Page 20 of Lacey's Daddy
It’s hard to visualize. It sounds like paradise. I shrug. “I couldn’t work anyway. I have no skills and no education.”
“There are also educational opportunities at the daycare. Some Littles work on their high school diplomas or even take college classes. I would never stop you from learning and nourishing your mind.”
I sit up taller, staring at him. “I could go to school?”
He smiles. “If you want, Little one. Definitely.”
Tears run down my cheeks, yet again. It’s all too good to be true.
“Oh, sweet girl.” He pulls me closer and hugs me to his chest, rubbing my back. “You are so very precious.”
I sniffle back the tears. “Can I have books?”
He leans me back and meets my gaze. “You may have every book in the world, Little one.”
More tears fall. “Really?”
“All of them. We can fill the house with physical books, but even better than that, we can load ebooks onto a reader, and you can have thousands of them right in your hands.”
I know about ereaders. I’ve never owned one. My father doesn’t have one.
“I don’t understand why your father didn’t let you have books.”
“He said they were poisoning my mind. Filling my head with fiction. I needed to live in reality. Reading has always been my favorite thing in the world. My mother bought me all kinds of books. I used to have dozens in my room. I read them over and over.”
“What happened to them?”
I look away, pursing my lips.
“Lacey…sweet girl. Tell Daddy so I’ll understand.”
“He burned them,” I whisper.
Daddy gasps. “He burned your books?”
“Yes. He said they distracted me. I kept losing track of time, and I would forget to cook dinner, and he gathered them up and burned them in the trash can in the backyard. I still had some in my room, but when he found me reading them, he took them and threw them away.”
“Jesus…”
He pulls me tight again, hugs me so close my side hurts, but I don’t complain. I like it when he holds me. I like the feel of his heart beating against my chest and the way his breath tickles my ear.
When he eases back again, he clears his throat. “From now on, you will have every book you desire, and I will never ever punish you for reading or getting lost in your books. Iwillhave rules. You will have a bedtime and naptime, and sometimes I will insist you need to eat or take a bath, but if you want to read most of the day, that’s what you will do.”
This time, I’m the one who throws my arms around him to hug his neck tightly. “You promise he won’t be able to find me on the island?”
“Never, Little one. I promise.”
Chapter Seven
While Daddy makes lunch, I sit on the floor of the nursery and open my special box. I haven’t opened it for a long time because I’m always afraid my father will catch me and throw away the only thing that matters to me.
I’m safe here in Noah’s apartment. No one will hurt me. No one will take my things.I’m safe. I’m safe. I’m safe.
After looking at the photos I have of my mother and me, I shuffle through some of the notes I saved—messages she wrote on napkins and stuck in my lunch boxes. I’m so glad I saved some of them.
My heart lurches as I reach for the item at the bottom of the box. I hold it to my chest and let myself cry.
“Sweet girl?” Daddy’s voice yanks me out of my sadness as he squats down next to me. “Whatcha got there?”
