I sat in the dark car until my fingers were numb from the cold, watching the water stream down the windshield of my trapped SUV. I sighed. Some SUV. Couldn�t even deal with a little mud.
I dreaded walking up to his house and knocking on his door. I felt so stupid, so impetuous, such a�a�a child. I blushed at the thought. I was, in a way. He was right. Just a little girl in a woman�s body. He knew me too well, far better than any man I�d ever met. Even Michael, with our long history, didn�t understand me in the way that Daddy did after a little more than a week.
I braced myself. I had no choice. The rain was only coming down more, creating a veritable river out of the graveled driveway ruts. It was only going to get worse. I imagined waiting until morning, until the rain stopped but then how would I explain anything?
I steeled my resolve and opened the car door. Instantly the wind cut through my oversized sweatshirt and bit at my skin. I took a deep breath and stuck one bare leg out the door and sunk my foot into a deep puddle that immediately filled my short boots. I gasped and squeaked at the cold. I threw myself out of the car and slammed the door, struggling against the torrential rain, slogging through the puddles. Why did I not dress sensibly? It was freezing outside! It was pouring rain!
Finally, I reached stable footing on the blacktopped portion of the drive and sprinted the remaining 100 yards up to the front porch. I huddled for a moment under the overhand and then fought against the urge to burst into tears. My hairspray from the symphony had melted into my eyes and was stinging. My feet and hands were absolutely numb and my clothing was clinging like a frigid reminder of my stupidity.
I caught my breath and wiped my cheeks with the few tears that had managed to sneak past my resolve and then knocked quietly upon the door. Nothing. I knocked a little louder. Nothing still. The house remained silent and utterly lifeless. A horrible feeling passed through my spine.
What if he wasn�t home?
It WAS only two o�clock in the morning on a weekend. There was no real reason to expect that he should be home. After all, he had met ME in a bar and we had stayed out until all hours, what was to say that he wasn�t doing exactly that same thing right now? Would I stay out on his porch until he came home? If he came home?
I sighed and banged my head against the solid pine door in frustration. No. I wouldn�t do that. I�d slog back through the rain and sleep in the back seat of the Jeep. Until he came home and saved me.
Shivering, I pounded on the door this time, listening to it echo through the vaulted ceilings and lofts of Daddy�s log cabin. I was soaked all the way through to my skin. My numb hand stung immediately and I swore out loud, a little louder than I had intended. I was surprised at the sound of my own voice, how panicked I sounded.
Suddenly, the door swung open and Daddy stepped from behind it, wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants. He looked sleepy and startled. �Princess!� He said concerned.
Dripping wet, hair fallen into my eyes, I froze for a heartbeat, unable to even move from where I stood. I had so completely convinced myself that he was out at a bar with some bar fly that it didn�t even seem possible that he was standing in front of me.
I gulped as if to speak but choked a frozen sob instead.
�Oh Baby!� He stepped out onto the porch in his bare feet, enveloping me in his arms. �You�re frozen, Lauren. Come inside.�
I nodded stiffly as he guided me into the door and then closed it soundly behind him. He led me, dripping over his pine plank floors through the great room and into his bedroom. He looked at me with caring eyes crinkling at the edges, then pulled off my sweatshirt without saying a word. Immediately, I began to shiver in earnest, my thin t-shirt clinging to my breasts and stomach.
�Oh babygirl, what did you do to yourself?� He asked, not really seeming to want an answer.
I tried to answer anyway. �My Jeep�. Stuck� the rain�I wanted�� but my voice trailed off. I felt on the verge of uncontrollable tears although in reality I didn�t know why. It always seemed as though it is easy to be tough when you�re on your own but once someone begins to care, it�s a whole different story.
�Babygirl� babygirl�.� He covered my clammy face with small kisses and untucked my sodden shirt, then stopped kissing my long enough to pull it over my head. He then pulled me toward him, frozen and bare-chested, warming me with his strong chest. He reached down and pulled my boxer shorts down past my hips and let them drop onto my boots. I felt no self-conscious urge to hide myself from his gaze, just complete and utter surrender to allow him to care for me.
He kissed me again upon the nose and then said in a most authoritative tone �Boots� off.� Then he strode into the bathroom and I heard him turn on the faucet and water splash inside the enormous tub. Returning, he then looked at me impatiently and then tilted his head, prodding me to take action. I clumsily stepped out of my wet boxers and then slipped my frozen feet out of my boots. My teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.
He surrounded me with the towel then led me to the bathroom. For a fleeting second, I looked back to his enormous bed, the covers still pulled back from his hasty exit. A small satisfied part of the back of my mind realized that he was indeed alone. There was no other woman. There never had been. There was only Daddy. There always had been only him.
He tested the water with his hand and then flipped the drain stopper so the tub would fill. My teeth began to chatter even more loudly and my shivering increased. It seemed as though the warmer I got the more I shook. He tsked and tilted his head, then stood and pulled me close to him, surrounding me with his strong warm arms.
�Shhh, babygirl. Shhh.� He pressed my face against his chest and I closed my eyes at the sound of his heart beating. I understood why babies find it so comforting and safe, that sound. I kissed his chest softly, gratefully. �Mmmmm.� He rumbled and I heard his voice resonate deep inside his chest. �I want you to take a nice warm bath. That will get you warm.�
�Take a bath with me?� I said, my little girl voice once again coming from nowhere. It always surprised me when I heard myself speak in such a manner. I, who had taken public speaking and could project my voice over the heads of 500 businessmen, sounding so small and frail and delicate. But only he brought that voice out of me. He knew somehow exactly how to do it.
�No princess, not this night. I�ve got to deal with your Jeep. Where is it? In the driveway or did you drive off the road?�
�The driveway.�
He nodded and then kissed the top of my wet head.
�Are you ok?� He asked, his voice soft and yet angular with worry.
�Yes. I�m just cold, that�s all�. Daddy.� I whispered, my teeth still chattering but already a warm coal of heat was burning in my stomach and netherregions just by being so close to him, having my face pressed against his pectorals, smelling his spicy scent.
�That�s not what I meant, princess. For what do I owe the honor of this visit?� He pulled back and studied my face. �Or had you not intended to actually visit?�
I swallowed and looked up at him through a sodden fringe of bangs. As always, he somehow managed to read my mind and know my actions almost before I had even thought to commit them. �I had a d-d-dream and�and I just had to see you.�
�But you stopped�. In the driveway, am I right?�
�Yes, Daddy.� I barely whispered.
He nodded and pressed his lips together. �Lauren, promise me something.�
�Yes Daddy?�
�You will never be afraid to come to me. You will come to me when you need to. I will not turn you away, princess. Ever. Do you believe me?�
�Yes Daddy.� I looked into his black eyes and almost broke into tears, the overwhelming emotion of which was surprising.
�Get into the tub, babygirl.� He said, giving me a final kiss on the nose and then strode out of the room. I stood dripping onto the tile floor for a moment to gather myself together. Everything seemed so completely out of control and yet at the same time, it all felt right. Finally, I turned and dropped the towel, stepping up to the tub and dipped my foot in.
�Oh and babygirl?� His voice startled me and I looked over my shoulder to see him already clad in jeans and flannel, his rain boots in his hand.
He scanned slowly up and down my backside and made a noise deep in his throat that I felt deep in my sex.
�Make sure that you�re very warm when I return. Because you�re going to be naked for awhile after you get out of the tub. Daddy missed you too.�
