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

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Charlie was a bundle of nerves. Every day she worried that Sam would find some reason to go into the old garage. It was unlikely, of course. Unless his truck broke down, there would be no reason for it. But she worried anyway.

When Valentine’s Day finally arrived, she could barely contain her excitement. Holding back on the surprise had been so hard. Over and over she’d been tempted to drag him out back and show him.

For a change, he was still asleep when she woke. After five minutes of restless shifting, she realized that she wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep. She turned over and shook his arm. “Sam. Sam wake up.”

Sam must have heard the urgency in her voice, because his eyes flew open. “What’s wrong?” He sat up quickly. His eyes darted around the dim room, looking for the emergency.

“It’s Valentine’s!” she blurted.

His eyes snapped back to her, and he frowned. “What?”

“It’s… it’s Valentine’s Day,” she repeated.

“Charlie… it’s still dark outside.”

She looked over at the heavy curtains and realized there wasn’t the slightest sliver of light showing yet. “Oh. I didn’t notice how early it was.”

He narrowed his eyes and flopped back on his pillow. “Sure you didn’t.”

“It’s true. I just woke up and…” She sighed. “Never mind.” She was quiet for a few minutes as she struggled to go back to sleep.

But the pillow was too lumpy. The blankets were too far on his side. The heater clicked on and the whooshing sound made too much noise. She turned from one side to the other trying to find a comfortable spot.

Her sighs grew more frequent and frustrated, until Sam finally groaned and reached over to turn the lamp on. He sat up and looked at her. “What’s going on with you, darlin?”

It seemed like he should understand her excitement, but of course he didn’t, because he didn’t know. “It’s Valentine’s Day, Sam.”

“Charlie, This ain’t Christmas. No one gets up before sunrise on Valentine’s Day, and if you think you’re getting your present while it’s still dark outside…”

“You got me a present?” She sat up. “What is it?”

“Of course I got you a present. Why wouldn’t I get my best girl a present on the most romantic day of the year?”

She’d been too focused on the gift she was giving him to even think about what he might have gotten her. “Oh, right. Well, that wasn’t what I was excited about.”

“Good, because you’re not getting it until this afternoon.” He fixed her with a stern look. “So, what’s got you so wound up that you can’t let me sleep?”

“Your surprise. I get to give you your surprise today,” she reminded him.

“That so? Well, I admit you’ve got me curious.” He rolled his head on his shoulders and yawned, before bringing his attention back to her. “Do you want to go and get it?”

“Yes!” She started to slide out of bed and then stopped. She’d actually forgotten that the surprise was sitting in her dad’s old garage. “Oh. Wait. No.”

One eyebrow went up. “ No ? Then what are you waking me up for?”

“I mean, I do want to get it. I want to give it to you right now, but um…” She paused, hesitating before finally blurting out, “You’d have to get dressed. We have to go outside for it.”

“Hell no. Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “Going out in the dark at fuck-off-o’clock is a once-a-month thing.” He paused, then added, “At most. Whatever it is will have to wait until the sun is up, Charlie.”

“But… I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep until?—”

“Then go find something to do in another room, because I’m pretty sure I can.”

“Sam… ugh. Fine.” She grumbled as she slid out of bed, pulled on her slippers, and went to go distract herself. She’d waited weeks, but now that the day was here, she felt like she couldn’t wait another second.

She tried working on school assignments, but her mind was scattered. She put the television on, but she was too restless to sit still. In the end, she decided to make Sam a special romantic breakfast.

The coffee was perked, the bacon was sizzling, and she was just pulling a heart-shaped pancake out of the frying pan, when Sam appeared.

He looked rough and annoyed. “Charlie…”

“Yes, Daddy?” She flashed him a grin, and then poured batter into the heart-shaped ring in the pan. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

He sighed and ruffled his hair. It was already standing in all directions anyway. “Charlie, did it occur to you that making a lot of clatter in the kitchen was going to keep me from going back to sleep?”

Oops. “Uh, no. But, to be fair, Daddy, you’re usually getting up about now anyway.”

“Yes, when I haven’t been tossing and turning for an hour after getting woken too early.”

She gave him puppy dog eyes and pouted her lips. “Sorry. I was just too excited. It’s been so hard keeping this secret, and I finally get to show you.”

“You’re sure we have to go out for this? You can’t bring it in?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s not—It’s… well, you’ll see.”

He gave her a long stare. “Fine. I’ll get dressed.”

Charlie let out a squeal and pulled the pan off the heat, ready to throw some clothes on, but before she could take a step away from the stove, Sam stopped her. “ After breakfast, Charlie.”

Oh . She let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, Daddy. But if I die from anticipation, you’ll blame yourself.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive. Besides, letting bacon get soggy and cold is a crime.” He leaned over and snatched a piece from the pile she had drying on a paper towel.

She couldn’t argue with that. “That’s fair. I guess I can wait a little longer. Why don’t you grab some coffee and go sit, while I finish up. Do you want eggs too? I can scramble some up real quick.”

He kissed the top of her head and gave her a quick squeeze. “I think pancakes and bacon will be fine, darlin. It smells great.”

Sam poured himself a cup of coffee and settled at the table, watching as she finished up the last of the pancakes. She didn’t bother making the rest heart-shaped, which made it go faster. And when she carried their plates to the table, she plopped herself in his lap. It was, after all, supposed to be a romantic breakfast.

He nuzzled her neck and seemed more interested in her than the food, and she realized she might have made a mistake. If they ended up in the bedroom after breakfast, it was going to be even longer before she could show him the truck.

“What happened to cold bacon being a crime?” she protested.

“I guess they’ll have to lock me up then.” His voice was muffled by her hair. One hand massaged her thigh and threatened to dip between them, until she clamped them shut.

She tried to get up, but he pulled her back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Daddy, normally I would love to turn this into… well, where it’s going. But if I don’t get to show you the surprise soon, I’m going to explode.”

He laughed and let her go. “Fine, but next time don’t start something you aren’t wanting to finish.”

That was fair. She had sat in his lap and that usually did stir things up. She scampered around to the other side of the table and dropped into a chair that was out of reach. “Maybe after I show you…”

Of course, it was going to depend on whether or not she was in trouble. She had fibbed, just a little. And aside from that… well, it was a pretty extravagant gift. She wasn’t sure how he’d deal with that.

She pushed that out of her head and focused on eating her breakfast as quickly as possible. One eye on his plate, wishing he’d eat faster. Once the food was gone, he just had to make himself another cup of coffee and then take his time sipping it.

It almost seemed like he was dragging things out on purpose. Finally she snapped. “Sam! I swear…”

He laughed and put the cup down. “Fine, Miss Impatience. Man can’t even have a cup of coffee without being nagged.” He shook his head in a slow dramatic way and that was when she realized he had been doing it to tease her.

She sighed and slumped in her chair. “You want me to die.”

“I don’t either, brat.” He stood up. “Alright, let’s go get dressed and see what this big surprise is.”

Charlie was out of her chair and out of the room before he’d taken two steps. She was already wiggling into her jeans when he got to the bedroom, but he just shook his head and took his time.

It seemed like forever, but was probably less than ten minutes, before they were outside on the porch. Sam stopped and waited. “Lead the way, darlin.”

Charlie hurried down the steps, and almost landed on her ass when she hit an icy spot. Sam caught her and held on until she found her footing. “Whoops. It’s icy,” she blurted, as she clung to him.

“Tends to happen in winter. Just be careful.” But he held her arm down the steps, across the path, and didn’t let go until they’d reached the grass, which was more crunchy than slippery.

Once he let go of her arm, his hand slid down to take hers, and she had a happy whooshing sensation in her middle. Even though they’d been married for more than a year, it still made her giddy when he did little things like that. Fingers entwined, they trekked out to the garage.

She stopped him at the door. “Close your eyes and wait here.”

“Okay, but don’t take too long. I’m freezing.” He shivered for dramatic effect.

Charlie wasn’t exactly warm either, and the garage was unheated, but there was a fix for that. “I’ll plug in the space heater, just give me a second.” She made sure his eyes were closed, and then ducked inside to turn all the lights on.

The space heater was large and powerful. The second it kicked on, there was an immediate blast of heat, and she took a second to enjoy being able to feel her face again. She gave the big silver bow on the driver’s side door a tug, settling it into place, then took a deep breath and went to get Sam.

“You sure I can’t just open my eyes?” he asked, as she guided him over the threshold and across the concrete floor. “What have you got hidden out here anyway?”

“You’ll see in one second.” She positioned him where he’d have the best view. “Now, on the count of three you can look. Ready? One… two… three!”

Aside from the heater, there was complete and utter silence in the room. As it drew out, she started to get nervous. Was he upset? “Daddy?”

He didn’t answer. His eyes were wide and fixed on the truck and his mouth hung open slightly.

She shifted from one foot to the other. “D-daddy? Do you not… this is the kind you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Holy fuck.” The words stretched like a sigh. “Charlie, what did you do?”

There was a lump in her throat, and she swallowed it down hard. “I… you’ve been wanting a Li’l Red since we were kids. I knew you’d never get one for yourself because it wouldn’t be useful, so I decided… are you mad?”

“Am I mad ?” He turned his head to stare at her. “Charlie, you literally bought me the truck of my dreams.”

Her shoulders slumped as a sense of relief trickled through her. She let out the breath she’d been holding, while fully aware she was holding it.

“Of course I’m mad!”

Oh. “But…”

“You must have spent a fortune on it! You said it wasn’t anything big or extravagant.”

And there it was, the part she’d been concerned about. “That was just a little fib, because I didn’t want you to worry.”

“A little fib? Charlie, you must have spent… I dunno, thirty thousand on a pretty truck I can’t even do any work with.”

She straightened and lifted her chin. “Actually, I got a really good deal on it. Way under market value, and if you don’t like it… I’m sure we can sell it, and even make a profit.”

“Wait… really?” His gaze flicked to the truck and then back to her. “How good of a deal did you get?”

With an eyeroll, she snorted. “I’m not telling you that. But it was less than most people are selling them for… by at least five thousand.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What about transport fees?”

A smirk tilted her mouth up at one side. “None. Seller was local and he needed the money fast. He drove it over.” There was a sense of triumph in stumping him.

She could see he was trying to figure out the right question to ask next, and she had a trump card that she hoped would get her out of trouble. “Daddy, didn’t we agree that I could spend my money on whatever I wanted?”

From the start, Sam had insisted that her finances were her own, and he didn’t want any of the inheritance her father had left her. They split the income from the ranch, and each contributed to the household bills, but otherwise everything was separate.

“Not on me!”

She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. “Why not? I love you. Who else am I going to spend money on? I’ve got more than enough, and I didn’t even touch the investments.”

“But Charlie, this is…” His eyes shifted back to the truck and his jaw softened. He took a few steps and touched the glossy red paint. “It really is beautiful,” he admitted, in a soft voice.

“Daddy, listen, you never would have bought it for yourself. I want you to have it. Even if it’s not useful. Even if all you do is sit in it and listen to the radio.”

“Well...” He opened the door and looked inside. A long, low, ahhhhhh of pure delight escaped him as he examined the interior. “I think the floor mats are original.”

That was, she assumed, a good thing. A warm fuzzy kind of joy filled her. Making Sam happy was all she ever wanted. “That’s great. So, it’s the right one?”

“Hell yeah. I mean, I’ve been fantasizing about this stupid truck for so long, I really didn’t think the reality could ever match the dream, but damn.”

She moved up behind him, going up on her toes to look over his shoulder. They just looked like normal floor mats to her. “So, does that mean I’m not in trouble?”

Sam snorted. “You’re in so much trouble. I hope you’re not planning on sitting for a while, darlin.”

Charlie’s face twisted into a scowl, and she quickly stepped back. “That’s not fair. You can’t spank someone for getting you an awesome present.”

“I could, because I’m the boss around here, but I’m not. I’m spanking you for lying to me. This is absolutely the most extravagant thing you could have bought.” He sighed as he closed the door and turned to look at her. “You realize I will never be able to top this, right?”

“What?” She squinted. “What do you mean?”

“Charlie… this truck has been on my wish list since I was thirteen. You just fulfilled a lifelong dream. I really don’t think my little Valentine’s surprise is going to come close.” He didn’t sound sad, but there was definitely a touch of resignation there.

Oops. Suddenly her happiness started to fizzle. She hadn’t actually thought of it like that, and guilt began creeping up on her. “Oh, Daddy. It’s not a competition. Whatever you got for me… I’m going to love it. You know I will.”

Sam sighed and pulled her into his arms. He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I know that, sweetheart. It’s just… well, this is probably the grandest present in the history of Valentine’s Day gifts.”

“I just wanted to give you something that would kind of show how much I love you. Because you… mean everything to me, Daddy.” She tipped her head back and grinned. “But if you really want to say thank you, you can skip the?—”

He cut her off with a firm, “Nope.”

“You didn’t even let me finish!”

“I know exactly what you were going to say. You lied to me, and you’re getting spanked for it. And actually, since I’m in favor of letting the punishment fit the crime, it’s only fair to make the truck part of it.”

Charlie’s brow furrowed and she squinted at him. “What? How are you going to punish me with a truck?” That didn’t even make sense.

“Not with .” He walked around to the back end and pulled the tailgate down flat. “On. Or in, depending on how you look at it.” He sat on the ledge and patted his lap. “C’mere, Brat.”

‘Daddy! Not out here,” she protested, knowing, even as she said it, that it wouldn’t do any good.