Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Palmer laid on Beau’s big bed while he dried her gently.
“All squeaky clean,” he teased, rubbing her skin with the soft towel.
“All clean,” Palmer agreed. Her words were a bit garbled around her pacifier, but Beau didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m going to grab your pajamas. You stay right here, okay?” Beau said, his eyebrow raised sternly. “I don’t want you to fall off the bed.”
Palmer nodded seriously. “Yes, Sir.”
She lay very still while Beau got her pajamas, taking her promise seriously.
He walked across the bedroom and grabbed her clothes.
“Good girl!” he praised when he came back to the bed and she was exactly where he left her.
His praise made her tummy give a little flip.
“I thought tonight we would do pink flamingo panties and a pink floral sleeper because Daddy loves how sweet you look in pink,” he said, sliding the training panties up her legs.
“Pink,” Palmer nodded, sucking on her pacifier. She really did like pink. “I think pink is my favorite color,” she admitted quietly. She still wasn’t sure, but she really liked that color the most.
“Yeah? It’s a good color,” Beau said, smiling.
Once her panties were in place, Beau reached for the lotion bottle. He squeezed a little into his palm and rubbed his hands together to warm it up.
“Cold, Daddy?” Palmer asked, frowning and drawing her arms up to cover her body.
“Are you asking if the lotion is cold, baby?” he asked. His brow wrinkled as he processed her words.
She nodded.
“No, Daddy warmed it with his hands first, do you want to feel?” he asked, holding his hands out for her.
She hesitated before tentatively reaching out and touching the lotion with her fingertips. “Is not cold,” she said, shaking her head.
“No, Daddy wouldn’t put cold lotion on you,” he promised, rubbing the lotion over her skin. “That would feel yucky, huh?”
She nodded. “Yucky.”
Beau finished rubbing the lotion into Palmer’s soft skin before reaching for her pajamas. “Alright, pretty baby, let’s get you cozy.”
Palmer lifted her arms without being asked, still sucking quietly on her pacifier.
“So helpful,” Beau said with a warm smile as he guided her arms through the sleeves of the pink sleeper. The soft fabric rustled as he worked her legs and arms into it before zipping it from the leg to under her chin.
“There we go,” he murmured, smoothing the sleeper over her hips. “So beautiful.”
Palmer looked down at the sleeper. “Is pretty,” she agreed.
Beau chuckled and put his fingers under her chin, tipping her head back to look at him. “I was talking about you being beautiful, silly girl.”
“Oh.” Her face heated and she covered her cheeks with her hands, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“Hey, no hiding that pretty face from Daddy,” he said, scooping her up. He lifted her easily into his arms, setting her on his hip. Palmer wrapped her arms around him automatically, her cheek resting against his shoulder.
“You’re getting sleepy, little one,” Beau said, patting her bottom.
Palmer nodded. It had been a very big day for her.
“Do you think you can stay awake long enough for Daddy to give you a bottle? I got you some super yummy protein mix to go in your new babas.”
Palmer nodded so hard her curls brushed across his cheek. She would do almost anything to experience Beau feeding her a bottle.
Beau laughed.
“Good, Daddy really wants to give you a baba.”
His admission gave her the warm and fuzzies. It felt good to know Beau wanted to do things for her. Not because he had to, but because he liked taking care of her.
She snuggled closer against his shoulder as he carried her into the small kitchen. “I think we’ll try vanilla tonight,” Beau said as he reached the counter.
“Yummy!”
“I think it sounds yummy too.” Beau said with a grin as he started preparing the bottle.
Palmer watched him with heavy eyelids, her heart feeling full.
Beau scooped the vanilla protein powder into the bottle and added some milk before screwing on the lid and giving it a few shakes.
Palmer watched from where he’d set her on the counter, her legs swinging gently making her feel even smaller. “Smells yummy already.”
Beau put the bottle in the microwave for thirty seconds.
Once it beeped, he pulled it out and tested a small bit on his wrist. “Perfect!” he declared.
He picked her up again and carried her to the glider chair in the corner of his bedroom.
Sitting down, he settled Palmer in his lap and pulled her blanket over her legs and feet. “Ready, pretty baby?”
Palmer wondered if his heart was beating as fast as hers. This was such a special moment between them! Pulling her pacifier from her mouth, she opened her lips and Beau gently guided the nipple in. Palmer latched on right away, deciding she loved the taste of the protein powder.
“There you go,” Beau murmured. “How beautiful.”
Palmer reached up to take the bottle from his hands, but he softly tsked them away. “Daddy will hold it for his baby,” he said, dipping his head and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
She hummed with happiness and Beau smiled knowingly. “It’s pretty magical isn’t it, baby?”
Palmer stopped sucking long enough to agree with him.
Beau rocked the glider slowly with his foot, his eyes resting on her face. “I could spend every night right here looking into your pretty green eyes and feeding you a bottle, little one.”
Palmer reached up and wrapped her fingers around his own, locking them together. Much too soon the bottle was empty and Beau shifted her to rest against him, chest to cheek. He patted her back gently and she giggled at the absurdity of being burped.
He pulled her away from him, his eyes twinkling with humor. “You can never be too careful. I needed to make sure my Little one didn’t get trapped air from her bottle.”
Palmer giggled again. He was so silly.
“Let’s brush your teethies and then we’ll get you tucked into bed,” Beau said, standing with her and carrying her into the attached bathroom.
“Daddy?” Palmer’s tummy tightened with nerves. He’d already given her so much and she almost felt bad asking for more, but there was one more tiny thing that could make her day perfect.
“Yes, babygirl?”
“Story?”
Beau set her on the sink and ran her toothbrush under the tap. He smiled at her, not looking burdened or rushed by her request at all. “You want a story before bed?”
“Please?” she asked, pouring extra cuteness into the moment. She clasped her hands together and placed them under her chin, batting her eyes innocently.
Laughing, he nodded. “Well, how could I ever say no to someone so damn cute? I will be glad to tell you a story before bed.” He squeezed toothpaste on her toothbrush and eased it into her mouth, gently brushing each tooth.
After he was done brushing her teeth more thoroughly than she probably ever had, he gave her some water to rinse out her mouth.
“Go ahead, rinse your mouth,” he said, watching her carefully.
Palmer swirled her mouth thoroughly making sure she was being so super obedient, spit the water, and allowed Beau to wipe her face.
“Do you need to potty before bed, babygirl?”
“No, Sir.”
“If you need to get up and go potty during the night, I want you to wake me, okay? You’re far too Little to be wandering around at night by yourself,” he said kindly, but sternly.
Palmer’s bottom clenched. “Yes, Sir. I will wake you, Daddy.”
“Good girl,” he praised, scooping her off the counter. Beau carried Palmer to the big bed, keeping her snuggled against his chest.
Her eyelids were so heavy but she didn’t want the moment to end.
“Time to get you cozy, pretty baby,” he whispered, setting her down gently.
He pulled back the blankets and tucked her legs under them.
Then he pulled the blanket carefully over her belly and over her arms, before tucking her in on each side, making her a Palmer burrito.
“Snug as a bug in a rug,” he said, brushing a curl from her forehead.
“Nice and cozy.” He grabbed her baby doll and her floral blanket from the table beside the bed and laid them next to her.
Palmer wished her arms weren’t tucked so tightly so that she could wrap her arms around his neck and hold him close. He was so thoughtful.
Beau placed his open palm on her chest, applying just the right amount of pressure to help her feel grounded. “Are you ready for your story now?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Smiling, he pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks before slipping her pacifier back in her mouth. “Once upon a time, there was a princess named Palmer,” he began. “Palmer lived in a land of darkness and despair. She was surrounded by evil kings and queens.”
Palmer gasped. That was a super spooky start!
“The princess was kind, and smart, and so very brave. She didn’t like what the wicked kings and queens did and she knew she wanted to leave the evil town forever, but she was so very scared. What if nothing better waited for her outside the city gates? What if she never found her happy ever after?”
Pulling her pacifier from her mouth, she dared to ask, “What did she do, Daddy?”
Beau chuckled and guided her pacifier back to her mouth. “One night, after a particularly hard day in the town where the evil kings and queens had said terrible, untrue lies to the princess, she packed all of her belongings and she decided to leave the bad town.”
Palmer sucked her pacifier harder, waiting anxiously on what the princess would do. Would it be better for her? Would people be nicer to her in a new town? Would she find a family?
“The princess waited until the whole town was asleep and all the evil kings and queens were snoring loudly in their dark and twisty castles.”
Palmer’s eyes stayed wide as she listened, her pacifier bobbing a little.
“Princess Palmer carried her small bag of belongings over her shoulder and crept past the city limits and out onto the only road that could take her away from the bad place.”
Palmer’s heart beat wildly in her chest.
“Now, the people in the evil town always said that cobblestone road was full of big scary monsters! Monsters that would eat a pretty princess right up!”
Palmer pulled her arms from under the blanket and covered her baby’s ears—just in case the story was too scary for her.
“Princess Palmer was so frightened her legs shook and sweat stuck to her skin, but she knew a better life waited at the end of the scary cobblestone road. So Princess Palmer walked down the dark road, she ran past all the scary trolls, she dodged all the skeeterskotters, and she made it to the very end of the road.”
“Did she find a better town, Daddy?”
Beau smiled, his eyes gentle. “She did. She found a wonderful ranch full of people who loved and cared for the princess. And Palmer learned a very important lesson that day. She learned that being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. It means you do the hard thing even when you are.”
Palmer’s eyes were too heavy to stay open any longer, but that was okay. Beau had finished the story and Palmer could sleep easy knowing Princess Palmer was safe and loved.