to figure out.”

He looked down at her with worry.

“Don’t worry, Daddy. I’m just not ready to talk about it, but it’s nothing bad. Just figuring some stuff out about myself.”

Nodding his head, he let out a sigh. He was proud of how far his little girl had come in the short time that she had been living with him. She was brave enough to tell him what her needs were and that she needed to do something by herself and she was communicating more and more with him each day.

“Okay, baby. Just know that I am here for you when you’re ready to share.”

Gabby stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss.

“Thank you, Daddy. You’ll be the first person I share with when I’m ready. I love you.”

The day of Gabby’s big surprise had finally come and Sean was much more nervous about it than he had ever anticipated. It had been in the works for weeks and he had nearly told her about half a dozen times during those weeks but somehow, though, he had restrained himself to keep it a surprise.

As he pulled up to The Playground to pick his little girl up from work, his hands were sweating as he gripped the steering wheel. Being anxious wasn’t something that Sean was used to, but he was sure he was just overthinking and that she would be ecstatic.

Gabby walked outside and climbed into the car, carrying her cute little puppy backpack. She was finally starting to put on some weight, though she was still tiny, and her skin was looking healthier. Sean reminded himself that he needed to schedule her a haircut since she had been complaining about how stringy her hair was and had told him she would just cut her hair herself like she always did. He told her she was not allowed to cut her own hair anymore and that he would take her in for a proper haircut. It gave him an excuse to pamper her anyway.

“Ready to go home, baby?”

She nodded, looking a bit tired. Every day after work, he laid her down for a nap in her nursery on the twin bed, pulling up the side railing so she couldn’t fall off. He sensed that it made her feel more secure and Little.

When they got home, he immediately took her upstairs and tucked her in after changing her into a onesie to sleep. She liked when he put her in onesies, and she looked as cute as could be in them, so when they were at home he dressed her in them often. He smiled when she shifted onto her tummy while sucking on her pacifier and clutching Patches.

He quietly left the bedroom, taking the receiver of the baby monitor with him so he would know when she woke up, and made his way downstairs to make sure everything was taken care of and in place for her surprise.

For the next hour, he paced through the house, double and triple-checking the list on his phone that he’d made to ensure he had everything he needed. The time felt like hours as he looked at his watch several times and each time saw that only minutes had passed.

As soon as he heard movement on the baby monitor, he bolted upstairs to the nursery. Maybe he was more excited about this surprise than she would be. Then again, probably not.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Ready to get up?” he said softly.

Gabby sat up and sleepily rubbed her eyes as she nodded her head.

“Can I paint today, Daddy? I want to try the new paints you got me.”

He smiled down at her, reaching out to pick her up and carry her into the bathroom.

“I don’t know if we’ll get to painting today, baby. Daddy has something else in store for you.”

She widened her eyes as he set her down in front of the toilet and reached for the snaps of her onesie.

“What do you have in store for me, Daddy?”

Sean chuckled and lifted the material above her hips before guiding her to sit on the toilet.

“Something very exciting. Go potty, little girl, and then we’ll go downstairs, and you will find out, but I think you’re going to love it.”

Gabby stuck her lip out in a slight pout but quickly did her business and let Sean clean her up. While he washed his hands, she wiggled and bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Come on, Daddy, huuuurry.”

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