Page 35 of Margo

“Indeed you don’t. Very good save.” He stepped toward her and took her hand, inspecting it. She’d managed to scrape a tiny bit of skin off the knuckle of her middle finger, but thankfully there was no blood. He said as much.

“But it hurrrts,” Margo whined. “There’s skin missing.”

“It’s probably in the grater.” He kissed her knuckle and handed her the offending item. “Go put this in the sink and then sit on that stool over there. You can sit and watch while I finish up.”

Margo looked relieved, then skeptical. “If I sit and watch will I get in trouble for not finishing my chore?”

“No, you’re hurt. And besides, your part was pretty much done anyway. Now go sit down and be good so I can get everyone fed. We have lots of cleaning to do today.”

Margo hobbled over to the stool and sat on it. “I don’t know if I can help clean up. I’m hurt,” she said with a pout.

“Nice try, but I think you’ll survive.”

“Cr-criminey crickets!” Margo’s eyes bugged. “Whew! That was a close one.”

Knox shook his head, hiding a smile as he mixed the cheese and ham together and carried the bowl to the stove.

“You are really having a hard time with that rule, aren’t you?” He spoke nonchalantly as he worked on assembling the first omelet.

“It’s hard. I say those things a lot. If it’s not a real cuss word, Baze doesn’t have a problem with it.”

“Ah, I see. Unluckily for you, you chose a Daddy who believes Little girls should be a bit more ladylike with their language.”

“I know. What was I thinking?” she exhaled dramatically. Then she giggled. “I’m just kidding. You’re a really good Daddy, Knox, even if that rule sucks… eggs.” She grinned. “It’s not too hard. It’s getting easier.”

“I also don’t think good Little girls should say sucks though,” Knox informed her, cutting the first omelet in half and loading it onto two plates before starting the next one.

Margo’s mouth dropped open at his news. “What? That’s… that… really…” Her pupils shifted from side to side as she searched the recesses of her brain for a word that would get her point across without getting her in trouble.

“Bites and blows are not acceptable either,” Knox warned before she could finish.

“Ughhhh. This really… is… very… cruddy.” She inhaled and exhaled like she’d just finished running a marathon and was trying to catch her breath. “Was that okay, Daddy? I didn’t use any unladylike words.”

“That was perfectly fine, little one. I can see that you are trying very hard to follow this new rule, and I appreciate it. I’m sure it’s not easy.” He finished the second omelet and plated it onto two plates, the same as the first.

“It’s impossible. I’m gonna mess up, and soon.” She hesitated. “What if I say a naughty word when you’re not around? Do I still have to tell you?”

“You do. That’s one of the most important rules. Honesty and transparency between a Daddy and his Little girl is one of the most important things.”

“I figured you were gonna say that.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not looking forward to tasting soap but it’s pretty much inevitable.”

“Well, the idea is that the memory of the consequence makes it easier to remember to follow the rule going forward.”

“Still… it’s yucky.” Margo blushed and he knew she’d almost used one of the forbidden words.

“It is pretty yucky,” Knox agreed. “And when it happens, I’m sure you’ll hate it, and you probably won’t like me very much, but you’ll remember to do better, and it will get easier with time.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” He finished plating the last of the omelets and walked over and kissed her nose.

“Thank you for putting up with my strict, old-fashioned ways, little one.”

Before she could say anything else, Mariah and the rest of the Littles entered, dressed for the day.

“Ugh! No fair! You got out of chores just cuz he’s your Daddy now?” Jade fussed accusingly when she saw Margo sitting on the stool.

Before Margo had a chance to get defensive or before any kind of argument could break out, Knox shut it down.