Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
“No,” she lied, squeezing her thighs together. Maisie wouldn’t admit it to him, but she had. There were sections she hadn’t paid a lot of attention to. They’d seemed too unlikely to happen.
“We don’t have to put everything from the book in here,” she said, waving an arm around.
“I can’t remember who has it now. I’d like to reread it,” Beau commented before adding, “In our secret room, all your fantasies—new and old—can come true. I’ve added a few of mine for us to experiment with as well.”
Maisie turned an adorable shade of pink when he lifted a long slender case and opened it to reveal a thick thermometer. “Not for my bottom,” she said, shaking her head.
“Where do Little girls have their temperature checked?” he quizzed her.
“Daddy…” Maisie waited for Beau to assure her he was teasing, but he just lifted one eyebrow as he waited quietly.
Seconds passed by. Finally, she pulled Floof in front of her face as she reported what they had learned in the book. “Little girls always have their temperatures taken in their bottoms. The thermometer should be carefully inserted to the deepest level possible and held in place for ten minutes. Be sure to adjust the device frequently, twisting and pressing firmly throughout the ten minutes. As the Little relaxes, her Daddy will be able to insert it deeper for the most correct reading.”
Her muffled voice reached him perfectly as she recited that section of the book. Beau praised her, “Very good, Maisie. I thought maybe you had memorized that section.”
“Daddy, I’ve grown up a lot since then.”
“Little girls never grow up, no matter how many times they’ve circled the sun,” Beau quoted.
Closing the drawer, he looked at her seriously. “Do not get into this drawer, Little girl.”
When she nodded, he drew her to the toy chest with shelves above it holding games. “Do you want me to hold Floof while you look at the other toys?”
“No.”
Maisie sank to her knees and opened the chest. Inside were coloring books with colored pencils and markers, games, other stuffies, beanbags, and a lot more. “What are these for?” she asked, shaking a beanbag his way.
“For different games.”
“Can we play with one?” she requested, hefting the bag in her hand assessingly.
“Of course.” Beau extracted a device with thick straps. One end held a brass fastener; the other, a round hoop. He reached on his tiptoes to attach the metal end to a heavy-duty hook that extended from the ceiling. “Let’s start with it still and then we can have it rock side to side if we need a challenge.”
Gathering the beanbags from the toy chest, Maisie divided the blue from the pink and handed Beau the pink ones. Chuckling, he invited her to go first.
Wham! Wham! Wham! The blue beanbags sailed through the opening to hit the back wall. The ring remained perfectly in place. Maisie hadn’t hit the sides at all.
“Whoa! It looks like you’ve had some practice,” Beau said in shock.
“We had a tire swing,” she shared.
“And you threw things through it?”
“My brothers used it to practice for football and baseball throws. I always had the task of retrieving everything. It was more fun to toss them back.”
“I predict you’re going to skunk me on this,” Beau said with a laugh.
“Just wait until we make the target move.”
Beau competed valiantly, using all his quarterback techniques, but there was no debate. His Little girl had skills he’d never known. He loved that she never set Floof down, but held her close throughout their play. If she hampered Maisie’s throw, he couldn’t tell.
Finally, when she’d beaten him five times, he gave up and collapsed into one of the two beanbag chairs on the floor by the reading nook. Maisie joined him, flopping on the small space next to him and wriggling until the beads inside created a space for her.
Beau wrapped his arm around her and cuddled Maisie and Floof to his chest. “Next time we’ll play skins versus shirts,” he declared.
“Think you can distract me with your manly chest?” she teased.
“I think you would be better as the skin team. Then when you win too easily, I’d at least have a good view.”
“Daddy! That’s just wrong,” Maisie laughed.
CHAPTER 9
Maisie dressed carefully in the fancy cocktail dress her stylist had chosen for the evening dinner and dance to wrap up the reunion. After she bluntly refused to have her Daddy help her dress so she could surprise him, Beau had given her full rights to the bathroom and had sworn he’d stay away until she called him.
As she threaded her earring into her piercing, Maisie heard him walking around the bedroom. She smiled. He was getting restless. Beau Granville was never late or early, but precisely on time. Taking one more minute to put on her lipstick, Maisie tucked everything in the small bag that somehow held her phone, ID, lipstick, and a few other essentials.