Page 82 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
“Holy shit,” he said at the sight of us. He tied off his towel at his waist before crossing his arms over his chest. “What the hell is going on?”
“Two dollars, Daddy,” Melody said as I took my hand from her eyes now that he was covered.
“Um, I’m, er, I’m so sorry. Melody said you were hurt, and that you’d called for me.” I shook my head as I backed up to leave the bathroom.
“Hurt? What are you talking about, angel face?” He held on to the towel at his waist and bent down to meet her eyes as he took in her tear-streaked cheeks. He used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the wetness. “I’m fine, baby girl. I was taking a shower.”
“I woke up early and came in your room and I heard you crying in the shower, Daddy.”
“What?” he asked with confusion as he stroked her hair to comfort her. “I wasn’t crying, honey.”
“You were making crying noises, like, ‘Uhhh, uhhh, uhh, ohhhh,’” she said, mimicking the noise, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head as the realization of what she was saying hit me. Archer closed his eyes for a few beats as if he’d just put it together, too, and then he stood.
“I think I was reacting to the water being a little too hot this morning.” He cleared his throat. “I promise you, I’m fine.”
“And then you made this crying sound for Winnie. You called out for her. I thought you needed Winnie to help you?”
Oh. My. Gosh.
He turned to look at me as he scrubbed a hand down his face. “I might have been calling out for Winnie to turn the hot water down in the garage. I’m sorry about that, sweetheart.”
My gaze locked with his, and he had this goofy grin on his face that basically said:Busted.
“It’s okay, Daddy. Sorry we saw you a little bit naked.”
“That’s okay. It happens.” He blew out a breath, and I glanced in the mirror to see my cheeks were bright pink. “How about you go brush your teeth, and I’ll be in to help you get dressed in a few minutes.”
“Okay!” And just like that, Melody skipped out of the bathroom. Kids were so resilient, and it always surprised me how quickly she bounced back from things.
“I’m so sorry for barging in here,” I said, trying my best not to burst out in hysterical laughter.
“Are you, though?” he asked with a smirk. “I guess you caught me. Thinking about things that I shouldn’t be thinking about.”
“You’re not the only one, Archie,” I chuckled. I walked out of the bathroom while still facing him. “Thanks for that morning show. You gave me plenty of inspiration to write today.”
“Yeah? You like what you see, Winnie?”
“I really do,” I said, just as he shocked the shit out of me by tugging his towel free and letting it fall to the ground.
I couldn’t breathe. I was stunned speechless.
“Daddy! Which shirt do you like better?” Melody called out from behind me as she came running back in the room, and Archer jolted for his towel, hitting his head on the counter in the process.
“Fuck.”
“Another dollar for the jar, Daddy.” Melody came to a stop beside me as he tucked the towel back in place and rubbed his hand over the big red spot on his forehead.
“I’ll get Melody dressed and start breakfast. You just—take care of business, Archie.”
Melody jogged back to her room, and I followed as Archer grumped under his breath, “I already took care of business.”
Melody hopped up on her bed as I opened her closet door and pulled out her jeans with little flowers embroidered on them, a white tee, and her pink hoodie. “How about this with your pink cowboy boots?”
“Yes!” She pumped her fist. “Can you do the two buns on my head with the bows today?”
“Of course. I love that style on you because you’re so cute,” I said as she raised her arms over her head and I pulled off her jammies and got her dressed. Baths were nightly occurrences, so getting her ready for school in the morning was super easy.
We moved to her en suite bathroom so she could brush her teeth before I sat her up on the counter and did her hair.
