Page 76 of Butch

RAELYNN

Raelynn moaned as she rolled onto her side and reached for Daddy but didn’t find him.

“Daddy?” she mumbled as she lifted her head.

Daddy was nowhere in the room, making her heartbeat skyrocket. She was still in his room, but he wasn’t there. Did something happen?

After maneuvering herself off the bed, she grabbed Niko and walked out of the room, into the main room where everyone was talking to each other.

“Little Miss, why are you out of bed?” Reaper asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Daddy?” she whispered, looking around and trying to find him.

Where did he go? There’s no way he left her, right? Tears pooled in her eyes as she sat down on the ground, hugging Niko even tighter than before. Daddy had abandoned her after telling her he would always be near her.

It had been several days since Daddy had rescued her, and he hadn’t left her side once. Not that she would have let him. She needed to know Daddy was right next to her, so she knew she was safe.

“Your Daddy wasn’t with you?” Reaper asked as he knelt in front of her.

She shook her head. “All alone.”

Sniffling, she rubbed the back of her hand across her nose before she buried her face in Niko. Now she didn’t have anything from Daddy.

“Your Daddy hasn’t left the building or your room,” Levi said. “We’ve been here all afternoon, and he hasn’t once left your side.”

“Daddy wasn’t there,” she sobbed.

Reaper picked her up and held her close to him as he walked down the hallway.

“Raelynn!” Daddy yelled. “Has anyone seen Raelynn?”

Her head popped off Reaper’s shoulder, and she looked up to see Daddy running down the hallway, his towel around his waist.

“Daddy!” she shouted.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her. “Where did you go, Little Fairy?”

“You weren’t in the room,” she mumbled as Reaper set her down on the ground.

“I was in the shower, baby. I was still with you, but I needed to take a shower to get all the dirt off me,” he explained.

“Dirt?” She tilted her head to the side.

He rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I didn’t want to tell you so soon, but I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Your Daddy has been very busy whenever you’ve taken a nap,” Reaper said. “Sneaking off like a teenager in the middle of the night to get this project done. We’ve even offered to help, but he’s very secretive about what it is and who can know.”

Raelynn looked between Daddy and Reaper.

“What are you making?” she asked Daddy. “Can I know?”

Daddy smiled. “It’s for you. Do you want to see it now? I have a little part unfinished that will take me another half day. If you can wait until tomorrow, I can show you the finished product. But if you really can’t wait, I can show it to you.”

Rae played with her hands as she looked at the floor. “I don’t know.”

She did. She so wanted to see it right now, but she also didn’t want to ruin Daddy’s surprise.

“Do you want to see it now?” Daddy asked.