19. Sean

Damn, being rejected by Gabby hurt. It wasn't even her fault that she couldn't have sex with him. Her past was still haunting her, but it didn't make it hurt any less. He wanted to love his baby girl in every way possible and show her just how incredible sex could be with someone you love.

Loving her was as easy as breathing for him, and if that meant loving her in every way except physically, then he would do that and take care of his own needs when he was alone. It wasn't ideal, but Sean wouldn't let that change anything between them.

Gabby still fulfilled him in so many ways, and he had never felt so alive as he had when he was taking care of her. Sex was off the table, and it didn't make him feel any different about her or about wanting a relationship with her. If anything, it made him want to love her even more because of the scary things she went through growing up. He still wanted to find out if her abuser was alive or not because he was really considering making sure that he didn't take another fucking breath.

Tightening his arms around Gabby as she held onto the puppy, Sean kissed the side of her head. She was breathing normally, and her body no longer trembled. The puppy was a blessing to them, and Sean noticed how much the little fluff ball really helped his baby girl with her anxiety and helped her to calm her down quickly when a panic attack was looming.

"I love you, Gabby. I will show you every day of your life that you are safe with me and that I will give you whatever you need. I will be your Daddy, your man, your friend, and anything else you need me to be. Nothing will make me stop wanting you."

Putting the puppy on the floor, Gabby turned so she was straddling his lap and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her face into his chest before letting out a sob.

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you. You will change your mind about me one day and decide you want someone better, but for now, I'm just thankful that you still want me."

Sean pulled back from her and stared down into her wet eyes.

"I will not change my mind, and I don't want to hear you talking like that. I will spank your bottom if I hear you saying I deserve better. You're the best there is. It doesn't get any better than you. Do you understand me?"

He was being firmer than usual, but he needed her to understand the depths of his feelings for her. If he never got to put his cock in a wet pussy again, then so be it. He had a perfectly functional hand. She was everything and more to him, and she needed to realize that even if he did have to spank it into her.

When her bottom lip trembled, and tears rolled down her eyes, he felt like an asshole but only until she grabbed his shirt with both hands and pulled him down into a kiss. He tensed at first, not wanting her to panic again, but then when he remembered that they had kissed before with no issue, he began kissing her back.

"I love you, Daddy. I'm so sorry."

He pulled his head back and cupped her chin to tilt her head back.

"Don't ever say you're sorry for not being able to go all the way with me. That is nothing to be sorry about. Okay?"

Gabby nodded and then practically collapsed into his chest with exhaustion.

Have you found anything out yet?

Sean sent the text and leaned back in his chair, waiting impatiently for a response from Kane. As soon as his phone buzzed, he looked at the response and frowned.

Looking into some leads. Call you soon.

What did that mean exactly? Had the man found out anything? Deciding it was time to press the topic of her sister, Sean went upstairs to find his little girl in the nursery. He wanted to know where she had gone when she'd used his car and what she had found out.

"Baby girl, come here."

Gabby looked up from where she sat on the floor with a train set, the skirt of her dress spread out around her, and she was sucking on a pacifier. Smiling down at her concerned eyes, Sean walked into the room and picked her up off the floor before she moved and carried her downstairs to the couch.

Tugging the pacifier from her lips, she frowned, "What's wrong, Daddy?"

"Nothing's wrong. But I need to ask you some questions about your sister and what you know about her, and where you went when you took my car."

Slumping her shoulders, Gabby fiddled with the pacifier and shook her head.

"Not really anything. I went to the courthouse to get my birth certificate so I could get my father's name from it and then hopefully be able to search to see if he had any other kids, but the lady said the birth certificate would take four to six weeks.

"I told her the reason I needed it, and she did something on her computer and then wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to me. It was a name, but it meant nothing to me. It was a girl's name, and I needed my father's name."

The sadness in her voice made him ache, and Olly must have sensed it too because he tried hopping up onto the couch, but his short legs didn't let him jump that high.

"Do you still have the piece of paper?"

Nodding her head, Gabby looked up at him with a confused expression.

"Yes, but it didn't give me any of the information I needed."

He had a suspicion that whatever was written on the piece of paper was exactly the information she needed. If it was a girl's name and Gabby went to the birth records office at the courthouse, the person who helped her may have handed over her sister's name, and his little girl just hadn't realized it.

"Can you go get me the paper, please?"

Gabby hesitated before climbing off his lap and making her way up the stairs. It only took her a minute before she was padding back down to him and holding her hand out to give him the small piece of ripped paper.

Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, Sean slowly unfolded it and read what was written inside.

Madison Rose Michaels

His entire body froze, and the air in his lungs felt trapped as he re-read the writing. How the hell could that even be possible?

Don't panic. Don't freak out Gabby.

"This was the paper the woman gave you?"

Gabby nodded, biting down on her bottom lip with worry.

"What's wrong, Daddy?"

Okay. Think this out, Sean. What do you know about Maddie?

She had a half-brother who had died in a car accident. Ian had mentioned that her mother had died when she was young and that he and her brother, Cameron, had raised her. Maddie and Cameron had the same mom, and he knew nothing of her dad except that he wasn't in her life because Damian had been the one to walk Maddie down the aisle at their wedding.

This isn't possible. Right?

"Daddy?"

His attention was brought back to Gabby, who stood before him where he sat on the couch. Standing up so quickly that Gabby gasped and took a step back, he realized he needed to chill out so he didn't scare his baby girl.

As he opened his mouth to say something, his phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he saw Kane's name on the caller ID.

"I need to answer this."

Sliding the answer button, Sean put the phone up to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Sean, I have some news, and it's kind of beyond crazy."

Closing his eyes, Sean pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I think I might know what kind of news you have, but lay it on me."

Kane cleared his throat, "I found Gabby's father. He's dead, by the way, but I found his other child, who is also a girl."

He knew what was coming, but he needed to hear it so that he knew he wasn't going insane.

"And?"

"Maddie Jacobs is her sister."

Turning around, Sean looked down into a pair of big brown eyes and forced himself to smile, but he could tell she didn't buy it for one second. The puppy pranced over to her and began pawing at her legs.

"Not a word to anyone until I say so," he said into the phone.

"Roger that."

Sean hung up the phone before Kane had the chance to. He let out a long deep breath.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Gabby asked with more force than he'd ever heard from her.

"Gabby, sit down."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she shook her head.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Her tone was much less forceful and more childish this time, and he couldn't help but inwardly smile at her unusual defiance. He hoped it meant that she felt safe to be naughty around him.

"Are you asking for a spanking, little girl?"

Her eyes widened, and she instantly plopped down on the sofa. When he came to sit on the coffee table in front of her, he widened his legs, so hers were trapped inside his.

"I know who your sister is. She and her husband are friends of mine."