Epilogue

Epilogue

Susan

“I can’t do it.” The c-word slipped out before she could stop it.

She cringed and her stomach roiled with nerves as she let the mouse pointer hover over the icon that would determine her future. If she didn’t click it, everything would stay the same. She’d live happily ever after with her Daddy and would continue a job she loved as Kendra’s personal assistant.

Unfortunately, the results would still be there, whether she looked at them or not.

“Rephrase in a manner that doesn’t earn you a punishment for saying the c-word, future counselor,” Walt murmured as he rubbed her shoulders.

He’d been calling her that from the moment she walked out of her LSAT.

Gazing at her with liquid brown eyes, Charlie whined, then put his head on her thigh. Mittens jumped on the desk and waved his tail in her face as if to remind her of just how long a cat could remain on a naughty babygirl’s lap.

After almost four years with Walt, he still punished her with pet-enforced inactivity. Spankings were mostly for fun, although he would slap her butt occasionally to get her attention when she started getting lost in her insecurities.

Napoleon, their resident rooster, added his commentary with a loud crow from his favorite perch outside the kitchen window.

She took her shaking hand from the mouse and tried to control her breathing and heart rate. “I’m scared.”

“Aw, babygirl…” Walt picked her up, then sat with her on his lap. “Talk to me. What’s scaring you?”

“What if I fail?”

“Then you take it again. It’s not like you’d be the only one.” He cupped her jaw and made her look at him. “Or are you more afraid you’ll pass?”

“I…” Susan sighed and laid her head on Walt’s shoulder. “Darned observant Daddies.”

“Daddies have radar for anything that upsets their babygirls. Now, tell me why you’re scared.”

“It’s just that everything will change. I could commute to Sedona, but I’ll have to move for law school, and I don’t want to leave you, and?—”

“Shh.” He kissed her protests away and tapped her nose. “It’s only three years, and you’ve already researched the law school at Arizona State University. It’s close enough to come home on the weekends, and I can visit.”

“I know.” She turned in his lap and tried to internalize his words. “It’s just… I’m afraid I won’t be able to get in if I don’t score well enough, and then I’ll have to go even further away for a school that will accept me.”

“Or maybe you’ll score so well that Harvard will come beating down the front door.”

She laughed softly and shook her head, but didn’t say anything. Walt had promised her a sunset trail ride, and there was no way she’d risk spending an afternoon with pets on her lap being punished for talking bad about herself. It was about the only thing that made her Daddy mad enough to punish her in the first place.

Other people might think Walt’s usual punishment was a good time, but to Susan, sitting still with nothing to do for more than an hour or two was hell on earth no matter how much she adored Mittens and Charlie.

“We’ll do it together, okay?” Walt put her hand on the mouse, covering it with his own. “But no matter what happens, I want you to know that I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“Don’t say that until we know if you should be,” she muttered.

Without warning, he stood, then bent her over the desk and popped her butt with his hard hand. She yelped from the crack of sound, but it didn’t hurt very much.

After helping her straighten, he laid his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. “You graduated from college a year early with honors, and still managed to hold a full-time job. In what universe shouldn’t I be proud of that?”

“I’m proud of me too.”

It wasn’t even a lie. She’d come so far from the abused cult survivor she used to be, and it was all because of her Daddy.

Well, mostly. She usually had enough self-awareness to recognize her own accomplishments.

“Good girl.” He pointed at the mouse, then added, “Now, future counselor, channel your inner Elle Woods from Legally Blonde . I bet Gabby Knox will rent you her house in Cambridge if you decide on Harvard.”

“Can you even imagine me at Harvard?” She laughed at the idea but couldn’t deny the tiny thrill coursing up her spine. Unfortunately, she didn’t think she’d score high enough to even think of applying to Harvard. She’d be lucky if she got waitlisted for Arizona State.

“Yep. I can.” He nudged her hand toward the mouse. “Go on, honey. Do the thing.”

Hauling in a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and clicked the icon, then squeezed her eyes shut while the results loaded.

“Well, will you look at that.”

She covered her face with her hands. God, how many times could one take the LSAT before it became sad and pathetic?

“I can’t.”

“You can’t open your eyes because you’re picturing yourself in Massachusetts, right?” After pulling her hands away from her face, he kissed her neck, then nipped the tender skin under her ear. “Because you should be.”

Susan’s eyes flew open, and she blinked at the screen. Walt caught her before she even realized her knees had buckled.

“One se-se-seventy…” Unable to believe what was in front of her, she closed her eyes again. “Holy fuck.”

She still didn’t swear often, but some situations simply called for an f-bomb.

“One seventy-nine, baby! Take it again, and I bet you get that extra point for a perfect score.” He lifted her off her feet and spun her around until she was dizzy. “We’ll get you a purse dog and a convertible, because obviously, and we’ll call Gabby to see if we can rent her house. And then…”

Gently, he lowered her to the floor, then buried his hands in her hair and kissed her, his tongue teasing her lower lip until she opened for him. The smooth cotton of his shirt stymied her until she managed to tug it free of his jeans and push her hands under it, desperate to feel his warm skin.

“And then what, Daddy?”

“Then you graduate at the top of your class, and we live happily ever after.”

For the first time in Susan’s life, she believed it. Truly believed she could make her wishes come true.

Tears welled, but she smiled. “When I asked Santa for a Daddy, I had no idea how much more he would bring for me. I love you, Walt.”

“Love you back, babygirl.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Ready for that trail ride?”

“Always and forever, Daddy.”

The End

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