The smoke alarm started blaring and she heard Duke swearing loudly from the kitchen. She jumped to her feet and raced into the kitchen, in time to see him open a window and throw a smoking pot out of it.
“What happened?” she yelled over the blaring smoke alarm. She rushed over to open other windows as he reached up to unscrew the alarm. The silence was a huge relief.
He grimaced. “Burnt the playdough.”
“What?”
“I was trying to make playdough for you and I burned it. I don’t have anything for your Little here and I found a recipe and it seemed so simple. Turns out, I’m—oomph!”
He wrapped his arms around her, managing to keep his balance as she slammed into him, wrapping her arms around her middle.
“Baby girl? You okay?”
“Yeah. . .I just. You were really making me playdough?”
“Yeah. Fucking failure that was.”
“I don’t care.”
“Babe, that stuff is burnt to shit. You’re not touching it.”
“No, I mean, I don’t care that I can’t play with it. It’s just. . .that was really sweet.” She gazed up to him. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, baby girl. Just do me a favor.”
“What?”
“Do not tell anybody that just happened. Ink would never shut up about it.”
She giggled. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Come on, let’s get you back on the sofa.”
“Can I stay here with you, Daddy? Please? I can help you cook dinner.”
He nodded. “All right, but if I burn another fucking pot, we’re ordering pizza.” He set her down at the kitchen counter then picked up another bottle of water, putting it in front of her with a raised eyebrow.
“Yum, pizza. A vegetarian, tofu, no-cheese one?”
He just gaped at her. “You kidding me?”
She giggled. “Yep.”
“Little brat.” He grabbed a carrot from the fridge and started chopping it.
“Can I help? I can do that.”
“You cannot. This knife is far too sharp for you.” He placed some bits of carrot in front of her. “Nibble on those while I cook our feast of. . .” he drew out a box from the pantry. . . “Mac n’ cheese. Can’t fuck that up, can I?”
“Hmm, I’m really not sure about that, Daddy.”
He pointed a finger at her. “Enough sass out of you, little one, or I’ll get out my wooden spoon.”
She just giggled.
19
Jason pulled up outside Duke’s place.