Page 38 of Gene

“Do you have a garage you keep your car in?” he asked as they walked up to the front door.

Sammi grabbed her keys and struggled to open the front door.

“Here, let me open the door while you answer my question.” Daddy took the keys from her.

“No, I don’t keep my car in a garage,” she replied as he opened the door.

She didn’t really understand why he was asking that. There was no car out there because she didn’t have one right now.

After kicking her shoes off, she left them at the front door and walked into her house. Her mind was still trying to come to terms with her new diagnosis. Maybe she needed to find a job she could do from home so she didn’t have to worry about her blood sugar, but she loved working on the farm. It was the highlight of her day.

To be outside, in the fresh air, the slight breeze, and doing manual labor was what she always wanted. Weird, but it was. The doctor said she would be able to continue to work there, though would Gene want her to continue to work there? Was he going to fire her when he realized she was way too much to handle?

She shook her head. He had already proven that he wanted to help and be there for her, and she needed to believe that no matter how hard it was. Maybe she should write that on her hands so every time she went to the bathroom, she saw it and would believe it just a little more. That is, until he didn’t want anything to do with her. Sammi wasn’t going to think about that right now because it wasn’t true.

“Is your car still at the mechanic’s?” Daddy asked as they got comfortable on the couch.

Sammi gave him a confused look. “What?”

“You said your car was at the mechanic’s, getting some repairs done. Do they still have it? Do you need me to go talk to them?”

“Ohh, that. Well, you see… I ended up having to sell it,” she mumbled.

This was not a conversation she wanted to have. She had hoped she could keep that a secret or he would forget.

“You had to sell it? Is that what they told you?” he asked, worry filtering on his face.

What did she do to deserve him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She didn’t deserve him at all, but he was here, and she wasn’t going to give him up. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours. She called him Daddy, she found out she has a chronic illness, and he hadn’t run. He was in her house, worrying about her having to sell her car.

If he stuck around this long, who going to keep her secret. Did he know that? No, but if he tried to leave, she would show him he was hers now.

She had claimed him, and there was no going back.

“Little One, is that what the mechanic told you?” Daddy asked.

“No.” She looked down at her lap.

“No, Daddy.”

She sighed. “No, Daddy.”

“So, what made you sell the car?”

Sammi started to play with her hands, not wanting to answer the question. She didn’t want him to know about her brother’s debt. What if he hated the fact that she was now paying off the Springfield Sinners?

“I needed the money, and I can walk places. So I sold my car,” she explained, looking up. “And the places that I can’t walk, I can call an Uber.”

Was she going to? Absolutely not. It cost money, and she didn’t need to be spending it on that. There was no problem with walking because exercise was good.

He was searching her face, probably trying to figure out if she was lying. But she wasn’t. She did sell it for money.

“Little One,” he gently said. “You could have asked me for money. I would have helped. You didn’t need to sell your car.”

“I didn’t want to bother you. I am a big girl, an adult who has taken care of herself for a while,” she replied.

If she had asked him for money, he would have asked why she needed it. What excuse would she have come up with? And it didn’t cover all the money she needed either. There was a lot more.

“I know you are an adult who can take care of yourself, but it’s okay to let other people in. I know it can be scary to ask for help, but I’m here if you need me. I’m not going to run away at any small inconvenience.” He grabbed her hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. “I don’t want to take away your independence, but that doesn’t mean you can’t let me take care of you. You can be independentandhave a Daddy. It’s all customizable.”

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