Page 33 of Lacey's Daddy
I reach out and touch it. “What’s it for?”
He opens a drawer next to the fridge and pulls out a clear white container before heading for the table where he sets it down and takes a seat, settling me on his lap.
Daddy opens the lid and holds the box closer to me.
My breath hitches. “Oh, wow, those are so pretty.” There are dozens of stickers inside.
“The sticker chart is for rewards. Every day you will wake up with a clean slate and four stickers waiting for you at the end of the day. If you break a rule or misbehave, you lose a sticker for that day. If you’re naughty four or more times, you will not get any stickers at all, and you will spend the last part of the evening standing in the corner instead of having Daddy read to you.”
I gasp and look at him with wide eyes. That sounds horrible.
He chuckles. “For my Little girl, I suspect denying her stickers will be a strong enough deterrent to keep her from misbehaving.”
“Instead of spanking me.”
“Exactly.”
I look at the pretty stickers. “I’ll be good, Daddy. Always.” I want those stickers. “Do I get four today?”
“Nope. You get three. You ran through the house two seconds after I told you no running.” He lifts a brow.
I lower my gaze as my lip starts to quiver. He’s right. I did do that.
He hugs me close. “Goodness. I thought the positive reinforcement would be a good idea, but I don’t want it to make you cry.”
I wipe at the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes, but a sob escapes before I can stop it. “I want to be good, Daddy.” I hiccup.
“Sweet girl, youaregood. Always. Littles make mistakes. They sometimes do so on purpose. Do you know why?” He leans me back to meet my gaze.
“No.”
“For one thing, everyone makes mistakes. That’s human nature. But Littles have a tendency to test their Daddies to make sure they will follow through on a punishment. It makes themfeel loved. I would be a terrible Daddy if I didn’t set boundaries and then enforce them. You’ll understand quickly. You’re a super smart Little girl.”
I frown as I wipe away my tears. “I’m not smart. I didn’t even go to high school.”
“Oh, sweet girl. Attending school does not make anyone smart, nor does not attending mean you’re not smart. You’re super intelligent and resourceful. You’ve spent years figuring out how to do things all by yourself, including cooking and cleaning and using the internet. You were stealthy about it, and I’m so proud of you. The most important thing you learned to do was walk a fine line that kept you alive for all these years. That took courage.”
I stare at him. “I’m not courageous. I’m a coward. I should have run away. I was too scared. I should have gone to the police or even a neighbor’s house, but I was too chicken.”
He shakes his head. “You’re alive because you did your best to make that true.”
I sniffle. “I bet he’s going to be home soon. He’s going to be very mad when he finds me gone.”
“He can be mad all he wants. He will never lay a hand on you again.” Daddy points at the stickers. “Choose three. Let’s put them on your chart.”
I carefully look through the giant pile and pick them out one at a time. When I show them to Daddy, I say, “I understand.”
“You understand what, sweet girl?”
“Not picking four stickers makes me feel like you spanked me.”
He smiles. “That’s what I thought. Let’s go put them on the chart. Each day has four spots. When you look at them throughout the month, you’ll be reminded of the days you did not earn all four.”
I kind of hate that my first day ends with only three stickers, but I like the way Daddy stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders while I carefully place each sticker. I like the way he says he’s proud of me. It’s been a long time since anyone was proud of me.
When he’s done, he swoops me off the floor, kisses all over my face, and takes me to the nursery. After sitting me on the changing table, he pulls my shirt off, leans me back, and then reaches for the restraints.
I whimper as he fastens my arms above my head.
