Page 82 of Daddy's Laws

CHAPTER29

“What if she hates me?”

“She doesn’t hate you, baby. I promise.”

Too nervous to sit still, Shannon paced back and forth in front of his couch. “You don’tknowthat, not really.”

Something in her tone must have sent his Daddy senses tingling, because he sat up a little straighter. “What aren’t you telling me, little girl?”

“Umm. Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“What happens to little girls who lie to their daddies, Shannon?”

It had taken her nearly a week to start calling him Daddy again, at least out loud. And once she had, he’d taken up the mantle with even more intensity than he had at the beach house. It seemed like her bottom had stayed red the first two weeks after she’d said it that first time.

She still hadn’t told him she loved him.

“They get soap in their mouths,” she mumbled, heat rising to her cheeks. It was a punishment he’d only delivered once so far, but she wasn’t keen to repeat it.

“And do you want your mouth washed out?”

“No, Daddy.”

“Then let’s try this again. Why are you so convinced Livvy will hate you?”

Feeling very much like a naughty little girl, Shannon shrugged. “I wasn’t very nice to her the last time I saw her.”

“How so?”

“I, um, might have called her stupid.”

His eyebrows flew up to his hairline, but before they could delve further, the doorbell rang. Rising to his feet, he pulled her in for a quick, reassuring hug. “We can talk about name calling later. For now, you just work on making things right with Livvy. She misses you, baby, and I know you miss her, too.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the front door, Liv shoved past him, throwing her arms around Shannon’s neck. “I missed you so, so much. I’m so sorry I was such a horrible friend. Please forgive me!”

And with that, Shannon promptly burst into tears.

* * *

Sittingat the dining nook across from his brother, Bryant grinned at the shriek of laughter coming from the living room. It had taken him nearly a half an hour to get Shannon calmed down enough to talk to Liv, but once he had, it was like no time had passed and they were instantly best friends again.

Not that he believed it would be that simple long term. There was still a lot of hurt there, but hopefully it would heal over time.

Speaking of…

“Did Livvy ever say anything to you about her fight with Shannon?” he asked, refocusing his attention on James.

“Not really.” Tilting his head to the side, James raised an eyebrow. “Is there something I should know?”

“Maybe. Shannon was nervous before you got here. She was worried Livvy would hate her because apparently, she said some nasty things to her that day.”

“Livvy was upset but I never could get her to tell me everything that happened, so I eventually let it go. Why do you want to know?”

“I’m trying to decide how to address it. On the one hand, it was over three months ago, and she was understandably upset.”

“On the other hand, she wouldn’t have mentioned it if she wasn’t feeling guilty about it.”

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