31. Chapter Thirty
It had been two days since Janie got told that she had to move out of the house. It had been tough to watch her go through that. Mac wanted to relieve her stress but it was hard when she wouldnt talk about it. He had tried asking questions to help but she gave vague answers.
Mac knew at some point she was going to break down. He didnt know when but he did know he was going to be there for her. He was going to be there for her at any point as long as she said it was okay. Mac didnt like that she was hiding her emotion from him. She always said that she was okay but he knew it wasnt true.
She must be feeling so many different emotions and it wasnt healthy for her not to process them. At some point she was going to explode and let them all out. What if he wasnt there for her? What if she decided she was going to break down when he went back to work?
He had called out of work for the next couple of days. He was going to work partially online at home but he was focused on Janie and Eleanor. The past two days he hadnt since he was helping Janie pack some of her things and move them into his house. All the guys at work understood once he explained the situation. Several of them said that they would go after her ex-husband if they needed to.
Mac wanted to figure out who her lawyer was before. How could he not have told Janie about the house being in her ex-husbands name? It should have been one of the first things the lawyer said to her. Why hadn’t her ex-husband told her to move out? Wouldnt he want to stay in his house?
There were so many things going on in his mind and none of it was making sense. Maybe her ex-husband had an ulterior motive. Maybe he wanted her to feel comfortable and like he was helping her to get her back. He had come over the other day and Mac didnt like that.
But Mac wasnt going to dwell on that. Right now he needed to focus on Janie and Eleanor. He needed to show them that he was going to be in their lives and wasnt going to go anywhere. That Janie could live with him forever, both of them could. That was what he wanted. Now it was just convincing Janie that she belonged with him, that both of them did.
He wanted to show them that he could help relieve stress, make their lives amazing, be there for them, and so much more. He wanted to be there for them and it was only a matter of showing them that. Mac thought that he had been doing a good job of that but maybe he hadnt.
“Uppies,” Eleanor said as she made grabby hands at him.
He smiled and picked her up. It had been an amazing two days having them at his house. Janie had decided the first day that they were going to stay at his house so Eleanor could get used to it. Eleanor didnt have a problem at all adjusting to a new house. Probably due to her younger age. Janie, though, seemed to be struggling a little bit and he wanted to help her out with that.
Mac couldnt get enough of Eleanor and Janie. He would walk around the house, trying to find things and Eleanor would randomly come up to him and want up. He never said no to her. Or he hadn’t since they moved in. There would no doubt be a time when he was going to have to say no to her. Sometimes Janie would try and take Eleanor away from him, saying that she didnt want Eleanor to bother him but she wasnt.
He loved all the little snuggles he would get from Eleanor, just like hes getting right now. Eleanor had snuggled her body into his and relaxed. That was what he wanted for her and for Janie. Now, he just needed Janie to be able to relax.
“Youre just a little snuggle bear, arent you?” Mac asked. “My little snuggle bear.”
He ran his hands up and down her back, getting her to relax even more into his arms. He didnt realize how much he had missed snuggling and cuddling with someone. And Eleanor had given more than he had all year.
“I can take her,” Janie said.
“Shes fine in my arms but if she needs to go down for a nap then you can take her,” Mac replied. It was like Janie was keeping a very close eye on Eleanor in his house. That was not what he wanted. He wanted her to relax and not have to make sure that Eleanor wasnt getting into anything she wasnt supposed to.
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Im sure.”
She sighed and he couldnt help but smile. He wanted her to be comfortable in his house and not worry about every little thing. Mac had told her that but she wasnt paying attention and he didnt know how to get it across to her any other way.
“Ellie? Do you want to go play?” Janie asked.
Eleanor lifted her head off of his chest and squealed. “Yes!” She yelled.
Mac sat her down on the ground and watched as she scurried away. It was so cute to see Ellie run with her little legs.
“Im going to make some snacks while you two play,” Mac said.
“Oh, I wasnt going to play,” Janie replied as her eyes looked over towards the window.
“I think it would be a good idea if you did play. Keep your mind off of everything. Just relax and have a good time.”
Her eyes stayed on the window and he knew what she was looking at. A little moving company had come earlier that day and had started to pack away her things into the truck. She had been worried all morning about her things. This morning the lawyer had come over with the key to her rental storage unit.
“Pinky,” Mac said, trying to gain her attention. “Can you look at Daddy?”
Her eyes found his and she shook her head. She was still trying to deny that he was her Daddy. Sure, they hadn’t officially agreed on it but she felt it and he felt it. He had been acting like her Daddy for quite a while and he wanted to encourage her to use the name. If she said her safeword and said she didnt want him to call himself Daddy anymore, he would follow through with her wishes. But she hadnt said her safe word and he reminded her that she could.
“Why dont you go play with Eleanor. I think itll be nice for you to relax,” he said. “Ill get you some snacks and a drink. Both of you.”
She nodded her head and looked again at the window before leaving towards the living room where Eleanor was.
The past two days hadnt been easy. He tried to help by being supportive and doing the heavy lifting, but they disagreed on some things. Especially this morning when the person dropped off the keys. He had asked for them to call the place and set up the payment and Mac had done that. He had used his own credit card and Janie did not like that.
How the lawyer got the key without paying, Mac didnt know. Maybe the guy was a friend of the lawyers. But either way he paid for it because Janie didnt need to worry about it. Mac had told her that the stuff could be in there for however long she needed it to be and he would pay it. She had said that she didnt need him to pay for her things and he knew that.
Janie made a full-time living with her editing. He knew that she didnt need his money and his help but he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to alleviate some of the stress that she was having right now.
Mac placed some pretzels, cut up apples, peanut butter, and a piece of chocolate on each plate. He put some juice and water into a sippy cup and baby bottle before grabbing all of them and walking into the living room.
Janie and Eleanor were currently playing with their dolls. It was a precious sight to watch and Mac took the time to watch them. They were in no rush and he loved that. Both of them were relaxed and in their own world. A happy and peaceful world.
Mac had only seen Janie like this at the club. It was something else to see it in his own home. To watch as her eyes got bright with excitement as her and her daughter played with the dolls. Everything was becoming a reality with her. Things were starting to fall into place and he couldnt wait for the outcome.
Janie turned around and gave him a big smile. “Daddy!” She squealed.
He gave her a smile in return, his heart warming as she called him Daddy. He was never going to get tired of hearing her call him that. It was special, precious. He walked into the room and sat down on the couch beside them.
“How are my two precious girls doing?” He asked.
Both of them had gone back to play and Mac chuckled. They were both so engrossed in playing with their dolls together.
“My precious girls,” he gently said. Placing the plates and drinks down next to them and Eleanor happily started to messily eat her pretzels.
Janie looked up at him and back down at her snacks, almost uncertain if she was allowed to eat them or not.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Eat your snacks and play. Ill watch over both of you as youre in Littlespace.”
She hesitated as she looked at him. He had no doubt she was nervous to be fully in Littlespace with her daughter around. He remembered her saying something about how she couldnt in case something happened. But he was here now and he could watch over both of them. Mac wanted to watch over both of them.
“I promise nothing is going to happen,” Mac said. “Daddy is going to watch over both of you and protect both of you. Youre safe with me.”
Janie went back to playing with her dolls. Her cute adorable voice as she spoke for her dolls. Eleanor wasnt quite having full sentences for her dolls, but it was still cute. Her little one word or two word sentences for her dolls.
Eleanor continued to eat and drink the snack he had given her but Janie was not. Did she not like the snack? He knew Janie wasn’t allergic to peanut butter or apples but maybe she didn’t want what he had put on the plate? He didnt think that she was gluten intolerant either but he could be wrong.
“Pinky? Eat some of your snackie,” he said.
She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. That made Mac think that she just didnt like the stuff that was on her plate.
“Pinky.”
“Daddy. I dont wants that. I wants cookies,” she said.
Mac shook his head. “No cookies right now. You need to eat whats on your plate and then were going to have dinner and then maybe you can have a cookie later on.”
Janie stood up from where she was sitting and crossed her arms. “I want them now.”
“Pinky, you aren’t getting a cookie right now. If youre a good girl you can have one after dinner.”
She stomped her foot and stuck her tongue out at him. His eyebrow raised as he watched everything unfold.
“Are you having a temper tantrum?” He asked.
“No. I just want a cookie. Im a grown adult and I can have a cookie when I want to.”
He shook his head. “Cut the attitude. Do you want a hot bottom?”
She stuck her tongue out at him again.
“One last warning. Stick your tongue out again or give me attitude and youll be over my lap and Ill be spanking you.”
Janie cocked her hip to the side, stomped her foot and stuck her tongue out at him again. So, that was how she wanted to play.