Daddy's Sweetheart Parts 1-5: The Complete Collection

by Rachel Burns

  He smiled at me. That was what he wanted to hear. He let go of me so I could turn to her.

  I felt so stupid interrupting them. I took a deep breath. “Should we go outside again?” I asked her, lamely.

  Her daddy pushed her towards me even though she was still clinging to him.

  I slipped an arm around her middle and pulled her along with me as she apologized to me. I tried to comfort her as best as I could.

  I took her out to the orchard, where Daddy and I had eaten cherries yesterday.

  Cindy calmed down a little then. She couldn’t meet my eye. She sat very quietly in the grass, rubbing her hand.

  “I’m so sorry I wanted to set you up like that. I had no idea that it hurt that badly. How can you stand all of this crap? Believe me, I’m gone come morning. He’ll have to find someone else to play his games with.”

  “You can just leave if you want to?” I whispered, astounded.

  She nodded. Really looking at me. “You really can’t?” She looked so confused. “But you could divorce him and get half of his money.”

  “I can’t even get out of my room much less out the front door and to a lawyer’s office. I don’t have anywhere to go. He’s waited too long for a chance like this. He wouldn’t give me up without a fight.”

  “But he treats you well, right?” Her eyes were full of concern.

  I shook my head and looked away from her.

  “Are you serious?” She poked me trying to get my attention.

  “The yardstick is the least of my worries,” I admitted to her.

  “My family has a bakery in the city, Tony’s Italian Bakery. If you could ever get away, they’d be glad to help you. They could contact me. I’d help you. I just have to get through the night with him, and then I’m gone.”

  “How did you meet him?” The way Daddy had found me was so bizarre it couldn’t be repeated.

  “He was my college professor – in math.” She shook her head.

  “They always have jobs like that. Mine is a pediatrician. How sick is that?” I shook my head, smiling at her.

  Nanny was marching over.

  “You can have as many as you want. They’ll be over ripe soon.” I held out a handful of cherries to her. She caught on quick that we couldn’t talk freely in front of Nanny.

  “Thanks, Amelia, I really am sorry.”

  Nanny nodded approvingly and went to sit down on a bench.

  Cindy told me about the music she liked to listen to. She explained in her family they constantly had music playing, and everyone sang along. She even sang a song for me.

  Daddy came and got us a bit later so we could come to the table. We talked about nonsense that wouldn’t get us into trouble.

  She kept slipping in information about her family. She was catholic, of course, and that was really important in her family.

  I told her that I wasn’t catholic, but that I’d gone to a private catholic boarding school all my life.

  She was the lost black sheep. She’d quit college so she could be with Travis.

  I’d married mine so I had a place to stay after my father kicked me out. Women did stupid things for men.

  Cindy had a big family. The men talked among themselves and left us alone. I had a place to go where I could maybe get my feet on the ground. That is, if I could get away.

  She told me even more while the men played volleyball.

  They were really into it so we got to talk a lot until Nanny got too curious. I changed the subject to the school I’d be going to.

  Cindy felt sorry for me. I could tell.

  I didn’t want her pity.

  I wished her all the luck in the world for her next relationship.

  They left around ten. Daddy and I waved goodbye to them at the door.

  As soon as they were gone, Daddy marched me up to bed. He didn’t make love to me, but quickly changed me and helped me into my pajamas and kissed my forehead and left.

  I hoped he wasn’t mad at me.

  Chapter 4 – The Doll

  “Nanny, can I have a word with you please.” Brian was once again at her door.

  He was worried because it had been difficult to bring Amelia to bed. She’d been too quiet. He’d listened to her breathing for a long time. She was restless.

  He wished that Cindy hadn’t pointed out that Amelia was being locked in. His little sweetheart had looked so ashamed of herself.

  Nanny stepped out into the hall and nodded at him.

  “What happened today? What don’t I know about,” he asked her.

  “The other girl insulted Amelia every chance she got until she was punished. After that, they seemed like best friends. Amelia even acted like she was the older one helping the younger. I had a feeling that they were trading secrets. I’ll be watching her extra closely in the future.” Nanny shook her head and worried.

  “I had a feeling that it wouldn’t go well. There are two types of Daddies. Your kind, the kind who honestly care about their little girls, and the kind who are only in it to play mind games. I hope this doesn’t cause any long-term problems. I’ll tell you now: if our Amelia starts acting like that one did, I’ll punish her very severely, and nip that right in the bud.”

  “Calm down, Nanny. I agree with you. I warned her beforehand not to act like Cindy does. She’s been warned. I won’t except any excuses either.”

  Brian was worried, too. That hadn’t been a good idea. Amelia had been good, but he never would have thought that Cindy could cause so much damage in the short time that they were here.

  Would Amelia try to run away?

  Would she start to question everything they told her?

  “Amelia was really good. Travis complemented her a lot. Maybe he saw the light. A child needs a firm, but loving hand.”

  “I couldn’t agree more, sir.”

  “Make sure she stays inside the whole week. I don’t want her getting sick right before we want to leave.”

  “Certainly, sir.”

  He turned and left Nanny, returning to his Amelia.

  Amelia was rolled up into a ball. Her fists were clenched, and she was holding onto the corner of her pillow, like she did when he made love to her. He lay down with her again and pulled her close. He straightened her out as best as he could.

  He worried about her getting away from him and getting a lawyer. She’d tell him everything, and her lawyer would tell her that he wasn’t normal.

  Married women weren’t kept locked up, and they didn’t call their husbands ‘daddy’.

  A lawyer would advise her to go to the press. If this backfired, it would backfire big time. He couldn’t let that happened. What went on between married people stayed between them.

  He didn’t sleep for hours.

  ***

  Daddy was gone before I woke up the next morning.

  I was a little disappointed. I guess I was getting used to my daily sex, too.

  Nanny was standing next to my bed to wake me up. She got me washed and dressed. At breakfast she told me that she wanted to talk to me about my packing list.

  We discussed the fact that Daddy also had work to do. I wasn’t allowed to bother him. She explained that he could lose a lot of money if he wasn’t concentrated.

  She praised me for being so good yesterday and asked me several questions about what Cindy and I’d talked about. I didn’t want to lie to her so I edited, a lot.

  “Cindy told me that she was very sorry, over and over again. She told me about her family. They like to sing at home,” I added.

  Nanny was staring me down. I didn’t know what else to say.

  I figured saying nothing would be the best. I didn’t want to get spanked.

  It wasn’t me who had invited them here. And Cindy had offered that I could go to her family if I needed it. I hadn’t asked her. It wasn’t my fault that she’d said that.

  “A little girl just needs a nanny,” she proclaimed.

  I nodded along wholeheartedly.

  “D
id she hurt your feelings, terribly?”

  I dropped my eyes, thinking about what had happened in my room.

  “Amelia. Amelia, look at me.”

  I looked up at her. She was smiling kindly.

  “That wasn’t your fault. She just wasn’t a very nice girl. If her daddy takes more time to raise her right, she could be nice, like she was at the end. But, believe me, it was her fault not yours. She doesn’t have your pose and manners. The girls at the school do. You’ll make friends there, lots of them. I’m not even worried about that. You’re a very nice little girl. Your daddy even commented to me how proud of you he was.”

  I sat up straighter. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. He adores you. Especially after seeing her yesterday. He knows you’re the best little girl in the whole wide world.”

  I was beaming. I knew that I should be offended, because she was talking to me like I was a two year old, but I liked what she had to say.

  “Your daddy saw the alternative yesterday. If I were you, I’d accept a pretty ribbon this evening.”

  I had a grin on my face, which I just couldn’t wipe away. Everyone wants to hear that they’re liked, and that they did something well.

  Besides, nanny was always right. She was right about Cindy causing problems and about taking me into the city and basically everything else.

  Could she be right about me making friends too?

  I sat at my desk with my pencil in my hand. Nanny was pacing up and down in front of me. She listed off the things that I needed for my trip. The things I needed to take along.

  I had to write them down. When we were finished, we had the world’s ugliest packing list ever.

  Daddy and I would be leaving on Saturday, and we’d be gone for two weeks. It was all going really quickly.

  Soon, I’d be on my honeymoon. That sounded like a very grown-up thing to do. I wondered what we’d do and see. I wanted to be prepared.

  I asked Nanny if we had any tapes with German lessons that I could listen to.

  She made a call, and within an hour I had CD’s and a stereo in my room.

  The tapes were a little too easy for me, but they were good practice. The nun, who taught German at school, had actually come from Germany, so we learned a lot.

  We were even reading books in German at the end.

  Nanny listened along too, but she laughed at the funny sounds. She told me that she spoke French. She said that she’d like to teach me some next summer. I’d be too busy with schoolwork during the school year, but Nanny sounded opposed to me going to school in summer.

  “Before you know it, little girls grow up. We’ll want to spend time together next summer. Now, won’t we?” I was surprised that Nanny thought that I could grow up.

  I nodded at her. My lessons at home weren’t that bad.

  “Could I visit my friends over the summer vacation?”

  “I’d insist on it. Friendships need to be nurtured. I do hope that you find a nice best friend. Your daddy could be friends with her daddy. I’ll tell you now: that it’s very important to be friends with just the right kind of people. Your daddy is a very important man. You aren’t allowed to do anything that could embarrass him. You’ll be judged by the company that you keep. Have I made myself clear?”

  “Yes, Nanny.”

  Daddy came in with a wrapped up box again. He was grinning as big as could be. Obviously very proud of the gift he got me. He laid it on the table in front of me.

  Nanny didn’t look too pleased. I could tell what she was thinking; Daddy was giving me gifts too often.

  I carefully opened the pretty paper and folded it. No one laughed at me anymore.

  “This is because you were so good yesterday.” Daddy was on cloud nine.

  I lifted the lid off the box and looked inside. I swallowed hard. It was a doll in a German dress. The eyes were closed, but if I lifted her out, they’d open.

  “She’s speechless, Nanny. Her first doll.” He was really excited about this.

  I decided to bite the bullet and pick it up, like he probably wanted. My hands were shaking. I reached under its arms and lifted it out of the box and to me. The eyes open as I did.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind I noticed that the doll had been very carefully picked out to look like me. It had long dark hair and blue eyes just like me.

  This was spooking me completely. I wanted to put it back in its box and close the lid. I held it to me and sat down with it and looked at its dress and sweater.

  “Thank you, Daddy. She looks just like me.” I tried to sound enthusiastic.

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

  Nanny wanted to clear away its box.

  “Wait, don’t. I can use that as her bed.”

  “If you want, I can buy your doll her own bed.” He was really into dolls. Maybe we should put her in his room.

  “The box is just fine.” I stood up and put it back in its box. I covered it with the lid. “This way nothing can happen to her while we eat,” I explained.

  “Very sensible.” Daddy smiled, approvingly.

  I looked across the table at Nanny who was still mad that I was getting so much stuff.

  After she shook her head, she told him that I requested learning CD’s in German, and she’d already seen to it.

  Daddy was glad to hear that I’d been practicing all day.

  I kept my eye on the box. I kept getting a feeling like it had moved ever so slightly.

  What would happen if I admitted that I was afraid of dolls?

  I wouldn’t put it past him to spank me and tuck the doll into bed with me at night.

  That thought scared me. Having it in bed with me all night would mean that I wouldn’t sleep at all.

  My heart was going crazy. I even felt dizzy.

  What if I told him, and he was one of those face your fears kind of people who would insist I carry it with me everywhere I went? I had a feeling like I might be sick.

  Nanny and Daddy talked about the trip, packing and things. I only spoke when spoken to.

  After supper, I jumped up and took Daddy’s hand. I was hoping we could accidentally forget it down here.

  “Amelia, your doll,” Daddy reminded me.

  “Yes, right.” I picked up the box. I figured it could have crawled up the stairs with a knife in its hand. I also believed it could pick the lock and get into my room.

  I gave Daddy a fake smile as I carried the hated thing up the stairs.

  We went into his room. I laid the doll down on the chair still in its box.

  “If you want, you can play with her in your room for about an hour while I check on a few things for our trip.” He looked at his watch. I looked at the time too, but for a different reason.

  He opened the door to my room for me so I could walk through. He left the door opened so he could watch me play.

  I had no idea how to play with it. I set the box on my bed and got it out again. I sat it down in my window seat, and it stared at me. I had a feeling that when I moved so did its eyes.

  This was really terrible. I looked at my clock; only a minute had gone by.

  I picked out a book and sat down next to it and read.

  “Amelia, why aren’t you playing with your doll?” Daddy had come in.

  “Umm, I thought I was.” I looked over at it. It didn’t appear to have moved.

  “Oh, – I guess you don’t know how.” He looked very disturbed.

  Not as disturbed as I’d be tonight, but he looked pretty worried about me.

  He picked up the doll and sighed. “This is something that most children do automatically, but I guess in your case – never mind. What you do is hold her in your arms and pretend.”

  I set my book aside as he pushed the doll at me. “Pretend what?”

  “Most little girls pretend that their doll is a baby. You could rock her in your arms and sing to her,” he suggested.

  I held it in my arms and swung my arms back and forth a little, feeling comple
tely stupid as I did this. The doll’s eyes were opening and closing as I moved it. I hated this. I looked at Daddy who looked more worried than when we started out playing.

  “Would you look at a baby that way? No, you wouldn’t. You’d smile at her.”

  I tried to smile at it, but it was spooking me way too much. I stood up and laid it in his arms. “You do it.” I said as nicely as I could. I was glad to be rid of it.

  Daddy held the doll in his arms with his jaw dropped.

  “Amelia, honey. I’m not scolding you, but I think it’s very important that you learn how to play with the doll. I want you to talk to her. You can tell her whatever you want.”

  “Why would I? It can’t understand me. Can it?” It could use everything against me that I told it. This wasn’t good. Maybe I should just tell him the truth?

  “Amelia, this is really important. A child who can’t play with a doll is – Sweetheart, I need you to do this. I’ll be right back.” He thrust the doll at me and left.

  I ran to my bed and put it in its box, and I closed the lid. I sighed with relief before I sat down to read again.

  Daddy came in with Nanny. His eyes scanned the room. “Where is your doll?”

  “It’s nap time,” I explained.

  “Where is she?” He was talking to me like I was slow.

  “I put her in her bed.” It was hard for me to say her instead of it.

  He took the lid off and looked at Nanny. He was still in shock.

  Nanny came and sat down next to me. “Amelia, she’s been in her box all day. She wants to come out and play.”

  “She does?” The idea that it could want things was freaking me out.

  “Yes. She wants to get to know you a little better.”

  I gulped. It wanted to look for weak spots.

  It would notice that I was locked in here, and I couldn’t get out. It could do whatever it wanted with me.

  I tried to blink back the tears that were forming in my eyes.

  “We want you to hold her and maybe talk to her a little. Perhaps, if you pick out a name for her, it would be easier for you.”

  Daddy gave it back to me again.