Page 73 of Gene

“Daddy, they’re in there, not here,” she whispered, pointing to the group that were sitting in a circle.

“I know, Little One, but I need you to take a deep breath for me. Good girl. Now, take another one. Such a good girl for Daddy. I know it’s scary to go in there and talk to them, but you’re going to be okay,” Daddy gently said. “I’m going to have you sit next to Rainey. She has a dog, Dane, who will help ease your worries. Rainey already knows this is the plan, and she won’t tell anybody else about it.”

She nodded, feeling grateful that Daddy was taking matters into his own hands. She probably would have gotten in there and run out if she’d had her way, but Daddy was thinking about everything.

Daddy pecked her a kiss on her lips before standing, taking her hand, and walking them into the room. All eyes were on them as they got closer to the group. Sammi’s grip on his hand tightened with each step, but Daddy didn’t react.

“Hello, you guys have seen me around, I’m Gene, the owner of the Little Farm. Some of you have visited us. This is my Little girl, Sammi, who some of you have seen,” Daddy started saying.

She felt herself slowly relaxing as he talked and took control of the situation.

“Hey, girl!” Echo yelled as she waved. “Charlotte, Monroe, Hedda, Kyle, Rainey, Sophia, Elsha, Grace, Blaise, and Tucker.” She pointed at each person, introducing them.

“There’s a lot of us, and we seem to be growing every single day, but the more the merrier,” Charlotte said. “I have to be honest, sometimes it can get a little overwhelming, but we’re good friends. We have a big group chat that can get pretty hectic. We love being there for each other and helping one another out. Some of us have Daddies, and some of us don’t. Some of them are looking for Mommies and Daddies. We’re all at different stages of life, but that’s okay. Not everybody has to be at the same stage of life to be part of our group. That would make it boring.”

Sammi’s eyes went wide as Charlotte continued.

“So boring,” Monroe chimed in.

She blinked, not knowing what to do or what to say.

“Are you going to be okay?” Daddy asked.

“I think so?” she whispered, feeling so unsure about everything.

Daddy took her chin in between his thumb and pointer finger, making her look at him. “If you need anything, you call out to me. I’m going to be over at that bar, talking to some of the other Daddies. If you get overwhelmed, come over to me. They’ll understand.”

“We really will. We know we can be a lot sometimes. If you need to go take a breather and be with your Daddy, that’s not a problem,” Kyle offered.

“Okay, Daddy. I’m ready,” she whispered.

Daddy kissed her before helping her sit down, and then walking away. She looked around the group of people, not knowing what to say.

“How long have you been with your Daddy?” Hedda asked.

“A month? I don’t know when it actually started since he was kind of Daddying me while I worked for him before we really talked about being in a relationship,” Sammi gently said.

“Another workplace romance. Sofia was the same way.” Monroe gestured toward Sofia.

“I definitely feel you on the whole him being a Daddy before even you even talked about it. My Daddy was the same way, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Sophia looked over at the group of men, who were sitting and chatting.

Sammi couldn’t help but look over at Daddy, who was already staring at her and smiling at her. He gave her a thumbs-up before turning and saying something to one of the Daddies.

“Me too, I wouldn’t change anything about him being my Daddy,” Sammi agreed.

Kyle handed her a piece of paper and some crayons, and she smiled at him.

“This is Dane, my Daddy’s dog, and, well, I guess my dog too. You can pet him anytime you want. He’s super friendly. I own a coffee shop, which is where I met my Daddy. I was outside, not feeling well. I was pregnant and ended up puking in front of him and then passing out in his arms.” Rainey chuckled. “Not the most romantic way to meet. We’ve been together ever since.”

“I don’t know if any of us have had a romantic meeting,” Hedda replied.

“You did!” Charlotte pointed back at her.

Hedda shook her head. “I did not. I was introduced to them over text, and then I ghosted them because I shot someone. Then I moved into Monroe’s house, and they came to get me and moved me into their house. Not romantic at all. I think Monroe’s was kind of romantic, if you don’t think about why she was there.”

“Being black and blue from getting beaten. Definitely not romantic, but I guess you could say that he was my hero. I mean, he still is.” Monroe smiled, looking at her Daddy.

Sammi’s mind was spinning as she tried to keep up with what they were talking about. They all seemed chaotic. How they met their Daddies was crazy.

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