Her Gentle Daddy

21. Sean

After dropping Gabby off at work, Sean drove to Ian’s house. He had scheduled a meeting with his friend at his home office, where he worked most of the time now that he had a Little. Maddie also worked from home, but Sean asked if they could meet privately so they could talk, and Ian assured him that she would be in another room working.

He brought all the information that Kane had found with him so he could show Ian, and as he knocked on the door, he hoped for the best. It only took a moment before Ian was standing before him, with a smile on his face and a cup of coffee in hand.

“Hey, man. Come in.”

Maddie came running down the hallway toward the front door.

“No running, little girl!”

Almost instantly, she skidded to a stop on her stockinged feet and began walking.

“Sorry, Daddy. Hi, Sean.”

Smiling down at her, Sean nodded and stepped into the house.

“Hey there, little one. Giving your Daddy more gray hairs, I see.”

She burst out giggling and stuck her tongue out at Ian.

“He deserves them. He never lets me have any fun.”

Ian raised an eyebrow, “Oh? I never let you have any fun? So that new dollhouse upstairs isn’t any fun? And the trip to the aquarium last week wasn’t any fun? Oh, and let’s see, the trip to Build-A-Bear yesterday wasn’t any fun?”

Maddie slumped her shoulders, and Sean was pretty sure she was barely able to keep from rolling her eyes at her Daddy.

“Okay, okay. Let me revise my statement. Daddy never lets me have dangerous fun.”

Both men gave her an exasperated look to which they received a mischievous smile in return.

“Love you, Daddy.”

“Uh-huh. You’re just trying to save your bottom. Upstairs, go play while I talk with Sean, and if I catch you trying to eavesdrop, I’ll put you over my knee right in front of him.”

His threats obviously not swaying her attitude, Maddie stomped down the hall toward the stairs, sighing dramatically.

“Fiiiiine, I’ll be up in my room dying of loneliness!”

It was Sean’s turn to laugh as Ian shook his head.

“She is really overdue for a spanking.”

Even as he said it, Ian was smiling. Nodding for Sean to follow him, they made their way into his home office, shutting the door behind them.

“What’s going on, man? You said it was important, and that makes me a little nervous. Am I getting sued?”

Sean chuckled and shook his head, “No, you’re not getting sued. If you were, I would have told you over the phone.”

His friend straightened in his chair at that and studied Sean.

“What’s up?”

“I need to tell you something that is going to affect your wife’s life, and I’m coming to you because you’re her Daddy and husband, and I think she will need your guidance and support with this.”

Ian shifted uneasily but didn’t say anything, so Sean continued.

“I met a Little. Zane introduced her to me, and long story short, she lives with me and is my little girl. She was put into the foster care system when she was young after her mom died of a drug overdose. She moved to Seattle from Reno because she knew she was born here and was told that her father, who she’d never met, had another child here.

“She came to find the sister that she’d never met, and after doing some digging, we found her. Gabby’s sister is Maddie. They share the same father.”

Ian stared at Sean without saying a word, and he knew that he had just completely blown his mind. Not that he blamed him. When he had seen Maddie’s name on the piece of paper that Gabby had given him, he had been floored too. It could be something that would be a beautiful thing, or it could be a disaster, and he had no control over it, which worried him. He wanted to do everything he could to make his baby girl happy and give her everything she could ever want in life, but this would be one of the things that he couldn’t control.

“Are you sure?”

Sean slid the folder of papers over to Ian, who took them and began flipping through all of the information that Kane had provided. After several minutes of scanning through everything, he set the papers down on his desk and sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“Wow. I don’t even know what to say, except this is crazy. I don’t even know what to think right now.”

“That’s why I came to you first. I figured it would be good for it to sink in for you, and that way, when Maddie finds out, you aren’t in shock and can give her the support she needs.”

Moving his gaze to Sean, Ian raised his eyebrow.

“You are not coming and dropping this bomb on me and expecting me to deal with it. She is going to have questions that I can’t answer.”

Nodding his head, Sean shifted in his chair. It would be a very awkward conversation.

“Whatever you need from me, I will help with. Gabby hasn’t had any family in a long time, and she is hopeful that Maddie will want to be a part of her life in some way.”

Standing from his desk, Ian began to pace the room while Sean sat back silently and wondered what his friend was thinking. He knew Ian would do anything for his wife and support whatever decision she made.

Picking up his cell phone, Ian tapped away on the screen and then set the device back down.

“Maddie will be down in a minute.”

“We’re telling her now?” Sean asked.

“Yep.”

Okay, Sean hadn’t expected that they were going to tell her that day but alright. Clearing his throat, he sat up straighter and waited while Ian continued to pace. It only took a moment before Maddie appeared in the doorway with an innocent smile on her face.

“What’s up, Daddy?”

Ian stopped pacing and turned toward his little girl, studying her for so long that her smile faded, and her expression fell to concern.

“What’s wrong?”

“Come sit down, baby.”

He moved and sat down in his chair again, patting his lap. Maddie moved into the room slowly, eyeing Sean as she walked past him to sit on her husband’s thigh.

“We have something to tell you, and I think that Sean would like to start.”

Shooting Ian a glare, Sean leaned forward and smiled at Maddie, who was obviously not buying it.

“I met a Little who moved to Seattle to look for her sister that she’s never met. Kane and I did some digging, and it seems that you are her sister. Her father is your father.”

Maddie looked confused as she stared at Sean and then moved her gaze to Ian and then back to Sean.

“Are you being serious, or is this a joke?”

Ian’s hand ran up and down her back as though trying to soothe her.

“He’s being serious, baby girl. All the documents are in that folder right there.”

She eyed the manilla folder and slowly reached out to open it as though it was going to bite her. As she picked up each piece of paper and read the contents, her hands began to shake to the point that Ian took the papers out of her hands and wrapped his arms around her. Letting out a sob, she buried her head into his neck.

Sean sat awkwardly while Ian soothed Maddie, brushing his fingers through her hair and whispering into her ear. It was several minutes before her sobs quieted and turned into sniffles, and she turned her face toward Sean, her cheeks tear-stained and red.

“Tell me what you’re thinking, baby,” Ian said quietly.

She shrugged, “Can I go up to my room?”

Ian searched her face, and Sean felt guilt fill him for upsetting Maddie.

“You may. I’ll come to check on you in a few minutes.”

Releasing her from his lap, Ian let her leave the room and then looked across to Sean, who felt just as lost as his friend looked.

“I’m sorry to come drop this on you both like this.”

Waving his hand in the air, Ian leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.

“She probably just needs time to process this. She just lost Cameron a year ago, and now suddenly she has a sister.”

Standing from his chair, Sean nodded, ready to head back to see his own little girl, even though she still had several more hours of work until she was off. Ian’s phone vibrated, and when he read the message, he looked up and grinned at Sean.

“The princess upstairs is requesting your presence in her playroom.”

Dread and anticipation filled him for what was to come, but he nodded and followed Ian through the house and up the stairs to an open doorway where Ian walked right in, but Sean stood at the threshold and waited. Maddie sat on the twin-sized bed, clutching a stuffed Stitch doll, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

“Will you tell me about her?”

The question was directed to Sean, and he felt something that felt like relief inside that she was asking more questions about Gabby. That meant she was curious about her, and that was probably a good thing. Ian sat down next to her on the bed and motioned for Sean to come in and sit down in the rocking chair.

“What would you like to know?”

“Everything. What is she like? Where did she grow up? Was our father in her life?”

“She’s wonderful. She’s a Little like you, and she’s sweet, kind, and strong. She grew up in Reno, her mom passed away when she was seven, and then she was put into foster care, where she had a really rough time. She was hurt by a lot of the families who fostered her, so she struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. She never met your father. She only knew of you because her mother had mentioned once that he’d had another child.”

He could see tears filling Maddie’s eyes, and Ian saw it too because he lifted her from the bed and pulled her into his lap.

“How was she hurt? Was she abused?”

Staring down at his hands, Sean had to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat at that question because he hated the answer. He hated that he hadn’t been able to protect her and keep her safe throughout her life. When he spoke, his voice was raw with the emotions he felt.

“Yeah, Maddie. She was abused a lot. Physically, emotionally, and sexually. She is frightened of a lot of things in the world, men especially, and she has never had anyone in her life that she’s trusted. At least not until she met me and I moved her into my house. She’s my little girl.”

Maddie lifted her gaze to him and studied him for a long moment before she smiled.

“I think she’s really lucky to have you. It makes me so sad that she went through all of that and I’ve had such a blessed life. I feel guilty.”

Both Ian and Sean shook their heads.

“No, honey, you have no reason that you should feel guilty. It isn’t your fault. She had a rough start in life, but I assure you, she will have nothing but the best with me. I will make sure she is happy and wants for nothing and gets all the help she needs to heal from her past.”

Moving her gaze to Ian, he stared back at her as though they were communicating silently with each other, and then Maddie turned back toward Sean.

“I’d like to meet her. I don’t know how I feel about all of this, but if anything, maybe I could at least be a friend to her.”