Possessive Daddy Next Door

“Good.” Delia nods to Archie. “Have their stuff sent up. I’ll show them the room.”

“Very well.” Archie walks off, snagging a couple of staff members with him.

Delia takes my hand and leads me from the kitchen. We head upstairs, down a few halls, and into her wing of the house. She stops outside of an unmarked door and opens it with a large, iron key.

“It’s a little old school here,” she says. “You’ll have to actually keep this key with you at all times. And there’s no copy.”

“I like it,” I say. “Safe.”

“And annoying. You have no clue how many times I’ve lost a key and had to comb through the whole damn house to find it.”

We step into a large living room. There are couches, chairs, and a television hanging above the fireplace. There’s a small kitchen area off to the side and another hallway leading back toward the two bedrooms and bathroom.

“Fireplace works,” Delia says. “Kitchen can be stocked if you want, or you can just call down and have food sent up. Dorian is a good chef, but I think you figured that out already.”

I nod and follow her. Tab looks around like she’s never seen anything like it before, and she probably hasn’t. The residential rooms of the manor are all gorgeous and richly decorated. The paintings alone are probably worth more than our cabin and all the land it sits on.

“We had a crib sent up for Tab,” Delia says, gesturing into the guest room. “We can change it though, if you want.”

“This looks good,” I say, and carry Tab over to the crib. I lower her down and she laughs before grabbing a blanket and throwing it over her shoulders. “You like your crib, Tab?”

“Tab go night night,” she says and curls up on the mattress then laughs and kicks her feet.

“I think this’ll be good,” I say, grinning at my goofy daughter. I scoop her back up in my arms and carry her to the master bedroom.

“You have your own bathroom,” Delia says. “The one in the hall is for guests. Use whatever you want in here, and any toiletries you need can be brought up, just call down to Archie or ask any of the staff.”

“It’ll be strange, asking for things,” I say. “Since I’ll be working.”

She frowns at me. “You’re really going to work for free?”

“Really,” I say. “I can’t stay here and use all your things without trying to work off my debt.”

“It’s really not necessary,” she says. “We can afford to have you mooching off us.”

I smirk and shake my head. “I don’t mooch, my darling. Which is why I’ll be working.”

“Fine.”

“Plus, I need to be able to keep you safe.”

Tab squirms in my arms and I put her down. She runs around the room and tries to climb onto the bed but can’t quite make it. Delia helps her up and throws her into the pillows. She laughs and makes her do it ten more times until Archie shows up with my bags.

“Is this all?” he asks.

I nod. “Packed light.”

He brushes off his hands. “Very good. Anything else you need, just ask.”

“Thank you, Archie.”

“Glad you’re staying with us.” He smiles at me and leaves without a word.

“I think that man hates me,” I say.

Delia tosses Tab onto the bed then frowns. “Why do you say that?”

“He’s so polite.”

“He’s nice to everyone.”

I walk over and pick Tab up, flip her around, and toss her down onto the bed. She howls with laughter. “Polite,” I say. “Not nice.”

“Ah,” Delia says and glances back at the door. “He’ll get used to it.”

“I guess he’ll have to.”

We spend the next twenty minutes playing with Tab before we go for another tour of the manor. Tab runs around trying to touch everything, and I have to physically keep her from knocking over priceless vases and statues more than once. My little girl is cute and perfect but she’s also a handful and a terror, just like her father. I have to admit, I’m proud of her.

Finally, we end up outside on the lawn. Tab runs around while I sit down next to Delia. We watch my girl play in the grass and throw a soccer ball up in the air before letting it bounce on the ground. She laughs and kicks it before chasing after.

“She’s fun,” Delia says.

“She’s a monster,” I say.

She laughs and leans against me. “Not at all. She’s just a little girl.”

“I know. She takes after her mom that way.”

Delia stiffens a little and sits up straight. “What was she like?”

I glance at her. “My wife?”

“Yeah. Do you think about her much?”

“Sometimes,” I say, watching my daughter. “It’s hard not to, when Tab looks just like her. Beth was a good person. We had our problems like any couple, but she didn’t deserve what she got.” I tense my fists in the grass, feeling that hate all over again.