Chapter 15
BEAU
Did I think this was going to be easy? Not at all, but I was excited to go on this ride with the sweet girl in my arms right now. Rebekah fit there perfectly, and I knew she would fit into my life just the same.
“Have you got any plans for today?” I asked, snuggling her in closer as if she were going to disappear if I let her go.
She shook her head, and the plan began to slowly form in my mind. Normally, after a case, I would go into the office and sort out any lingering paperwork and start on the armory, but today, there was no desire to bury myself in paperwork.
“Care to spend the day with me?”
“Well, that depends.”
“On what?”
“On what you plan on doing with me.”
I huffed out a laugh and tickled her sides. She was a sassy little thing.
“I was thinking maybe a trip to the mall and some lunch.”
“Can we get ice cream, too?”
“Anything for you, Sweets,” I replied.
“Don’t say that just yet, Daddy. You might regret those words.”
I didn’t think I would. Just like I wouldn’t regret hearing that name fall from her lips. It was music to my ears. A song I had longed to hear for years, but never knew if I would. Now that I had it, I never wanted it to stop.
“Up up!” I said with a quick tap on her bottom. “Time for you to get dressed. If we stay like this, I’ll be tempted to never move again.”
“Oh no, Mr. You just said we could get ice cream. If you think I’m going to let you back out of that, you’ve got another thing coming.”
Once again, I was unable to stop the laugh and eye roll that she brought out. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to her sass. She was going to keep me on my toes, I was sure.
“Okay, let’s do this. Go to your house and get ready, and I’ll come pick you up in a few minutes.”
“It takes me more than a few minutes to look beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful as you are. I’ll be over in about forty-five minutes. Will that be enough time?”
“I’ll make it work. I’ll see you soon, Daddy!” she said, quickly giving me a kiss before turning and dashing out the door, taking my blanket with her. Seemed like I wouldn’t ever get that blanket back, but I was okay with that. It never looked better than it did wrapped around her.
Who knew that forty-five minutes could pass so slowly? I thought time had frozen, and I couldn’t wait to finally have my girl back in my arms.
Trying to kill a little more time, I pulled out my phone and opened my messages to the guys.
Beau: I hope you are all enjoying your day off. I don’t want to see any of you in the office until tomorrow afternoon.
Josh: Who is this?
Patrick: Right, Josh. Cause there’s no way that our boss just said to not be at work until noon tomorrow.
Matt: I mean, if I had a sweet neighbor to watch over, I wouldn’t want to leave my house any sooner than needed.
I hated these men sometimes. They were the most annoying guys ever, but I also loved and cherished each one of them.
Beau: Okay, smart asses. Make fun all you want.
Seth: Did you finally make her yours? Do we get to stop hearing your growls around the office each time one of us gets too close?
Chase: IDK, Seth. I don’t think that’s ever going to stop.
Eric: Guys, guys. Leave the man alone. He’s in luuuuuveeeeee
Zach: Beau and Bex sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G
Beau: Assholes. Each and every one of you.
Glancing at the clock again, forty-five minutes had passed, and I could go pick up Rebekah. After sending a middle finger emoji to the group chat, I close it out and slip my phone into my pocket. With my keys in my hand, I jumped in the truck and backed out of my driveway and into hers.
I knocked on the door and waited somewhat patiently for Rebekah to answer it. I was relieved that she made sure to peek out the window before she opened the door. Thrilled, I took in the vision standing in front of me.
Dressed in pink sparkly jeans and another tie-dyed off-the-shoulder top, Rebekah looked adorable. She had pulled her curly hair into a half-updo and put a pink bow in her hair. I offered her my arm after she locked up before helping her into the truck and turning toward the mall.
Rebekah leaned forward and fiddled with the radio as she found the station she was looking for. I spent the next thirty minutes listening to her sing at the top of her lungs at every song that played. It made for an entertaining ride for sure.
After parking the truck, I rounded the front and made my way toward her side to help her climb down. Hand in hand, we walked inside the mall, ready to spend the next few hours shopping until her heart was content.
“Can I really get this one, too?”
I looked at where Rebekah pointed at the Legos in front of her. We had slowly made our way around the mall for the past hour, just window shopping. When she squealed after seeing the Legos store, I knew we were going to have to go in.
Looking down at the small collection of Legos she had already placed in my hand, I mentally calculated what her total was already at. I hadn’t set a limit for her, and honestly, none of what we had spent today was going to break the bank.
“Sure, Sweets, but that’s the last one for now. It’s going to take you a little while to build what you have already here.”
Rebekah jumped up and down and grabbed the Disney castle from the shelf. I slipped the big box under my arm and directed my Little brat to the checkout counter before she could get distracted again and add another item to her already growing pile.
“$487.53 is your total today, sir.”
There was a very small gasp beside me, so low that I barely heard it over the hustle and bustle of the store. I took out my wallet and handed over my card, turning to look at Rebekah just as she started picking at her fingers.
Placing my hands over hers, I finished paying, collected the handles of the massive bag of goodies, and directed her out of the store.
“Okay, talk to Daddy. What’s going on, Sweets?”
Rebekah wouldn’t meet my eyes, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Rebekah. Look at me.”
Her eyes slowly turned toward mine, and my heart broke a little.
“That was a lot of money for some silly toys. You shouldn’t have spent that much.”
“Do I look worried, Little one?”
She took a moment to scan my face, searching for the smallest amount of regret. None of which she would find. “No, Sir.”
“That’s right. If I was worried about the total, I would have told you no.
You’ve been a good girl, besides the breaking and entering, which I haven’t forgotten about.
You deserve to be spoiled just a little bit.
So, how about you let me worry about the cost of things?
Don’t go finding trouble when there’s none there. ”
I never wanted her to be worried about things a Little shouldn’t concern themselves with. I’d never been one to spend above my needs, so I had plenty of money sitting around for me to spoil my girl.
“With that settled, let’s go have lunch now. I think a certain Little girl asked for ice cream, but she only gets it if she eats all her lunch.”
Rebekah put a little pep into her step as we made our way toward the food court. I allowed her a few moments to see what there was to eat before taking her to her choice. It seemed like we would be eating Mexican food for lunch, which was fine with me.
Rebekah found us the perfect place to sit and eat while I waited for our food to be ready. I hadn’t thought about the work that was waiting for me or about what cases might come next. My focus had been on her, and it felt right.
“Beau, your order is ready.”
After grabbing the tray, I made my way to where she waited. Sitting pretty and patient, looking at the Legos in the bag on the floor beside her. I knew we would be building one of those today. After she took a nap, of course.
Rebekah had been amazing today, so as promised, we got ice cream to go. At a nearby creamery, we each ordered an ice cream cone, hers double chocolate chip and mine strawberry, and decided to take a walk in the park across the street.
It was such a pretty day outside, so there was no reason not to take advantage of the nice weather. We’d had so many extremely hot days recently, so this nice eighty-degree breeze was perfect.
Holding her hand in mine, we strolled along the path, eating our cones and pointing out the different animals. Everything was going great, until it wasn’t.
“Fuck!”
My eyes widened at the colorful word that came out of Rebekah’s mouth. I looked over where she stopped walking, and my heart broke. On the ground was her ice cream, which had fallen off her cone.
Rebekah turned her tear-rimmed eyes to me. “Oh, Sweets, it’s okay.”
“Daddy, my ice cream.”
“I know, Sweets, but it’s okay. Accidents happen.”
I pulled her into my arms, wrapping her up into a tight hug. “How about we go get you a new one?”
“Can we just go home instead? I don't feel like being in the outs anymore.”
After placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head, I grabbed her hand and led her back to the truck. It was a good idea to go home. It didn’t escape me that she had called my house home, but I was trying not to get too excited about that.
It didn’t take long for us to drive home after we got into the truck. We had a silent ride, not even a single hum from my passenger princess. I knew that Rebekah was going to fight me, but I thought a nap would be a fantastic idea.
“Come on, Sweets. It’s time for a nap, I think that will help your mood.”
“I don’t want to nap, but thank you for that suggestion.”
Oh, my sweet Little brat was in for a rude awakening if she thought that was a suggestion. She would be taking a nap, even if that meant I had to lay down with her.
“Not a suggestion, brat. Let’s go, you can wear one of Daddy’s shirts again. I think your blanket is still on the couch where you left it this morning. Go get it and head into the bedroom. I’ll be up in a moment.”