Page 57 of Her Gentle Daddy
Zane wasn’t usually one to talk about feelings, so she couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes at his words. Reaching out, she placed her small hand over his large one, something she would have never done before Sean came into her life and taught her that not all people were bad.
“Thank you for being patient with me. I know that dealing with me and my issues can’t be easy. You gave me the best gift I’ve ever received, my Daddy, and for that, I will always be grateful to you. I’m glad you’re my friend, too.”
They got lost in making all sorts of creations with the soft dough that when Sean finally appeared in front of her, she was surprised.
“Daddy! How’d it go?”
She jumped up and flew into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as his hand settled under her bottom to hold her up.
“It went well, baby girl. Why don’t you clean up what you were playing with, and we’ll go home and talk about it.”
“I’ll do the clean-up. You just take her home and fill her in on how everything went,” Zane said.
Smiling over at the man who wasn’t nearly as scary as he had seemed when she’d first met him, Gabby made a heart with her hands toward him, and he grinned in return. Sean smiled at her and then at Zane and carried her through the club to the front so she could grab her backpack and Olly’s leash.
The ride home seemed to take forever, and when they got home, Sean told her that she needed to take a nap. He clearly didn’t realize just how impatient she was to hear about what happened during his meeting with Ian.
“Daddy, tell me!”
“I will tell you, but let’s get your jammies on and get you tucked into bed, and then we will talk about it.”
She sighed dramatically but smiled innocently when her Daddy raised his eyebrow at her and let him get her changed into a soft yellow nightie. Once she was settled in her bed with Olly curled up at her feet, Sean came and sat by her, pulling her into his arms.
“Maddie wants to meet you.”
Gasping, her eyes widened as she turned her head to look up at her Daddy’s face.
“She knows about me already? I thought you were just going to talk to Ian?”
Sean chuckled, “Yeah, I thought that too but apparently, Ian didn’t want to wait to tell her.”
He told her about their meeting, describing everything that had happened. Gabby felt a mixture of happiness, excitement, and anxiety, all in one swirl of emotion. Was it a good thing that Maddie wanted to meet her? Or would Maddie meet her and then decide she wanted nothing to do with her?
“Baby girl, whatever bad things you’re thinking, stop thinking them. I think it’s a good thing that Maddie wants to meet you. She seemed interested in who you were, and she wanted to know about you.”
Thankful for Sean’s reassuring words, she snuggled into his arms and ran her fingers along his jawline, feeling the tickle of his short beard.
“Thank you, Daddy. I don’t know that I could have done this without you.”
Smiling down at her, Sean kissed her forehead.
“Of course, you could have, but I’m glad that I was able to help. It’s my job and my honor to do everything that I can to help my little girl.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
“Will you tell me about her?”
He nodded, “Of course, baby. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
Gabby shrugged, “I want to know everything.”
Sean smiled down at her and then spent the next hour telling Gabby everything he knew about Maddie. When he told her about the death of Maddie’s brother, tears spilled down Gabby’s cheeks and he immediately snuggled her closer.
“I know it’s sad, baby. But, now Maddie doesn’t have to be all alone without any blood relatives because she will have you.”
She liked that thought. It made her sad to know that Maddie had gone through such a terrible loss, but maybe Gabby could provide her with some form of comfort.