Daddy hesitates. “Yeah, might as well. Give Gray time to lose her mind before we get home.”
My stomach twists at the mention of this Gray person. Is she going to be upset with me? Why would she need time to “lose her mind” as Daddy said?
“And when might that be?” Uncle Ford asks.
“This afternoon. Flight is scheduled for noon local time.”
“Got it. I’ll let the rest of the family know.”
“Thanks, Ford.”
“No problem.” A smile curves Uncle Ford’s lips. “See you soon, little one. Welcome to the family.”
With that, the call ends, and Daddy tucks his phone back in his pocket. “All right, babygirl. Let’s get you into the tub.”
Still holding me in his arms, he leans forward to turn the water on and tests the temperature before plugging the drain. As the gigantic tub fills, Daddy stands me on my feet and tugs at the sheet wrapped around my body. But I cling to it as tightly as I’m able with my injured hands, fighting the urge to wince as fresh pain stabs at my wrist.
The corners of Daddy’s mouth dip down into a frown. “Tabitha. Let go of the sheet.”
Where I’ve heard most people have a fight-or-flight response to fear, I seem to default mostly to freeze. Which is exactly what I do, standing still as a statue as I stare into his dark, unyielding eyes. “C-can I have some privacy?”
“No. Little girls don’t need privacy from their Daddies.”
My vision blurs, tears stinging my eyes. “Please, Daddy? I won’t be naughty, I promise.” It feels odd to call him Daddy, but he’s given me no other name to use, so I work with what I have.
“I am very glad to hear that, baby, but Little girls cannot take baths by themselves. What if you slip and fall and hurt yourself again?”
“I won’t!”
Apparently unmoved by my pleas and promises, he raises a dark brow. “Tabitha. Do you want to take a bath with a sore bottom? Because you are about thirty seconds from getting bent over the side of this tub so Daddy can spank the defiance out of you.”
I’ve never in my life been spanked. Hell, my menagerie of foster parents barely ever even raised their voices at me. They never needed to, because I learned quickly that nobody keeps naughty children around, so I always did my best to follow the rules and not make any trouble.
And since I’m not keen to break my no-spanking streak now, I slowly release my death grip on the sheet.
“Good girl,” he praises softly, his words washing over me as he pulls the sheet from my body. Rising to his feet, he lifts me again, so effortlessly it knocks the air from my lungs, and lowers me into the steaming water.
It’s too hot, but I don’t want to upset him by whining about it, so I swallow the pained hiss that rises to my lips and blink back a fresh wave of tears.
“Tabby, baby, what’s wrong? Why are you making that face?”
Clearly I wasn’t quick enough to hide my reaction. “Nothing.”
“All right, little girl. We might as well get this out of the way since you seem intent on defying me every step of the way.”
Before I can even blink, he’s seated on the edge of the tub again and I’m up out of the water, draped over his wide lap. I have a split second to worry about the fact that I’m getting water all over his expensive-looking suit before his voice, low and deadly, distracts me.
“When Daddy asks you a question, he expects an answer, little girl. And ‘nothing’ isnotan appropriate answer.”
Pain explodes on my right buttcheek and it takes a moment for my brain to make sense of what’s happened. He actually did it. He-hespankedme.
More pain comes as he spanks my other cheek, and tears spring to my eyes. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be bad!”
“You weren’t bad, babygirl, but you need to understand that your Daddy will not tolerate defiance.”
Defiance. I’ve never been defiant a day in my life. Not when I was bounced from home to home no matter how good I was, not when my job kept adding more and more responsibility with no extra pay.
Not even when I came home to find all my things packed up in boxes on the front porch and my boyfriend of three years withhis arm around my supposed best friend as he calmly told me I needed to find a new place to live.
