Page 30 of Zale's Little Girl
“Let’s put that on something else.” He thought quickly. “How about a keychain?”
“That would work. That would be bigger. I wouldn’t lose it.”
“I think I got one with the base logo on it.” He walked to the door out to the garage and plucked something off the line of hooks. “This one has the house key on it too. You need one of these. How about if we put your diary key on it, too?”
“Do I have to leave it on the hook?” she asked.
He could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Zale assured her, “No. That makes me think. You need something to carry your stuff in. If you don’t mind having an unconventional purse, I have a sling bag in my closet that you could use. It goes across you like this.” He demonstrated, drawing a line diagonally across his torso from his shoulder to his opposite hip.
“That frees you to carry Toothie and hold your daddy’s hand at the same time.”
“I’d love to borrow it,” she answered with a smile.
“I’ll get it later. For now, can we set it here?” Zale asked, placing the keychain with the normal-size key and the small diary key on the island.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re very welcome, kitten. Ask for anything you need. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered and smiled.
That smile went right to his heart. It took a lot to frighten Zale. He’d dealt with mortal wounds, harrowing situations, and way too many close calls in his job. Seeing her shut down out of terror this evening had taken at least a year off his life. He loved seeing her happy.
After one more kiss, Zale forced himself to see to dinner. With potatoes cooking in the microwave, Zale stepped outside to heat up the grill. He’d placed a package of chicken wings in the refrigerator to thaw that morning. With the addition of a few grilled vegetables, they’d have a nutritious dinner.
“I could have made something,” she offered, watching him toss the vegetables and chicken in a quick sauce he concocted.
“No cooking for you, little girl. That’s Daddy’s job.”
“But I like to cook.”
“What’s your favorite thing to make? Perhaps we can work on a few things in the kitchen together,” Zale suggested.
“I like those marshmallow bars made with the breakfast cereal and that snack mix that has Worcestershire sauce on it. I’m not good at veggie or meat things.”
“It sounds like you’re going to eat healthier here. What are your favorite veggies?”
“I like lettuce. Not the weeds kind, but the stuff that’s lighter green.”
“Iceberg?”
“Yeah, that’s it. And baby carrots with ranch dressing. Potatoes are okay.”
“You need more variety in your diet, kitten, to be healthy and strong. We’ll experiment with others to see what you like. Maybe your daddy can cook them, so you like the flavor of a few more.”
He squashed down a laugh at the pure skepticism on her face. “I want you to be healthy, so you feel good and live for a very long time. I just found you.”
Zale saw thoughts flit across her expressive face. He loved watching her process things. After dropping a kiss on her head, he headed outside to put everything on the grill.
When he returned in a few minutes, Zale didn’t say anymore on the subject. He knew that nutrition was the key for his body to function at the highest levels. Hopefully, she’d notice that she had more energy with something other than snack mix and marshmallow treats in her system.
“Okay,” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Okay?”
“I’ll try some new things.”
“Thank you, kitten. Would you like to set the table for Daddy?”
