Daddy’s Little Surprise (Missouri Daddies #6)

5. Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

RAINEY

T he first thing Rainey noticed as she woke up was the annoying beeping sound. What was that? She didn’t have an alarm that made that noise, so what could it be?

She took a coupleof seconds to think before she opened her eyes. The beeping was really annoying and constant, almost like a heart monitor. The second thing she noticed was how warm her hand was. Somebody was definitely holding it.

But who?

Rainey tried to move her hand, but she groaned in pain as her body protested.

“You’re okay. Everything is all right,” a deep voice soothingly said.

Her eyes shot open as she moved her head to the right, where the voice came from. Sitting right next to her, holding her hand, was the man who’d held her hair back as she puked.

“Wh-what?” she hoarsely spoke, completely confused about why he was sitting next to her, holding her hand, and why she was in a bed.

“Let me get you some water real quick,” he let go of her hand.

Rainey watched as he grabbed a cup and poured some water into it. She took this time to quickly glance around the room to figure out where she was. The room was white, bare, and had a disinfectant smell she was just realizing.

Her eyes went wide as she quickly looked to her left, where the machine was beeping. A heart machine was hooked up to her. She looked down at her arm, saw the IV, and shuddered.

“You’re okay. The baby is too,” the man gently said.

She looked back at him. “Wh-why?”

“You don’t need to stress. Daddy’s here. He’s going to take care of you. The doctor said you were dehydrated, stressed, and need some food.”

She completely skipped over him calling himself Daddy. There was no way he could know she was a Little. She hadn’t told anybody since she’d arrived in town.

Rainey groaned at the mention of food.

“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to eat because I end up throwing it back up. No matter how hungry I am, the baby just doesn’t like food.”

She had tried so many times with all different kinds of food. Bland, flavorful, a mix of both, and each time it ended the same. One thing she knew she could eat was buttered toast in the morning, but she couldn’t survive off that her whole pregnancy. Rainey knew she needed a well-balanced diet, and she wasn’t getting it.

“Maybe you haven’t been eating the right things,” he suggested.

“I’ve tried almost everything. Buttered toast in the morning is the only thing I can really eat.”

Part of her was offended that he thought she hadn’t been trying. She wasn’t a bad mother. She was doing the best she could under the circumstances she had.

She didn’t ask to be sick almost every day. She didn’t ask not to be able to eat. Rainey loved food.

“I’m not saying you haven’t tried. I’m not trying to make it seem like you haven’t done anything. I have no doubt you have been trying different things,” he calmly said.

Her eyes went wide. How did he know what she was thinking?

“It was written all over your face. The one time you did speak aloud, the offense was all over your face. That’s okay. I’m sorry it came off that way. But Daddy is here now, and he’s going to help you with this.”

Rainey’s mouth hung open as he called himself Daddy again.

“Thought I misheard the first time, but you just called yourself Daddy again. How did you know?”

She thought she had kept it well enough hidden. She had only let her Little side out after everybody was gone and she was alone in her office. But even then, she didn’t like being Little because she had nobody to watch over her. Sometimes, she was very Little and needed supervision, and other times, she was big enough to still take care of herself. It used to be a stress reliever for her.

Springfield was more accepting of the lifestyle than any place she knew of. It was another thing that drew her toward moving here when the shop was available to rent. But even then, she didn’t want to show her Little side to other people. Pete had not reacted kindly when she told him about it. He made fun of her and told her it was the most disgusting thing he had ever heard of.

Rainey had quickly told him it was a joke and hid everything she could that brought her Little side out. What if she told somebody here and they reacted the same as Pete? But this time, they could tell the whole town. News spread like wildfire in the small town. Everybody knew she was new in town, pregnant, and was opening a coffee shop before she even announced it.

“Sorry, Little one. It’s a habit, but I’m glad to hear you’re not put off by it. You do know about the town, right?” he asked.

Rainey nodded. “It was one of the reasons I wanted to move here.”

“Have you told anyone?”

She shook her head.

“Why not?”

“Please don’t tell anybody,” she begged.

Daddy took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I would never tell anybody without your consent. But you don’t have to be afraid to let people know. There are so many Littles, Middles, Daddies, and Mommies. It’s accepted and even normal around here. Have you been to the club yet? ”

“No. It’s expensive.”

At some point, she did want to go and check out the club, but it was going to have to wait until she knew she could afford it without skipping in other important areas.

“Well, anytime you want to come, you let me know. I’m one of the owners.”

Rainey blinked several times as she processed the information. She had heard there were several owners, but she never thought she would actually meet one of them.

“And I’m serious. It will not cost you anything. I hope you’ll be mine, which means you won’t have to pay for a membership.”

Her mouth hung open. Did he really just say he hoped she would be his?

“I can see that I’ve shocked you. I’m sorry. I’m trying to hold back so I don’t scare you off. I feel this connection toward you. I can’t deny it.”

Rainey didn’t know how to respond. She never had a guy be this forward with her.

“Marco, I don’t… I don’t know what to say.”

Everything in her wanted to call him Daddy out loud, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know him that well.

“I didn’t think you knew my name.”

“Grace, the manager I hired, showed me a picture of you and your colleagues.”

She couldn’t deny that she felt an attraction toward him. He calmed her, made her at ease, but most importantly, he made her feel alive somehow. It didn’t make sense since she didn’t know him at all .

“That’s okay. I just wanted you to know. I can’t keep it a secret from you. I know you’re the one for me. That might scare you, but I promise I’m not a bad person.”

Rainey didn’t think he was a bad person. From everything Grace said about the club's owners, they were all understanding, sweet, and wouldn’t hurt an innocent person.

“I’m going to call the nurse now so we can get you discharged and in my house.”

She immediately held her hand up. “Hold up. Your house?”

“Yes, unless you have somebody at your house who can take care of you. The doctor said he didn’t want you home alone, so it was either staying in the hospital or staying with me if you don’t have anybody at home.”

“I don’t need to be looked after. I’m perfectly fine. I’m an adult.”

She wanted to cringe as she said she was an adult, but she didn’t. She obviously did need somebody to take care of her. She wasn’t doing a good job with that, but she also just craved it. She had never had a Daddy, but she’d read so many books about it.

“It’s not up for discussion. You can either prove to me that somebody is at your house who can take care of you, or you can stay with me, or you can stay at the hospital. It’s your choice.”

Rainey knew she didn’t have anybody at her house because she didn’t have a house. But she didn’t want to stay at the hospital because it stressed her out, and she could never get good enough rest .

“I guess yours, but I don’t like it,” she mumbled.

“If you would like to call a coupleof people I know, the sheriff or any of my colleagues, we can. Would that make you feel better?”

Rainey nodded.

“We’ll call my colleague first, and then we’ll call the sheriff,” Daddy said as he pulled out his phone.

She watched as he showed her his screen and called someone named Noah. The phone rang and rang before he finally picked up.

“Marco, what can I do for you?”

“Hey, Noah. I have a Little girl sitting right next to me who is coming home with me. She needs a little reassurance that I’m not the boogeyman and won’t harm her. We’re calling you and the sheriff so she can hear from two different people that I’m not the boogeyman.”

Rainey giggled when he called himself the boogeyman but quickly composed herself. She needed to hear what Noah had to say.

“Sweet girl, I want you to know that Marco is an amazing Daddy, but he’s also an amazing person. His heart is so big, and he loves helping other people. He would never harm anybody unless that person were attacking you or thepeople he loved and cared for. You are in good hands, and I hope you get better soon,” Noah gently said over the phone.

“Thanks, Noah,” she whispered.

“But on the off chance that he does do something, just know he’s ticklish on his sides.”

She stared at Marco in shock. He was ticklish ?

“Thanks, Noah,” Daddy said before he hung up. “Don’t you get any ideas! I’m not actually ticklish.”

Her shoulders slumped. She was kind of hoping he was so she could hear him laugh.

“Now, I’m going to call the sheriff. His name is Baxter.”

The phone rang several times.

“Never thought I would have you calling me on my personal line. What can I do for you?” Baxter said. “I am at work, though, so if I get a call, I’ll probably have to hang up without any explanation.”

“That’s okay. I’ve got a Little girl here who needs a little reassurance that I’m not the boogeyman.” Daddy wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She smiled and waited for Baxter to reply.

“Hello, Little girl. I’m Baxter, the sheriff of Springfield. I just want you to know that Marco would never hurt you. He’s definitely not the boogeyman. He’s a caring Daddy who would hurt the boogeyman to keep you safe. To ease your worries even more, I’m going to have Marco text me your number so I can text you. Anytime you need me, you send me a message or call me and I’ll be right there. But I want you to know that Marco is a good man. He cares for a lot of people and once he’s decided you’re a part of his family, nobody will be able to touch you or harm you. He’s like a mama bear to her cubs. Fierce when people harm or threaten her babies but all soft and cuddly whenever she’s with her loved ones.”

Rainey couldn’t help but giggle at that. She never thought a man could get compared to a mama bear.

“I know my analogy was a little weird, but it’s true. He will coddle you, love you, protect you from anything, but he’ll also discipline you when you need it. You’ve got an amazing person there with you. You’re lucky to have him, and he’s lucky to have you. Because if he wanted to, he could have told you that you couldn’t call anybody and just took you home, but he didn’t. He suggested calling people to put you at ease.”

Rainey sighed. Everything he said was true. While Daddy was demanding she could either come home with him or stay in the hospital, he was looking out for her. He was trying to make her comfortable by letting her talk to a couple ofpeople about him.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Anytime, Little girl. And you can call me at any point, even when I’m off duty. I’ll have him send me your number so I can text you and make sure that it’s you. Not that he would lie, but just to ease your worries.”

She felt her body start to relax even more. She didn’t know either one of the men she talked to, but they had put her at ease for now.

“I have to go. You two have a wonderful time together and don’t get into any trouble,” Sheriff Baxter said before he hung up.

She looked at Daddy, and he smiled at her.

“Let me send your phone number to him really quick. Can you tell me your number?”

Rainey rattled off her number, and Daddy sent it.

“At any point if you need to call him or you need me to call anybody else, you let me know. I don’t ever want to make you feel uncomfortable. ”

“Thanks, Da—” She clamped her mouth shut. She did not almost call him Daddy out loud. “Thank you, Marco,” she quickly corrected herself.

“Now, let’s call for the nurse so we can get you settled at home.”