Page 194 of Daddy’s Fortitude

“You’re probably right, baby. I should have known exactly what they were. What are they, though?”

“It’s me and you and Kevin. You’re the big one, I’m the little one. See? My face is really cute. You’ve got a bit of a grumpy face, but that’s pretty normal for you.”

Oh, now that he looked more closely at it, he could see that the bigger lump did appear to have a face etched into it and it seemed to be scowling.

“I’m always grumpy, am I?” he said, setting the food down and putting his hands on his hips. “Is that the case?”

“Well, Daddy, if the shoe fits, you know? You can’t help being Mr. Grumpy Face, now, can you?”

“If I’m Mr. Grumpy Face, what are you?”

“I don’t know . . . maybe Miss Cutie Pie?”

She was definitely that, but he still shook his head. “I was going to say that you’re Miss Hot Bottom.”

“Daddy, that’s just rude.”

“It’s time to put the clay away now and have some dinner.”

“Oh, no, I’m not hungry,” she said as she picked up some more clay and started to roll it out.

“I didn’t think you’d be wanting a spanking so soon after having one,” he commented.

She froze, then gaped up at him. “Of course I don’t want another spanking. Why would I want another spanking?”

“Well, you must, seeing as how you’re not listening and doing what you are told.”

She sent him a look full of disgruntlement, but then with a sigh, she nodded and started putting the clay away.

“Can I play with it again tomorrow?”

“Of course you can,” he told her. “But we do have to go into Lager for your appointment with the doctor.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” She nibbled on her lower lip as she set everything aside. Then she got up and washed her hands. When she came back, she had a pensive look on her face.

“How are we going to figure out who set fire to the house?” she asked, as she kneeled back down in front of the coffee table.

He knew that she wouldn’t want to sit yet, even on the couch.

Grabbing her fork, she twirled the spaghetti around it, but didn’t eat any of it.

“We’ll figure it out,” he told her.

“But didn’t Branson tell you that there was no camera footage or witnesses? So how will we figure it out?”

Reaching out, he grasped hold of her chin, turning her head so she was looking at him.

“We will figure it out,” he told her firmly. “Just like we will figure out who the big boss is.”

The deadline had come and gone without anything happening. Likely because that asshole couldn’t find Aimee. However, Ammo had been waiting to see if there would be any sort of retaliation, but so far nothing had happened. He’d been keeping in regular contact with Eli and everything had been quiet with Kirsten.

“Stop worrying about this. We’ve got it all under control.”

“It’s hard not to worry,” she said. “At least when I’m in Little headspace, I don’t really worry about it. But when I’m adult me, I do. It all comes flooding back. I can’t help but be concerned that that guy will make a move on Kirsten.”

“She’s got good protection,” he told her.

“Yeah, but for how long? How long can Eli watch her? And Hank? How long will she be happy with them watching her? What if we never find who that guy was or who set fire to the house? What if Kirsten’s never really safe?”