Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance

by Brooke Valentine

  Rhett became a good father and a loyal husband. He realized how selfish he had been his entire life. He was ashamed that he had made nothing of himself. Unfortunately, his father’s department store hemorrhaged money. Charleston was not a city that wanted big city ideas. Residents felt that the department store was a monstrosity and preferred to buy their goods from small boutiques and shops. The failed business venture destroyed Nelly’s parents as well. The Hampton and Calhoun families were ruined. There wasn’t any money left.

  Rhett learned a trade, blacksmithing, to support his wife and daughter. Rhett and Nelly were poor and no longer part of the upper crust of genteel society, but they had each other and their children. Nelly went on to give birth to three more children: two more girls and one boy. Rhett’s children were his pride and joy.

  Rhett thought about how he treated Daisy. He denied her in the name of money, which he or his family no longer had. Daisy had been a good woman to him. He hoped in his heart that she was happy. He was ashamed that he had asked her to be his mistress, when she was a woman who was worth so much more than that.

  Rhett came home tired every night from his work. He woke early and slept late. He barely had time to engage in alcohol consumption or other lackadaisical frivolities. His nights of carefree partying were over, but he had never been more satisfied with life. He thought about how he held Daisy’s hands in disgust noticing how rough and worn they had become. His own hands were roughened with calluses.

  Dinah, did indeed, return to Sonora after several years in an insane asylum. Dinah took up residence in Sally’s boardinghouse. She learned what things triggered her behaviors and worked to keep her life balanced and simple. She did not engage in gambling or drinking, which she learned are activities that led to bouts of mania and later dense despondency. She kept to herself and stopped searching out men who were on the wrong side of the law.

  Dinah was more stable in her emotions. They key was keeping her life on an even slope. Her mind rested when she needed it to. Her despondent sorrows left her alone, for the most part. There were times when no amount of symmetry could prevent her spells. She’d wrestle with her speeding thoughts and worries and holed herself up in her room until it passed.

  She became a part of Lilah and Tallulah’s life. She saw them regularly often visiting the ranch or when they were older, the girls came to see her. Dinah’s relationship with her daughters grew easier when they were older when the pressure of caring for and being responsible for them diminished. Lilah and Tallulah transformed before her eyes into beautiful intelligent women. A fear was that they would have Dinah’s mental issues, but Lilah and Tallulah were fortunate enough to not suffer their mother’s sickness.

  Daisy’s first pregnancy was an uncomfortable one. The exhaustion from her first trimester stretched out the entire pregnancy. Daisy shuffled from day to day in a daze of fatigue. She didn’t have morning sickness; she was ill all day long. She struggled to keep her eyes open. As long as she was moving, she managed to stay awake, but if she sat for a few minutes to rest her eyes, it would turn into a long foggy nap.

  Daisy gave birth to a baby boy, who they named Henry. His nickname was Hank Junior. Hank Junior was a bubbly little boy with fat chubby cheeks. His big sisters Lilah and Tallulah doted on him, both pleased to have a baby brother. The book, “Little Men,” stirred their imaginations. They wondered which character Hank Junior would grow up to be from the book: Nat, Dan, Demi, Tommy? In the meantime, they carried their little brother with them and when acting out scenes from the book, little Hank unknowingly played various characters. He was a wonderful addition to their drama troupe.

  Rachel and Jack, Henry and Daisy’s two other children, came later. Lilah and Tallulah were just as excited about each of their arrivals as their first baby brother. Rachel was quiet and shy and loved horses. Jack was loud and boisterous like his big sister Tallulah. Lilah and Tallulah’s theatrical productions grew with the addition of their new sister and brothers.

  Lilah and Tallulah both went to college as Henry dreamed. In fact, all his children attended university. Both his eldest daughters attended University of California at Berkeley. Lilah became a playwright, writing thrilling and whimsical plays about women in modern times. She met a man in college, a businessman who adored Lilah’s independent spirit. He headed a successful drug company, Birdie’s Little Pills, that were popular for curing headaches, constipation, and dyspepsia.

  Tallulah became a choreographer. Her affinity to dancing and twirling shone through. She choreographed synchronized routines for chorus lines. She started the famous chorus line that later grew into The Rockettes. Tallulah met a quiet rancher, like her father, and gave up Broadway to stay home and take care of their two children. Tallulah later taught dance to young girls in a small dancing school she founded.

  Henry became a hero for capturing the Espinosas who the US Calvary tried to hunt down for years. His notoriety as a hero stayed with him throughout his life. He was later elected mayor of Sonora. This didn’t happen until several years later when Lilah and Tallulah were married with their own children and his three younger children were in their teens.

  On the night that Daisy gave birth to their son, Hank Junior. Henry had been reading and writing with Betsy long enough to finally feel confident he could write his wife a letter for the first time.

  Dear Daisy,

  We first met through a letter. At the time, I could not read or write. Today, on the birth of our son, I write to you in my handwriting and with my heart. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your tenderness. Thank you for being my wife and the mother of my children. You have made me a very happy man.

  Your Henry

  She cried when she read his words and was touched by his will to learn how to read and write. She was pleased by his determination. She kept the letter in a special box along with the letter Henry and Silas wrote to Beechtree and the very first letter they wrote to her. Their love started with a simple letter and an enduring hope for love.

  Big Daddy on Top

  By: Natasha Spencer

  Big Daddy on Top

  © November 2017 – All rights reserved

  By Natasha Spencer,

  Published by Passionate Publishing Inc.

  This is a work of fiction. All names and characters in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.

  This book is for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher.

  Warning

  This book is intended for adult readers, 18+ years old. Please close this e-book if you are not comfortable reading adult content.

  ONE

  Cat Addison stood in the billiards room of her father’s once-posh hotel, her pert nose wrinkled up at the scent of sea water enhanced by the sight of splotchy watermarks throughout the room. They had been evacuated just the same as everyone else in Marathon at the first signs that Hurricane Irma was going to hit the Keys, and they hadn’t been sure what to expect upon their return.

  “Well, I suppose it could have been much worse,” she muttered to herself as she started to pick up pool balls and wipe them down with the towel she’d brought along with her. “This entire building could have blown down, and then what would we do?”

  “I’ll see about going to the bank tomorrow,” her father muttered in a wooden tone as he looked over the carnage with despair in his eyes. Cat couldn’t blame him, of course. Every penny he ever owned was invested into the old hotel. It was his life’s dream to finish his tour as a naval officer and finally settle down somewhere in the Keys, and ten years ago that’s exactly what he’d done, bringing his wife and children out to the island in southern Florida along with him.

  But Cat’s mother wasn’t cut out for island living. She had stayed about a year before she declared she’d had enough, and headed back for New Orleans, dragging her daughter and son along with
her.

  Unlike the rest of her family though, Cat was determined to return to the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of Marathon just as soon as she was able. She went to college and learned everything she could about the hospitality industry, and once she had her degree she told her mother good-bye and came back to her father’s hotel.

  That had been two years ago, and she’d been helping out her father ever since. She’d managed to turn the place around, too. When she first got there he’d practically run the place into the ground. He clearly needed better employees and lots of upgrades, and she’d seen to it that he got both. Now though, she wasn’t even sure if they could fix the place up again after the thorough soaking it had undergone.

  Still, it would never do to bring her father’s spirits even lower than they already were by pointing that out. Instead, she smiled as warmly as she could and said, “Yeah, Daddy, that’s a great idea. And in the meantime, we may as well give this place a spit-shine. You know, if we clean it up a bit, this old rat trap might even be good enough to serve some customers again in no time.”

  When her father paused and cast her a guilty glance, Cat set down the ball in her hand and gave him her full attention. “What’s the matter?”

  He sighed. “Actually, you are. I can’t help thinking that your talents are being wasted here. I mean, with the training you got at that fancy college of yours, you could be managing a five-star hotel with ease, and yet here you are wasting your talents on me and my half-baked dreams.”

  “Half-baked?” Cat snorted, shaking her head at him. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to live a life that’s a bit on the edge. Daddy, I’d rather be here in the Keys in a rat trap, run down hotel over some boring everyday hotel anyplace else in the world. Besides, I know how much this old place means to you. So I refuse to let you down.”

  “Sweetheart, I can pick up a manager for this place easy once it’s fixed up a bit,” he scoffed. “Managers for rat trap hotels are a dime a dozen. But you? You’re worth a hell of a lot more. And I don’t want to hold you back anymore. So what if I told you that you could stay right here in the Keys and be able to work in one of the best hotel resorts around?”

  Even though it was early October, it was still quite warm in the Keys, and Cat pulled the scrunchie free from her long, reddish mass of curls and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to combat some of the dampness gathering there. She frowned at him as she asked, “What are you talking about, Daddy?”

  “Don’t you remember hearing about the new resort they’ve been building up near Key Largo? I believe it’s owned by Whitney Industries, and you know they never skimp when it comes to treating their customers right,” he explained with a dreamy smile just touching his lips. “Hell, with the kind of money Aiden Whitney makes in one day, I’d be able to turn this old heap into a palace, you know what I mean? But the reality is, I’m never going to be able to do that unless I can get a whole gaggle of customers willing to rough it until I can pay off all my debts.”

  “I wouldn’t be too worried about that,” said Cat. “There’s plenty of people who don’t mind sacrificing some of the niceties for a cheaper lodging. I’m sure we’ll do just fine.”

  “No, Cat, not ‘we’, just me,” he told her. “Because you are going to be up working at the Whitney Resort. Look, I picked up this magazine at the airport, and what do you think I found inside? Says here they’re hiring for all positions this week. In spite of the storm hitting the Keys so hard, they expect to be opening on schedule within just a couple more weeks, and they’ll be starting the hiring process tomorrow.”

  “Hiring process? What does that mean?”

  “The flyers says the applicants will get up to one free week stay at the resort while they determine who they’re going to hire,” he said, pointing out the location of those words on the page.

  Cat took it from him and read the entire article. “One week if you make it through all their tests, anyway,” she said, shrugging. “But what chance do I have of that? I’m sure there will be plenty of people applying who are more qualified than I am. Besides, I already have my work cut out for me.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” her father snorted. “I want you to go up there and knock ’em dead. If you don’t get in, you can always work here instead, sweetheart, but as a good father it’s my duty to make sure I’m not holding back. Just because this place is my dream doesn’t mean you need to take on the nightmare for yourself.”

  Cat smirked at his description. The truth was, she was beginning to feel the stir of excitement deep in her gut at the idea of working for Whitney. While she’d been in school and learning the ropes, that company’s name had been one of the top five prospects on the list she’d compiled as one of her assignments, and she’d even read up on it a little.

  “That resort is a testament to Aiden Whitney’s late father, it says here,” she commented as she scanned through the text. “His father used to work in textiles, but Aiden never found it to be appealing, and turned to fitness and recreation projects instead. This guy’s as much of a sucker for half-baked dreams as you are, eh?”

  “How’s that?”

  “It says here that he and his father used to vacation together in the Keys every year, and he’s always wanted to establish a resort,” Cat said, running a finger over the text. “I can understand that. Once you’ve visited this place it gets into your blood. It’ll always draw a person back no matter where else they might go. Don’t you think so?”

  “I do,” he said with a nod. “I always knew I’d make my home here someday. So even if I’ve hit a bit of a road block to my success, I’m not going to let it hold me down. I’ll get that loan and make this place better than ever, and seeing you working at a job you’re going to love too will make me the happiest guy around.”

  “You’re just not going to give up on this, are you?” she grumbled.

  “No way, I’m not,” he persisted. “So you might as well pack your bags for the trip, my dear. I’m sure I’ll get along just fine without you. Besides, I believe Miss Tilly is just too polite to tell you that we’d like some time alone. I’m sure she’ll be more than willing to help me figure the old hotel out.”

  “Yeah, I’ll just bet she will,” Cat agreed with a knowing chuckle. “So yeah, I guess I’ll give this number a call and find out more about it. What could it hurt?”

  “I already called it, and even submitted them your resume,” he told her. “You’re meant to arrive there sometime tomorrow afternoon. They’re even going to send down a car to collect you. That seems pretty top notch.”

  “Daddy, I can’t believe you,” Cat protested. “How could you set this all up without even knowing how I would feel?”

  He chuckled. “I did know how you would feel,” he pointed out. “You’re my daughter, and I love you. Of course I knew.”

  Cat rolled her eyes and gave him a hug. “Thank you.”

  TWO

  Ever since a young boy of twelve first visited a strange island that stood just twenty feet above sea level at the very most, Aiden Whitney had been in love with the small island chain known as the Florida Keys. Just miles away from a barrier reef and eternally filled with dolphins, diving, and adventure, every decision he’d ever made in life had centered on Key Largo, and his desire to build a resort there someday.

  At sixteen, when he began diving, an instructor had suggested weight training for fitness and strength would improve his skills, and his second passion had been born. His body became strong, and his muscles were now a work of art. And, as promised, his level of fitness truly did enhance his skills in the water.

  His grandpa had been so impressed with Aiden’s love of fitness that for his high school graduation present he surprised him with the gift of four fitness gyms. He told him that he’d got the lot of them ‘on special’, and knew he’d enjoy himself.

  Aiden supposed most eighteen-year-olds would have had no idea what to do with that, but as for himself, he took his new respons
ibilities completely to heart. Industrious young man that he was, Aiden immediately took business courses in addition to the marine biology and ecology classes he'd already been planning for, coming away from college with a double major.

  But he didn't wait around to finish classes before he invested time and effort into his properties. He visited each one of them, upgraded them, and branded them with the Whitney name. For each company, he hired professional trainers and fitness experts, as well as an administrator to oversee all of the businesses and ensure their success.

  He never forgot his real goal of the resort, though. He even bought a few vacation rental homes down in the Keys just so he and his father didn't need to pay for lodgings whenever they visited, and gained a bit more income into the bargain. For the most part, he socked every dime he made away or invested it into ventures that would increase the diversity of his portfolio.

  In his mind, he hoped to have his business and his passions unite, telling his father that while textiles paid the bills, they could never feed a man’s soul. He wanted something a lot more significant in his life, and when he built his resort, he would have it.

  He dated here and there as he created his empire, but not until the age of thirty did he find a woman he believed he could build a life with. In retrospect, he figured it must have been an influx of hormones that had shut down his brain, and nothing more.

  But who could blame him, really? Brynn was a buxom blonde socialite whose only true interests were shopping, and working out so she’d look good in all of her new outfits. She could be a real charmer when she wanted to, but that was usually just when it suited her agenda.