Chapter 20
twenty
PRESTON
The sandbox was a fucking genius idea by my girl. A few weeks ago Lulu and Cora made a secret list of all the things they want when they’re in Little space.
The trampoline didn't make the cut, but we did install a playground, sandbox, and mud kitchen for all the Littles or anyone who wanted to use them. I've seen a few Daddies on the swings when nobody's around, but we're all ignoring it.
Watching Lulu digging in the sandbox in her bright-blue spandex shorts, white tank-top, and pigtail braids, I can't stop smiling.
Zeek has really bonded with Lulu, which I appreciate because it seems like the more Littles she's around, the more comfortable she is.
It also helps her enjoy Little space publicly too.
"How's she doing?" Bash asks, stepping up to my side with a cold beer in his hand. "Any flashbacks or nightmares?"
I glance at my friend and notice he genuinely looks concerned. If it weren't for him and Sue at that job fair, I might never have met Lulu. Or maybe she would have shown up for sanctuary at some point, but I don't like thinking about that possibility.
I shake my head and let my gaze go back to my girl who has dumped her water into a corner of the sand box and is making a castle. Naughty. "Not anymore. She struggles more so with food still and needing reassurance that I'm in this forever."
Bash nods and sighs. "Sweet girl seems to be warming up here. I'm glad. When I met her, Pres..." He trails off and clears his throat.
I turn to him and clap his shoulder. "I'm forever in your debt. Thank you for pointing her to me, Bash."
He waves me off. "None of that. I'm pretty sure Sue got her here. Poor girl was so scared of me."
"And now she calls you Uncle Ash," I say reverently with a hint of a tease. She found a gray hair in his beard the other week and now all the Littles are calling him that.
A flash of blue and white draws my attention.
I find Lulu making her way to the tables with her empty water bottle swinging from her hand.
She still avoids eye contact with everyone but I see her smile and say hi to the people who interact with her.
When she grabs the pitcher of water and refills her bottle, I smile.
Bash notices and chuckles. "That girl has done a one-eighty on staying hydrated."
"Didn't she do lines last month because she forgot her water at home?" Sue asks, stepping in front of us with a grin.
I nod and take a sip of my beer. "She did. The snuggles afterward were amazing, though. Lulu loves aftercare."
"What a hardship," Bash teases, a glint of envy in his eyes.
Nudging him with my arm, I look over Sue's shoulder and about have a fucking heart attack. My beer hits the grass a moment before I'm sprinting across the park.
"Lulu!" I shout, drawing attention without care. The more eyes we have on her the better. There's a man in a fucking MC cut standing beside her with a grin.
MINE. PROTECT.
The beast in me rises to the surface, but I'm careful not to hurt my Little girl when I drag her away from the big burly man. All I see is a threat. "What are you doing here? Who are you?"
A tiny gasp draws my attention to a woman scrambling away from me. Her ashy blonde hair whips around her face as she backpedals and rams her curvy hip into the table.
"Oh no!" Lulu cries, rushing toward the girl. "It's okay. That's Preston. He's the big boss man here and I'm his."
Confused as fuck, especially when the girl backs away from Lulu, I turn to the stranger on my property. "What's going on here? Who let you in?" If he so much as touched a hair on either of their heads, I'll kill him.
"Daddy, stop!" Lulu gasps, her eyes wide with horror. "That's the president. He's the one that saved me that day and sent me home to you. "
The deep breath that I force through my lungs barely contains the instinct to get him out of here. "Explain," I growl. "As far as I know one of your own had his bloody hands on my woman and threatened her life."
"He's been taken care of," the man rumbles, sounding murderous at the mention of that prick. "What your Little one said is true. I'm the president of Falcons Cry MC, but my name is Marcus. It's nice to meet you. I sincerely hope you're keeping her safe and out of trouble."
"That's not your concern," I growl only to be cut off by my fierce baby grabbing my hand and stomping her foot.
"He's my friend. Stop it. He saved the girl from some very bad men and brought her here for safety. You can't hate him, he brought a new friend for us," Lulu declares.
“How do you know this, Lulu?” I ask, voice tight because why the hell has she been talking to him and how did he get on our property?
“Ah, that would be my bad,” Kevin says, stepping up from behind the table of food with a hand raised.
“Um. I didn’t think there would be a problem.
Marcus is a friend of mine. He helped my sister out of a bad situation last year.
I walked with them here from the gate so the little lady could find Bash.
Lulu got nervous when she saw us and we told her what was going on.
I trust Marcus. He’s a good man. I swear it, Preston. ”
Damnit. Being associated with this man could put a target on our backs in the future. But he helped Lulu and now he's saved another scared woman. And apparently Kevin’s sister last year. Fuck, and Sue knows him.
I feel my friends ready to help me at my back and it bolsters my mind. Their heavy gazes on me and the Littles already surrounding the woman force me to think about this.
"We protect them, no matter what," I say to Marcus, needing to read how much he actually cares about vulnerable people. Can I rely on this man to uphold our main goal at Reclaiming Red?
Marcus nods. "Good. If I find another, I'll bring them here. Take care, girls," he calls out.
To my surprise, Lulu sniffles. Is she sad I’m sending him away? Goddamnit.
"Why don't you stay for a burger?" I offer, after I've taken in the worry in Lulu's gaze. My life revolves around making my girl happy and if she really wants this biker to be our friend, I’m too weak to tell her no.
Kevin releases a relieved sigh and backs away, mouthing the word sorry at me. To be fair, I’ve dropped the ball on meetings and keeping everyone up to date on some concerns I’ve been having.
After I went to Sue and demanded we make a plan to protect ourselves from the MC guy Lulu ran into, Sue laughed. She disclosed that she had a few cousins in his club and we had nothing to worry about.
My fears faded a bit but still, I should have followed up on it and let everyone on the property know. I had almost forgotten about the whole thing entirely after my friend put me at ease.
Seeing a big, mean looking guy in a leather jacket next to my girl stripped all my knowledge away though. My one-track mind told me to protect Lulu.
For a moment Marcus studies me and the way Lulu clings to my arm. His eyes fill with warmth and something akin to sadness when his lips turn up. "It's been a long time since I had a group of Littles make me smile. You got any beer?"
Bash interrupts the moment with a shout as he joins the huddle. “Holy shit! Tina, honey, is that you?!” We all watch the new girl fling herself into his arms and dissolve into a fit of tears.
My friend looks gutted and scared as he holds the woman tightly. “Where’s your Daddy? Fuck, why didn’t he call me!?” Bash picks her up and walks them toward privacy while murmuring in her ear.
I have so many fucking questions but they clearly need space and I have a stranger standing in front of me still.
My focus slips right back to my girl as I hoist her up onto my hip. She looks worried about the woman, gnawing on her bottom lip and wringing her hands as she watches them go. "Baby?"
As if I snapped her out of her thoughts, her attention snaps back to Marcus. "Yes. Daddy has beer,” she says sweetly.
Sue chooses that moment to step in and offer Marcus a beer and a plate. They’re pulled into a conversation with Kevin and Jeremy like they’re best fucking friends.
“Can go play with my friends now?"
My throat clogs with emotion and love. "Of course. I love you, little girl."
"Love you," she says and gives me a final snuggle before I set her down. She scampers off toward Cora and Zeek.
As I look around and reflect on the growth Lulu has experienced since I've met her, I realize a few things.
All my studying in mental health, this dream of Reclaiming Red, and the friends I made who taught me about Daddy Doms, all led me to this moment. To Lulu. My entire life has prepared me for her. My Little, my woman, my survivor.
I won't be perfect and Lulu will carry her trauma with her forever, but we have everything we need to enjoy the hard work and perseverance we've struggled through all our lives.
We have love and safety.
"Daddy!" Lulu gasps for breath as she comes running up to me and braces herself on her knees as she giggles. I've never seen such a beautiful sight than her smile and joy. "Tina like bears, blocks, berries, and blankets too!"
My God... I love her with my entire soul. "It's a good thing we have all of the wonderful Bs then."
"Uh-huh!" she huffs then sprints back to her friends barefoot, sweaty, and free.
I'm going to marry, love, cherish, and support Lulu until my dying breath.
I'll smother her in all of it like she should have been since the day she was born.
She won't live a day without a smile and hugs.
Whether it's from her Daddy or her friends, she'll know without a shadow of a doubt she is adored.
Little Lulu is loved.