Page 68 of Soft
Wells had no advice other than to be adorable and sweet. If he could talk, he’d probably tell me he was excited to see Daddy too. ‘Cause we both loved him.
Love.
There it was. The truth of the matter laid out clearly.
If only I knew what the heck to do about it.
I heard when Daddy let himself in. His footsteps moved steadily through the house until I heard the knock on the playroom doorframe.
He took in the room as I watched him. I’d turned to be able to see him when he came in. I wanted to know what he thought.
Daddy took in me with a close eye. I could tell he was trying to see where the pain was and how he could fix it. After a few seconds, he came in and sat down beside me on the floor.
"Hi, baby," he said gently.
"Hi, Daddy.” My voice had come out smaller than I planned. There wasn’t much to do about it. Sick me plus sweet Daddy meant Little Grizzly was in control.
His hand came up to cup my jaw. “How’s your head right now? What’s the pain like?”
"Better now." I pushed my face against his chest.
He hummed in that soft way that always had me smiling. When I pulled away, he had a collection of items waiting for me. I hadn’t even felt him moving around.
There was a bottle of water, a to-go pack of migraine meds, and an ice pack, the soft flexible kind I preferred.
"Daddy,” I whimpered.
“I will always take care of you, baby. It kills me to know you’ve been in pain while I was at practice.” He paused, waiting until I looked back up at him. “Which is why I’ve now got a to-go basket by your bed with all the necessities if this happens again. Meds, water, snacks, and I even got a lucky find at the convenience store.”
My brain was still trying to catch up to all the wonderful things he’d done and said when he pulled out a small toy. I couldn’t really make out what it was though.
As if he could read my mind, Daddy explained. “This is a tiny plastic bear keychain. Now I know you have Wells, and he’s the beary bestest bear there is. But there’s something special about this little guy that makes him perfect for the days you need me and I can’t be here.”
He took my hand, guiding it over the bear. At first I thought it was to get a feel for it. Like a grounding move to see it without seeing it.
But then he pressed my thumb over a circular area on the bear’s belly. There was a scratchy sound, then Daddy’s voice.
“Hey, baby. I know today is a rough one. Know that I miss you and I’ll be there as soon as I can. You should rest with Wells until I get there. Love you and all your parts. Yours forever, Daddy.”
The tears came hard and heavy. I sobbed, partially from the thought behind his gift, but also because of the words he’d used. Paxton, my Daddy, loved me. He loved all the parts of me— even the ones that were changing.
He pulled me to his chest as I cried, stroking my back as he told me how true the words were over and over. It was like my dream from earlier came to life.
I had no clue how I’d gotten so lucky. What were the odds that a man younger than me, who had a fantastic career ahead of him, with a killer body and a big heart, would want someone who was so far their opposite it wasn’t even funny?
Time passed in a blur of tears, blown noses, and Daddy urging me to drink water. Eventually I tired out enough to stop.
My headache returned from the emotional overload. “Hurt,” I said, pressing a hand to my head.
Daddy helped me take the meds first, then placed the still cool ice pack on my forehead. It instantly relieved some of the pain.
We laid there for a bit, the silence a comfort. It was easy to be there with him. Easy to find contentment despite the pain I was in.
"Do you want to go to bed now? Or maybe move to the couch so I can feed you and we’ll play some music?"
I nodded, tapping his chest twice to let him know I wanted the second option. He knew me well enough to understand. Next thing I knew, he tugged me up to my feet and wrapped my blanket over my shoulders. Wells got tucked in my arms, then I was guided to the living room.
Daddy eased me onto the couch, placing my legs up on the cushions beside me. He tilted my head against the arm, repositioning the ice pack that had fallen off in the move.
