Her head snaps up, and she stares at me, squinting her eyes.
“Yeah,” I tell her. “I was lost, but your mama found me, so we can be a family now.” That didn’t sound nearly as good when I say it out loud as it did in my mind.
Katie looks between us, confused. “You got lost.”
Christina just decides to go with it and nods. “Yep. He was lost. But he’s back now.”
“And I’m staying,” I add. “You don’t have to worry about me leaving.”
Katie reaches up and puts her hand on my cheek. It’s a sweet little kid gesture that probably means something. Unfortunately, I haven’t been a dad long enough to figure it out. So, I cover her hand with mine and smile down at her.
“Okay,” she whispers. “You can stay.”
It’s damn nice of this daughter of mine to let me stay in my own place, I think with genuine amusement.
I give her a kiss on the top of the head and stand before my emotions get the better of me. “You two get settled. I’m gonna run a bath for the puppy.”
I walk to the bathroom and close the door quietly. I grip the counter with both hands, head down, breathing hard. Christina didn’t have to tell her. She could have waited until I forced the issue by filing for custody, but she didn’t. She did the right thing and that touches me more deeply than it should.
Not only that, but Katie accepted me as her father, no questions asked. Then again, she’s only three. She probably takes everything grownups say at face value. I can’t remember ever being that young and naive.
I run some warm water for the puppy and gather up some baby shampoo and towels before calling them to come. Katie shows up holding the puppy against her chest. The little thing is all paws and wiggles, but she somehow keeps hold of it. Christina hovers over them, much like I did when she first carried it from the shed.
“Alright,” I tell Katie, rolling up my sleeves. “Ready to help me give her a bath?”
Katie nods hard. “She smells like outside.”
“She’s been rolling in the dirt at some point,” I say. “It’s nothing a short bath won’t fix.”
Christina steps inside and kneels next to Katie. She tucks a towel under her knee and smiles at her. “We’ll make her clean and fluffy. Puppies clean up really well.”
“Yeah,” I grumble. “The problem is they just get dirty all over again, like they can’t stand to be clean.”
Christina frowns, but Katie giggles at my ham-handed joke. This tiny daughter of mine gets all my jokes. I can’t figure if that makes her smart or my jokes childish.
The second the pup sees the bath it tries to scramble away. Katie tightens her arms around her. “Don’t run away,” she tells her. “It’s water, baths are fun.”
Of course the dog doesn’t listen, ‘cause it’s an animal being forced into doing human things it doesn’t understand.
I lift the puppy gently out of Katie’s grip and lower her towards the water. It starts flailing its tiny legs in protest. The second its paws touch the warm water, it lets out a startled yip and tries to climb back out of the tub. A moment later, it decides that warm water isn’t the instant death it thought and is prancing around loving it. I laugh, which feels strange after the day I’ve had.
It’s having so much fun, it doesn’t want to get washed. I have to hold it still just to soap it up. “Easy, furball,” I mutter, tryingmy best to steady it with one arm while I lather up its back with the other. “You’re alright. We’ve got you.”
Katie giggles. “Daddy, she’s so slippery.”
Hearing her call me daddy for the first time hits me right in the feelings. That word stalls me for a second. She said it like it had always belonged to me. I shake through the feeling and keep working.
Christina reaches in with a cup, helping rinse the puppy’s belly while Katie strokes her head.
“You’re doing great,” Christina tells her.
Katie beams.
Once we rinse the puppy clean, I wrap it in a warm towel. Before I can get the towel closed, it shakes, sending droplets everywhere. Katie gets a case of the giggles and can’t seem to stop. It’s like a burst of fuckin’ sunshine right into my heart.
“We’re not done,” I tell them. “He needs to be dried.”
I grab the small blow dryer from the counter. Christina takes the puppy into her lap so I can use both hands. Katie sits beside us, trying to help keep her pet quiet.
