Giddy Up, Daddy (Dirty Daddies 2024 Anthology #5)

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Stafford sat down on the porch chair and looked out across his land as the sun started to rise. He should be out there, working. He had a long to-do list.

He couldn’t afford to sit and drink this second cup of coffee.

But he really needed it.

Because he’d been awake most of the night wondering what he was doing wrong.

Everything was good in a lot of ways. Better than good. Over the past week, Blakely had been in his bed every night. He’d moved all of her stuff into his room. She didn’t have much so it hadn’t taken long.

Last night, they’d gone to the quiz at The Wishing Well. It had been . . . interesting.

He’d lived here for close to a year now and hadn’t been to The Wishing Well for a drink once. It had actually been good to get out. And to see other couples interacting.

Other couples who had a relationship dynamic like theirs.

Except their relationship didn’t have that dynamic because Blakely didn’t seem to want to show him her Little.

And he had no fucking idea how to get her to.

Watching those other couples had been interesting. Kiesha was definitely more out there and more open about who she was than the others. But he’d seen how protective and caring their men were.

Attentive.

He’d wanted to ask one of them what he should do, but he didn’t know them well enough.

“Second cup of coffee?” Grandpa Jack asked as he shuffled out onto the porch.

Stafford had to resist the urge to get up and help him. He understood about pride and wanting to do things yourself.

“Yeah. I needed it.”

Jack sat and sighed. “You know, I was thinking it’s about time we did things up around here.”

Stafford tried to keep his surprise off his face. “What? Seriously?”

“Yeah, Blakely tripped on one of the porch boards. Fell on her knees. Can’t have that. And if you two decide to give me some great-grandbabies . . . well, we have to make it safe for them.”

“Wait, go back. Blakely tripped and fell? When was this?” he asked urgently.

“Hmm, yesterday morning, I think.”

“I need to go check on her.” He stood.

“Easy, boy. She’s fine. Just a bit of a scrape.”

“She never told me!” When he’d gotten home last night, they’d quickly eaten dinner before heading to The Wishing Well. When they’d gotten home, she’d fallen asleep quickly.

Still, she’d had plenty of opportunity to tell him what had happened.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” He’d be speaking to her about that. It wasn’t acceptable for her to keep things from him.

Perhaps you should sit her down and go through the rules.

Yeah. That was something he kept meaning to do. He just kept getting preoccupied with other things.

Like fucking her until they were both exhausted every night.

He had a feeling that he wasn’t doing a good job as her Dom.

“Maybe she didn’t think it was important enough, boy.”

“Everything about her is important,” he said as he sat again. “I need to know if she’s injured so I can take care of her.”

“What do you want from her? By the time you got home, she was all bandaged up and as good as gold.”

“She could have called me. I would have come back.”

“Funny. Does she know that? Because all she said when I offered to call you was that you were too busy to be bothered with something so inconsequential.”

What the hell?

“Shit,” he muttered with a sigh. “I think I’m messing things up.”

“Yep. I think you are too.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Stafford said dryly.

“I have confidence in you over a lot of things, boy. But I don’t want to see you mess this up.”

“Everything is good apart from the fact that she won’t show me her Little.”

“She won’t show you? Or you haven’t made her feel secure enough to let her Little out? She probably needs to know that this is something you really want.”

“I told her it was.”

But had he shown her? No.

She’d let her Little side peek out before, though. So why was she locking it down so tight now? Did she really not feel secure enough?

“You have to do more than tell her, boy.”

“How do I do that? I’m new to this, remember?”

Grandpa Jack grunted. “Yeah, well. It’s like any relationship, isn’t it? You got to talk to her. Which means actually being here. There’s nothing more important than your girl. Nothing.”

Stafford closed his eyes and nodded. He really had fucked up. “I’ve been so focused on getting the ranch up and running that now I can’t seem to switch off from it.”

“You’ve got to learn how. The ranch is fine. You’ve done a good job with it, boy.”

He had?

That’s the first time his grandfather had told him that.

“Now, it’s time to nurture other things. Like your girl. Talk to her. Figure out what she wants. What she needs. Lay out what you expect. Like for her to call you if she gets hurt. Might not hurt to ask her about her Little. You know, how young she is. What she likes to do. Get her a few things to help. Set the scene. Yeah?”

“Thanks, Grandpa,” he said.

“Just remember, I go to sleep early. And when I take out these hearing aids, I can’t hear a thing.” His grandpa winked at him.

Lord help him.

“This is a darn foolish idea, girl.”

“Grandpa Jack, people clear dead leaves from gutters every day. Are you going to go around telling them that it’s a foolish idea? What is a dumb idea is leaving them blocking the gutters. Or leafing them blocking the gutters. Get it?”

He stared at her blankly.

“You didn’t get it.”

“Oh, I got it. It was just terrible. What I don’t get is you climbing up a ladder by yourself to get some leaves out. When you should just leaf them.”

“Good one,” she said with a grin. “And this has to be done.”

“Then Stafford can do it.”

“Stafford is way too busy to do this. He’s got important things to do.”

At least that’s what she told herself when she started feeling sad that he wasn’t around much. She’d known what she was getting herself into when she’d agreed to be his.

Well, when he’d declared that she was his.

When he was home, he was attentive and loving. She’d never felt so cared for and she didn’t want to complain. It was just . . . well, she didn’t feel comfortable showing him her Little. Even though he had reassured her that she could.

It didn’t feel quite right. As though she was demanding too much from him or something.

“Important things to do? More important than making sure you don’t break your neck?”

“I’m not going to break my neck,” she said with exasperation as she started climbing the ladder.

He was such a drama queen.

Muttering, he wandered off inside. Which was really the best place for him. Yesterday, she’d tripped on one of the rotten boards on the deck and scraped her knees. And now she was worried that Jack would do the same.

He seemed to be venturing more and more outside. Which she was telling herself was a good thing.

But she didn’t want him getting hurt.

Blakely moved carefully. Heights weren’t her favorite thing. But she’d seen how blocked up the gutters were getting and they were due to get some heavy rain tomorrow.

So they needed clearing out.

She did one section, then climbed down with a breath of relief. Picking up the ladder, she carried it carefully to the next section and climbed up. This time, her legs were shaking slightly.

Crap.

How was she going to do this around the entire house?

“Blakely?”

She jumped slightly at the voice, even though it was calm and quiet.

Turning, she held on tight to the ladder as she saw Stafford standing there.

“Stafford, hi. What are you doing home?”

“Blakely,” he said in a tight voice. “I’m going to need you to climb carefully and slowly down.”

He looked strangely pale.

Oh, no.

Maybe he wasn’t feeling very well.

“Blakely. Get. Down. Now.”

His voice had grown deep and stern.

“But I haven’t finished this part.”

“Blakely, you either climb down yourself or I’m coming up there to get you. Either way, you’re getting down. Right. Now.”

Okay, she guessed she was getting down. Probably for the best.

When she got to the third from the bottom rung, he reached up and lifted her down.

“Oh, careful! You shouldn’t do that if you’re not feeling well.” Turning, she gave him a concerned look.

“Not feeling well?”

“Yes, you look pale. Is that why you’re home early?”

“No. I’m not home early because I feel unwell,” he gritted out as he took hold of her wrist and led her into the house.

“You’re not? Then why?”

“I’m home because I found out that my girl is risking her neck climbing a ladder.”

She stilled when they entered the house and tugged at her arm. He didn’t let her go, but he did turn toward her with his eyebrows raised in question.

“Did Jack call you?” she asked, outraged. “That . . . that tattletale! Grandpa Jack!”

“He won’t hear you. He’s taken out his hearing aids.”

“He has? Why would he do that?”

“Because he doesn’t want to hear us,” he replied grimly, leading her toward their bedroom.

Hear them?

Hear them what?

“Oh my God, we’re not going to have sex, are we?”

“No, we are not. We’re going to have a very serious conversation.”

“About what?”

“About ladders, expectations, and rules.”

“What do ladders, expectations, and rules have in common?”

“More than you’d think.” He dragged the armchair over into the middle of the room and pointed at it. “Sit.”

She sat, watching him as he paced back and forth, his hands behind his back.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Pacing. It helps me think.”

“Maybe you should sit down if you’re not well.”

“I feel fine,” he told her.

“Are you sure? You seem a bit cranky.”

“I’m not cranky.” He stilled and turned to her. “You were up a ladder.”

“Um, yep.”

“Up a ladder, cleaning out gutters.”

“Yes, I was. It’s meant to rain tomorrow.”

“Right. Which is why I was going to come back early today and clear them.”

“Oh, well, I’m saving you a job. That’s good, isn’t it?” She smiled.

He didn’t return her smile.

Uh-oh.

“No, babygirl. It’s not good. It’s not good at all.”

“Why not? Did I do it wrong?” she asked.

“It’s wrong because you shouldn’t be up a ladder at all.”

“Why not?” she asked, getting confused.

“Because you could fall and hurt yourself.”

“I think the odds of that are low. I mean, I could trip over a loose decking board and hurt myself, too.”

Instead of seeing her reason, he just scowled. “Take off your pants.”

“What? I thought we weren’t having sex.”

“We’re not. I want to see your knees.”

“Why would you want to see . . . oh my God! Grandpa Jack is the biggest tattletale! He told you that I fell over as well as telling you that I was up that ladder.”

“And just as well he did,” he said sternly. “Otherwise, I’d have no idea about any of this. If you get hurt, you need to tell me. Let me see.”

“They’re fine.”

“I didn’t ask if they were fine.”

“You didn’t ask at all,” she grumbled.

“No, I didn’t. Because it’s my job to take care of you and by keeping things like this from me, you’re not allowing me to do my job.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I don’t want to be a job to you.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and kneeled in front of her. “You’re right. That was badly worded. You are not a job.”

“You already have so much on your plate. It’s a huge responsibility running this place and I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You are never a burden and you are not a job. You’re the best damn thing in my life and I hate that you don’t know that. If anything happened to you, Blakely, I don’t think I could handle it. Because I love you so fucking much. I’d leave this ranch now if I needed to in order to keep you.”

“You . . . you really love me?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“I do. So fucking much. And I’m sorry you didn’t know that. That I didn’t tell you. But I’m learning that I’m a terrible communicator.”

With a sob, she wrapped her arms around him. He fell back onto his butt with her in his lap, peppering kisses over his face.

“I don’t care that you didn’t say it before, you’re saying it now. And I never want you to leave the ranch. I just want you to be happy.”

“You make me happy.” He cupped her face between his hands. “Coming home to you each night is the best part of my day. I know I haven’t been here much. That I haven’t done a good job of being your man or your Daddy. In fact, I haven’t been your Daddy at all. Mostly because I’ve been too busy, which has to stop. I’m going to make more time for you. For us.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I do,” he said firmly. “And not just for you, but for me, too. I need to learn what you need. Which means spending time with you, talking to you, ensuring that you’re safe. But you also need to speak to me. You have to tell me when you need me. Like when you fall and hurt yourself.”

“It was so minor that it wasn’t worth mentioning.”

“Nothing is so minor that it’s not worth mentioning, understand?” He ran his thumb over her lips. “I want to know everything. From now on, I’d like to know what you plan to do during the day. Like deciding to climb a ladder.”

“I was just trying to help.”

“You can help with both feet on the ground. Now, do you have something to say to me?”

“Um.” What did she have to tell him? “I think your grandpa is a tattletale.”

“Already knew that. It’s a good thing he is too, or someone would still be up a ladder, clearing gutters. What else?”

“I tripped and fell yesterday and hurt my knee.”

“Which you still haven’t shown me.”

He helped her stand and strip off her pants. Then he kneeled and carefully removed the Band-Aid over her knee.

“Poor babygirl. This looks very ouchie.” There was a soft note to his voice and she felt herself melting, her Little side slipping out.

“It’s really ouchie.”

He stared up at her sharply.

Shit. Had she done the wrong thing? She bit her lip. “Sorry.”

“Hey, why are you apologizing?” Reaching up, he released her lip from between her teeth.

“You’re trying to have a proper conversation and I’m saying things like ouchie.”

“I said the word ouchie first. Sit down, babygirl. I don’t think I’ve made something clear.”

She sat back.

Stafford placed his hands on either side of her thighs.

“I’ve spent the last week wondering why you haven’t let me see your Little.”

He had?

“You have?”

“Yes, baby. I’m new at this, but I should have realized that we needed to have a talk. About what you need. Rules and expectations. For some reason, I think I thought it would just come to me. That’s not going to happen. But are you sure you have nothing else to tell me?”

Oh, heck.

What else could she confess to?

“I ate cake for breakfast yesterday,” she blurted out. “And instead of cleaning the oven the other day, I practiced some magic tricks instead. Sorry, I’ll clean the oven tomorrow.”

“Baby, I don’t care about the damn oven. The eating cake for breakfast . . . well, don’t make a habit of that.”

“I won’t. Promise.” She gave him an earnest look. But not making it a habit just meant she couldn’t do it every day . . . once or twice a week was okay, right?

He eyed her. “Do I have to come back in the mornings and feed you a healthy breakfast?”

“What? No! I’ll eat a healthy breakfast. Most of the time.”

“Good girl. Now, what else?”

“I don’t think I have anything else to tell you.”

“No? Even though I told you that I loved you?” He frowned.

Oh. Ohhh. She was so dumb.

“Stafford?” she whispered.

“Yeah?” he grumbled.

“I love you so much that I can’t imagine my life without you in it. But if I did, it would make me feel all panicky inside, because you’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“I figured as much.” He grinned as she lightly slapped his shoulder. Then he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her.

Hot and deep.

Until all thought fled her mind, and she was left with just mush.

“Babygirl?”

“Hmm?” she asked as she tried to steal his lips for another kiss. “Another kiss.”

“No more kisses.”

“What? Why?” she asked.

“Because we have a few more things to talk about. After your spanking.”

“What? Why am I getting a spanking?”