Great. It had been so long since she’d had social interactions with anyone other than her sisters that she didn’t know how to behave, and it was ramping her anxiety up higher and higher.
Turning his head, he looked at her. Immediately, he started to frown as he studied her.
“What is it? What’s making you anxious?” he demanded. He glanced around and then pointed to himself. “Is it me?”
She shook her head, then nodded. Her fingers were pressed tightly together, and she could feel her breathing growing faster. He quickly grabbed his phone and tried to hand it to her, but she was far beyond being able to type out what she needed.
He seemed to sense this. Instead, he set his phone down on the bed and stepped toward her, wrapping his arms around her. He held her tight, and she felt her anxiety wane. She didn’t know what it was about being held tightly or being wrapped up in a swaddle that helped her feel better. It just did.
Picking her up, he carried her to the bed and sat down on the edge again with her on his lap, facing him. Then he rocked her back and forth once more, talking to her quietly.
“It’s okay. You’re all right. Daddy has you. I’ve got you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Everything is fine. You’re safe.”
Did he think she was worried about herself?
“Just take a nice deep breath in, and then let it out slowly. That’s it. And another one. Deep breath in. Hold it for two. Out slowly. In through your nose, out through your mouth. You’re being such a good girl for Daddy.”
When she felt calm enough, she leaned back and pointed at the phone. He grabbed it, giving it to her.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
His eyes widened in clear surprise. “Me? You’re worried about me?”
“You looked like you were upset.” She typed. “Or thinking hard? I’m sorry if I’ve got that wrong, and I wasn’t sure whether to ask you. Maybe you’d think I was being nosy, but if I didn’t ask you, maybe you’d think I didn’t care.”
“Those are a lot of worries you’ve got going on in your head, baby girl.”
“I’m not very good at all this social stuff,” she confessed. “I’m not that used to talking to anyone other than Dotty or Monroe.”
“You can ask me anything. If I don’t want to tell you, I’ll just say that, all right? I won’t think that you’re being nosy or pushy, or anything like that, okay?”
She nodded.
“I was just thinking about my other job and the things that I might need to go do.”
Oh, of course. She hadn’t thought of that.
“Does Bonnie need you?”
“Not at the moment. This has to do with something else. But I’m here with you right now, so let’s not worry about it. Now, Hack should be here soon to look at your throat.”
Hack? The doctor that she’d met at Callahan Security? She guessed he seemed nice enough, but she wasn’t really sure she wanted to see a doctor.
She frowned. “No.”
His eyebrows rose. She guessed he hadn’t considered that she might argue. But her Little side could be far more stubborn than Big Addie. Big Addie was a people pleaser. Little Addie didn’t always want to do as she was told.
“No arguments,” he told her. “This is a decision for your health, which Daddy is in charge of now.”
Well, rats.
“Anything major, we’ll discuss together,” he told her.
Jeez, was he the bossiest man ever? Well, at least he seemed to be happier. He was smiling now and not looking so pensive.
Maybe ordering her around put him in a better mood.
Well, she guessed if that was the case, she could sometimes let him order her around.
