Chapter Four


“Breakfast, Kayleigh!”

Lance took a long drink of coffee as he sat the donut box on top of the table, along with a napkin in Kayleigh's spot. He heard her footsteps bound down the stairs and as she appeared in the kitchen, he raised up an eyebrow. He had left the responsibility of picking out her clothes and dressing herself up to her this morning, and she had come down the stairs in an orange shirt with puffy sleeves, blue capri leggings, a pink skirt, and purple glittery sneakers.

“Kayleigh, what in the world are you wearing?” he asked with a laugh.

“I dressed myself Daddy, do you like it?” she asked.

“It's...colorful,” he said. “Breakfast is on the table. Sit down and eat.”

She climbed up onto the chair, sitting up using her knees for added height, and looked at him when she saw him pull a chocolate frosted donut out of the box and place it on her napkin.

“Miss Leann never let me have chocolate donuts for breakfast,” she said.

“Yeah, but I'm the Dad,” he said with a smile. “I'm actually cool.”

“Yay!”

She was still celebrating the treat for breakfast when his phone rang from the island counter and he reached over to grab it, putting it to his ear right away.

“Mmm, hello?” he said, licking chocolate frosting off his fingers.

“Lance?” the voice of his female business partner, Wendy Thorlakson, said. “Is that you?”

“Yeah, sorry Wendy, I was doing breakfast,” he said. “What's up?”

“Well what's up is I was wondering why you hadn't been to the office in two days,” she said. “It's not like you.”

It was unlike him; Lance usually found himself at the office for at least two hours, even on the weekends when most of the staff was off. He hadn't gone into the office on Friday due to being called into his lawyer's office that morning and all the errands that had followed. He hadn't gotten a chance to go in Saturday either, after spending an entire day emptying out a spare bedroom for her and getting her furniture put together and inside. It was now Sunday and he was finally finding a solid “groove” with Kayleigh around.

Despite their “groove”, he still had one major issue – neither of them were getting any sleep. When the social worker had said she had nightmares, he assumed it was an occasional occurrence. He'd quickly found out that she had him up all night, back and forth yelling out for him and her mom. To say he was exhausted was an understatement.

“Yeah, Wendy, I'm sorry about that,” he said, looking at Kayleigh whose mouth was covered with chocolate frosting. “I had something pretty big come up.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think so, I got a...major surprise,” he said, scratching his forehead.

“Well, whatever it is, I hope you have everything sorted out, because I really need you to get here. Like, yesterday.”

“Well, Wendy, I can't drop everything,” he said, chuckling. “It's not exactly something that I can sort out in two days.”

“Look, Lance, I don't know what's going on,” she said. “Truthfully, I don't want to know. I don't care. I do care about our project – which is currently falling apart.”

His business side kicked in.

“What's going wrong with the project?”

“Our funding has tanked because our contributor backed out, we've had five crew quit in two days, and some of our filming locations won't be available for the days we need them,” she said. “I could use your push for this. Can you come in today?”

“I...I can't just leave the house,” he stuttered. He grabbed a hair brush and a ponytail holder from his coffee table as he headed back into the kitchen. “I have responsibilities here to take care of, too.”

“I understand, Lance,” she said as he started brushing through Kayleigh's unruly curls. “But you have responsibilities to this company as well. Those have always come first and foremost before. I expect that not to change. I don't know what trouble you've gotten yourself into this time, and like I said, I don't care. I care about this project, and I care about this company. And if you can't dedicate the same amount of time and caring to it, let me know. We can always find someone who is more willing and able.”

Lance's mouth dropped open and he sighed. It was the worst possible time for something like this to come up.

“Ow,” Kayleigh said, holding her hand up to her hair as he brushed.

“Sorry baby, you've got tangles.”

“Lance?” Wendy said. “I need an answer. I don't have time for this nonsense today.”

He scrunched his face up and groaned.

“I'll...I'll be there,” he finally said. “You have to give me a few hours. But I'll be there.”

“You better be,” she said. “Or I'll run this company by myself.”

When she hung up before he could respond, he threw the phone down on the table, grunting in frustration.

“What's wrong, Daddy?” Kayleigh asked.

“Nothing, Kayleigh. Look, we gotta go somewhere, so finish eating your food and let's get you cleaned up and ready to go, okay?”

He threw her hair up into a ponytail after he had finished brushing through it and quickly downed the rest of his coffee before running up the stairs to change. He threw off the t-shirt and sweatpants and threw on a crisp white shirt, pressed slacks, and purple tie in record time. The minute he came down the stairs and checked in on Kayleigh, he ran to the side table in his living room, pulling out the Yellow Pages.

“Daycare...daycare...” he said, flipping frantically through the pages to the “D” sections.

He knew it was a long-shot to try to find a daycare center with a single opening available today, but he was at a loss for what else to do. He had no one else who could babysit. The only people he knew that he could trust to babysit were Joey and Kelly, who were all the way out in Los Angeles, and his mom and dad, who lived in Mississippi – and still weren't even aware that they might have another granddaughter.

Hopefully I can buy my way into this one, he thought to himself as he found the list of daycare centers in the book.

He ran his finger down the list, looking only by sight for a name that sounded decent, until his finger landed instinctively on one.

“Kiddie Academy,” he said, grabbing a pen and notepad and writing down the address on it. “That'll work.”

He sat down with the paper in his hand and slipped his shoes on before walking back into the kitchen. He turned to look down at Kayleigh, who was taking a drink of juice out of a glass, her mouth and fingers covered in chocolate.

He chuckled. “Let's get you cleaned up.”


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“Where are we going?”

Lance drove, carefully looking at each street name while keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.

“I have to go into work for a few hours, so I'm taking you to this daycare center so they can watch you for me,” he said.

“Can't I stay home?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a laugh. “You are way too little to stay home by yourself.”

“Well, can I come with you?”

“Sweetie, my office is no place for a little girl,” he said, finding the right street finally and turning onto it. “There's all kinds of people and no other kids there. You'd be bored anyway.”

“But I don't want you to leave me,” she said, whining.

“It'll be okay,” he said, turning the wheel as he saw the daycare's huge sign on their storefront. “It'll only be a few hours and you'll have lots of toys and other kids to play with. Then I'll come get you.”

He parallel-parked in one of the front spots, noticing as he looked in his mirror that she was pouting in the back seat, and finally turned off the ignition. He unbuckled Kayleigh and held her against his hip as he walked up to the door, grasped the handle, and yanked.

It stopped immediately. The door was locked.

He looked over to his left to see the “Closed” sign in the window.

“Oh come on!” he said, throwing his only free arm up in frustration, letting his fist fall to the glass door. He sighed; he didn't need this thrown at him as well.

“What's wrong, Daddy?” Kayleigh asked, sensing his frustration.

“Nothing, baby,” he said. “I guess we're going home after all.”

He sat her down on the ground to walk and led her by the hand to the car, where he opened the door for her.

“Climb in and buckle yourself in, Kayleigh,” he said. “I have to make a phone call real quick.”

He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and watched her climb into her seat with the help of his hand, closing the door when she was secure in the seat. He leaned his back against the door, scrolling through the list of names in his address book, until he finally landed on the first person he knew he could at least count on.

He pressed his finger to the name and hesitated a few seconds before pressing the green Call button, and putting the phone to his ear.

He had a feeling he would regret this.

“Hey Chris, I need a favor...”


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“So, I'll try to be back by ten,” Lance said as he threw his coat over his shoulders. Chris had finally arrived shortly before four that afternoon, and he was in a hurry, knowing that Wendy was probably fuming by now. “I can't promise anything, but as soon as I finish cleaning up this mess I'll come back home.”

“No problem man,” Chris said.

“I appreciate this,” Lance said, grabbing his car keys. “I was desperate.”

“Wendy's pissed, huh?”

“Chris, language,” Lance lightly scolded, seeing Kayleigh on the floor playing. “But yeah, she is. I didn't know I could be threatened to get fired from my own company.”

“Ouch,” Chris said.

He walked over to the place where Kayleigh sat playing quietly.

“So kid,” Chris said, looking down at her and patting her head. “It's you and me tonight. We ordering the biggest pizza we can and watching movies 'til we fall asleep?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” she shouted. “Pizza!”

“Not too much, guys,” Lance said.

“Your dad's no fun, kid,” Chris said. “First up, Beauty and the Beast...then The Little Mermaid and some Lion King.”

Lion King's my favorite!” Kayleigh shouted.

“Don't let her stay up too late, Chris,” Lance said. “And seriously...if she throws up pizza all over my carpet, you're cleaning it up.”

“Party pooper,” Chris said, watching Lance walk out the door.

The whole drive to the office, Lance had only his thoughts to keep him company – and the more he thought, the more angry he got. Two things had always been important to him – business and family. In the equation, family had always come first. He cared about his company, but he had new responsibilities that life had thrown his way.

He hadn't been in this child's life for the first four years; he was bound and determined to spend the next fourteen, at least, making up for it. Work was not going to stand in his way.

“Finally,” Wendy said when he walked in, as if she had been standing there waiting for him the whole time.

He could tell by her scowl that she was fuming – but so was he.

“Where the hell have you been?” she asked.

“Let's just get this done,” he said as he walked past her.


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He blinked his eyes as he put the key in his front door. It was already eleven by the time he pulled back into the driveway from work. It had taken longer to clean up the mess than he had planned for, but he had done it – and managed to keep Wendy at bay in the meantime.

“Hey,” Chris said the minute he walked in the door from the couch. “I was wondering when you'd get home.”

“Sorry, man,” Lance said, removing his coat. “Rough night.”

“No problem,” Chris responded. “We had a good time.”

“Was she good for you?” Lance asked, noticing the Disney movie still playing on the screen and the almost empty pizza box on the coffee table.

“Yep,” Chris said, popping a chip in his mouth. “She was great, in fact. Out like a light.”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “You're kidding me.”

“No,” Chris said, shaking his head. “Don't believe me?”

Lance quickly walked over to them. There, on the couch, was Kayleigh – her head resting on Chris's left leg, the stuffed puppy dog tightly clutched in her hand next to her head with its glossy eyes staring back at Lance, her thumb stuck in her mouth. She was fast asleep.

Lance's mouth dropped open and he looked up at Chris, who only stared at the television playing through the end of The Lion King and stuffed another chip in his mouth.

“How'd you do it?” he asked.

“Do what?” Chris asked, his eyes not moving from the television.

“Do what? Do this!” Lance said. “How'd you get her to go to sleep?”

“I used the Force,” Chris said with a straight face.

“Seriously dickhead, how did you do it?” Lance asked, loosening his tie. “I've gone without sleep for two nights because I couldn't get her to go to sleep. She cries out for me like, six times a night.”

“We played,” Chris said with a shrug. “I ordered pizza and breadsticks and we started a movie...she painted my fingernails and whatever. I told her it was getting close to bed time and found her pajamas and brushed her hair and her teeth. By the way, you might want to knock her of that thumb-sucking habit, I've heard it can mess up their teeth.”

“Yeah, because I'm so experienced in that too, right?” Lance said with a laugh, throwing his tie off to the side and watching it land on his loveseat.

“You're in new territory, that's all,” Chris said, watching Lance plop tiredly into the loveseat. “It's not like you've ever had to deal with children all that much. You're only 25. You've babysat for Brianna what, twice? That doesn't exactly qualify for you Parent of the Year material.”

“My whole life disqualifies me for Parent of the Year material,” Lance said. “Before this, my only consideration when buying furniture used to be will the wood match the baseboards – not is this fabric stain-resistant, or will Kayleigh fall and bump her head on this glass tabletop?”

“Well, see, you're getting it already,” Chris said, moving her head gently off his lap so he could stand up. “You know enough to know that glass tabletops aren't a good idea – that qualifies you for something.”

Lance groaned, his head falling back and his eyes closing.

“Chris, how am I ever going to do this?” he asked. “I have to make sure this kid makes it to eighteen without killing somebody or dying of starvation or something.”

“Feed her and don't give her a gun then,” Chris said, smiling.

Lance grabbed a throw pillow from his side, throwing it at Chris and narrowly missing.

“Smart ass,” he said.

“You'll manage,” Chris said, throwing his coat over his shoulders. “Hey, she's a good kid. Least she doesn't have half of Justin's genes – then you'd be fucked.”

Lance laughed. “True.”

“I gotta go,” Chris said. “Mel's parents are coming in from Arkansas tomorrow afternoon and I'm supposed to 'help' get the house together.”

“You're whipped,” Lance said as he got up and walked Chris to the door.

“I'm not whipped yet,” Chris responded. “I'm on a very short leash. With a choke collar. Hey, you suppose Mel has the stuff to get this junk off my fingernails?”

Chris held up his hand to reveal five fingers painted with pink glittery nail polish, smeared and with several missed spots. Lance couldn't help but burst into laughter.

“I'm sure she does, but are you sure? Chris, it's so purdy...it matches your eyes.”

“Yeah, haha, fuck you man,” Chris said, opening the door. “Good luck with Kayleigh.”

“Thanks, see ya,” Lance said, still chuckling as he closed the door behind Chris.

He walked over to the couch and stood in front of it, staring down at the child laying across it, still clutching the puppy dog that went everywhere with her.

His child. His. He'd actually created her. She had his dirty blonde hair, soft and shiny. Lance assumed she had her mother's blue eyes.

It bothered him that he couldn't remember a thing about this woman that he had apparently created a child with. He didn't think he was that much of a playboy. He'd had his fair share of one-night-stands in his life, especially now that he was older. Being CEO of his own company provided a lot of perks – and for him, plenty of women had been one of them. But he never thought that it had gotten so bad that he wouldn't remember one of them if they came along and told him they were pregnant – even if it was four years ago.

He leaned down and carefully picked her up, moving slow in the hopes that he wouldn't wake her up. He cradled her against his chest as her head went limp against his shoulder, her fingers tightly clutching the dog by the neck.

As he carried her carefully up the stairs, he could hear her breathing in his ear, her gently sighing every few moments. He couldn't help but smile as he carried her to her room; it was cute. He could understand why people fell in love with their children.

It might even be happening to me, he thought.



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Story Tags: daddyl lance