Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

“ D addy?”

Bear jumped up from the couch and rushed into the bedroom to find Addie pushing herself up to sit. It had been two days since she’d come down with a fever, and she’d nearly had him pulling his hair out.

It was a relief to find her looking right at him with clarity in her eyes. Thank goodness her fever had finally broken.

She licked her lips. “Thirsty.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and handed her the sippy cup from the nightstand. “You look much better, Angel. How do you feel?”

“Better,” she answered after she took a long drink. She was shaking, which was understandable after sleeping so much.

“I bet you’re hungry. You’ve only had broth and juice for two days.”

She nodded. “Can you make me pancakes?”

He smiled. It was a good sign that she wanted pancakes. “I’d love to, Angel. Do you think you’ll be okay here for a few minutes while I do that?”

She nodded.

He helped her scoot back against the headboard. “No getting up, understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

The other Littles had all gathered and made her a basket of things to do while she was on bed rest, but she hadn’t been able to do anything yet. He was finally able to present it to her, so he grabbed it from the floor and set it on the bed before pulling out a brand-new coloring book and a box of crayons. He even set a lap desk on her thighs.

She pulled the crayons up to her chest and hugged them. “I’m going to use them until they are nothing but tiny stubs, and I’m going to mix them all up in the box with no rhyme or reason,” she declared.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “That’s the idea.” He pointed at the basket. “When you get tired of coloring, there’s a Barbie in there that looks just like you, and Eden bought you a pink dress so you could change her clothes.”

Tears welled up in Addie’s eyes, and she swiped them away. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome, Angel. I’ll be right back with pancakes.” Bear hated leaving her, but he wanted to fix her the pancakes she desired, so he hurried to the main kitchen and fixed a batch as fast as he could.

In no time, he was back at her side with a tray of food. “I made you scrambled eggs, too. You need some protein.”

“Thank you, Daddy. That smells so good.” She set her coloring book aside and held up a picture. “Look what I colored.” It was a picture of a bear, and she’d added a pink T-shirt to it.

He chuckled. “I love it. I’ll hang it on the fridge.”

He sat next to her and let her eat in peace, rubbing her legs the entire time.

“This is delicious, Daddy. Much better than the cold ones I ate the day I met you.”

He chuckled. “They are better warm.”

When she finished eating, he set the tray on the floor and returned to his spot. He needed to tell her something, and he hoped she wouldn’t be too upset, especially with him.

“Angel, you got a few texts while you were feverish, and I read them because I was concerned about you not being able to respond in case they were from one of your professors or someone important.”

She cocked her head to one side. “Oh no! My classes!”

“Don’t worry. You only missed one algebra class. Eden let the professor know you were sick, and she brought you the homework assignment. I’m sure you can get caught up in no time.”

Addie relaxed. “Oh good.” Then she frowned. “What were the texts about then?”

“They were from Joseph. He must have gotten your number from his PI. It wouldn’t have been difficult.”

Addie winced and rolled her eyes. “Oh, great. Can’t he just leave me alone?”

“Apparently not. In the first one, he said your mother was livid that you hadn’t returned with him. She told him to let you know that you would not be welcome back in her life if you didn’t return immediately and do the right thing.” Bear drew in a breath as he watched Addie’s reaction.

Luckily, she rolled her eyes. “Good. Hopefully, she’ll make good on that promise.” Her bottom lip quivered as she finished speaking, and her eyes welled up with tears.

Bear slid his arms under his Little girl and lifted her to pull her onto his lap. He leaned her close to his chest and cradled her head against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Addie. No matter what, I know it hurts. She’s your mother. No one should be shunned like that by their own parent.”

Addie started crying, which was probably for the best. She needed to let herself mourn; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to move forward.

Bear’s heart hurt as he rubbed her back and rocked her. “Let it all out, Angel. I know there’s a lot of emotions inside you. Daddy’s got you.”

She cried for a long time before finally reducing to hiccups and sniffles. She was going to be exhausted. He hated having to drop that on her lap at the tail end of her illness. Hopefully, she wouldn’t regress.

He wiped her nose and eyes with a tissue before offering her the sippy cup. After taking a long drink, she leaned back and looked at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. “You said there were two texts. What was the other one?”

Bear smiled. “It was long, but basically, Joseph said after watching both his parents and your mom behave like the world had come to an end over your disappearance, he’d taken your advice and told his parents about Luke. He isn’t sure what will happen next, but he left them stunned and is going to follow his heart.”

Addie’s small smile grew wide. “Good for him.”

“I thought you’d like that part. When you’re feeling better in a few days, maybe you should text him back and wish him luck.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you, Daddy.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I’m so glad I have you.”

“I’m so glad I have you, too, Little one. Now, don’t get sick like that on me again. I nearly pulled out all my hair worrying.”

She giggled. “I’ll do my best.”