Once Upon a Daddy: A Romance Anthology

by Kelli Callahan

  “Did you not want another baby?” She tilted her head slightly.

  “Me? I grew up in a big family—the Mackenzie Clan in Scotland? We might as well be our own country. My parents were the odd ones because they only had one, but there was an issue with my mum. I figured I’d have a dozen at least.” I chuckled, but there wasn’t much humor in it. “That just wasn’t an option.”

  “I know it’s too early to talk about this—really, but would you consider it one day?” She looked down and swallowed hard.

  “Perhaps, I’d have to give it some thought. But, like ye said—it’s too early to discuss that right now.” I took her hand and squeezed it.

  I knew there would be complications—being with a younger lass.

  We had breakfast and got started on the house. Madie canceled her doctor’s appointment, but still decided to leave right after lunch to get some things from her apartment. It would probably be a slow transition for her to move in, but I didn’t have any qualms about it. We were going to be working together every day—there was no reason for her to drive back to her apartment every night. If things continued to work out the way that it seemed they could, she might even be able to save some money once her lease was up—that might get back in school one day.

  Madie had been gone for about an hour when I heard a car in the driveway. It was too soon for her to be back, so I walked over to the window to see who it was. I never got visitors unless someone was delivering food. I saw a red sedan, and a woman about my age in business attire stepped out of the driver’s side. I quickly washed my hands and wiped the sweat off my brow so I could answer the door when the doorbell rang.

  “Hello, can I help ye?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.

  “Hi, are you Mr…” She lifted her phone and stared at it for a moment. “Mr. Declan Mackenzie.”

  “Aye, I am.” I nodded. “What can I do for ye?”

  “My name is Annie Reynolds.” She extended her hand. “I work for Dawson Bankers—the real estate company.”

  “Oh, aye.” I nodded quickly and shook her hand. “I’m not in the market to buy a house, so yer just going to be wasting your breath if yer trying to sell one.”

  “No…” She looked a bit confused for a moment. “I’m here about your house—this one.”

  “What do ye mean?” I raised my eyebrows again.

  “You had this house on the market a while back, and I know you didn’t get any offers, but I have a client who is looking for something like this—a fixer-upper that has a lot of upsides. Your house came up in the computer…” She looked past me. “I see you’re already renovating.”

  “Aye.” I nodded. “Like ye said—no offers.”

  “Well, you might be able to stop those renovations right now.” A smile spread across her face. “My client is willing to pay what you listed it for—provided that he likes it.”

  “Hmm.” I narrowed my eyes. “I’ve invested money in the place now. I don’t think I could let it go for that price anymore.”

  “What do you want for it? I’ll be glad to take something back to my client. He’s—probably not going to counter, even if you ask a little more than the place is worth.” She gave me a quick wink. “He’s quite wealthy.”

  “Then why does he want a fixer-upper?” I blinked in surprise.

  “He likes to stay busy.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what drives rich people to do what they do—I just help them get what they want.”

  “I might need some time to think about it. Do ye have a card or something?” I motioned to her.

  “Yes sir, absolutely.” She pushed her hand into her purse and presented me with her card. “I can give you a couple of days, but my client is impatient—if this place isn’t for sale, I’ll have to look elsewhere.”

  “Understood.” I nodded and held up the card. “I’ll be in touch.”

  I walked into the living room and sat down with the card in my hand. I had been planning to fix the house up before I even considered listing it again. The first time I listed it was right after my great aunt passed. At that point, I was still married and wanted to unload it quick. Circumstances changed after the divorce, and there was no urgency, plus it gave me something to do instead of stare at a cubicle wall where assholes mocked my accent. It was only a matter of time before one of my co-workers did it on a bad day and got their teeth punched down their throat, especially with the lingering turmoil of emotions that came after my marriage ended.

  But now, circumstances have changed again—because if I sell the house, then I won’t have an excuse to spend time with Madie…

  Madie needed the money in order to keep herself afloat. I could fix that by giving her a loan if I sold the house—or cutting her a severance check big enough for her to go back to school. Then what? The clock would start ticking. I would be able to make it for a while with the money from the sale and my inheritance, but I wouldn’t be able to retire on it if I didn’t find another job. The money would go fast in Los Angeles, which is part of why I wanted to go home to Scotland after Anna was officially on her own. The only thing I’d have to pay more for was a pack of smokes, but I needed to quit anyway—even if I was down to a couple per day at most. I hoped Anna would meet a nice guy—get married one day—but either way, she would have a good education and be able to land a decent job.

  I guess I need to think this over. I wouldn’t consider selling the place for what I listed it for last time after the work I’ve put in, but if I can name my price—that might be a deal that is too good to turn down.

  I put the card in the kitchen drawer and returned to what I was working on prior to the interruption. The reality was—the main hesitation I had with selling the house was Madie. We were in the infancy of our relationship and it was developing into something that could transform both us into something better while we were together. I was finding my dominance—the flickering flame that was there in my youth before my ex-wife smothered it out. Madie was learning to embrace submission because with me, she could let go of everything. She didn’t have to constantly worry or fear judgment. She could chase the fantasy while embracing the side of me she called Daddy. It was a balance and we’re both walking separate tightropes. Selling the house could very well cut both of them off beneath our feet.

  I’m just not sure I’m ready for that…

  Two hours later

  “I’m back.” Madie pushed the front door open.

  “About damn time.” I walked into the living room. “I thought ye was going to get some stuff—ye been gone all afternoon.”

  “I stopped by the store.” She held up a bag. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to go shopping—I got distracted.”

  “Aye, I would reckon so.” I nodded. “What did ye buy?”

  “It’s a surprise.” She pulled the bag close to her chest. “I’ll show you later.”

  “Hmm, okay.” I motioned to her. “Come on, I need yer help.”

  “What are we working on?” Madie put her bags down in the living room and followed me down the hallway.

  “We can’t start on the next room until we move some boxes. Most of the stuff will be trash, but I still need to go through it.” I walked into the room in question and sighed. “Most of this stuff is from my house…”

  “Oh!” She blinked in surprise. “You kept a lot…”

  “I kept what my ex-wife didn’t want.” I shrugged. “If I ain’t touched it since my divorce, it’s probably ready to be donated or thrown out.”

  Madie and I started going through the remnants of my past life. It was kind of therapeutic to hurl some of the memories into a pile that I planned to burn once we were done. Some of the stuff was salvageable enough to be donated since it wasn’t personal or important. The pile of things I wanted to keep was extremely small. I had already retrieved most of the things I wanted, like pictures of Anna, and some family heirlooms. My ex-wife’s rampage when we split included getting rid of everything with the Mackenzie name, desp
ite the fact that it was still her daughter’s name. She would have probably tried to change that too if she thought she could have gotten away with it. Anna would have lost her mind and my reaction would have been worse. I was fine with her erasing my name and heritage from her life, but she couldn’t do that to our child.

  “Hey, what’s this?” Madie opened one of the last few boxes and pulled out a length of tartan cloth.

  “Ah, you found the box with my kilt.” I chuckled under my breath. “I definitely will be keeping that.”

  “This doesn’t look like a kilt…” She held up the fabric. “I remember Anna had a blanket that looked like this.”

  “Aye, those are the colors of Clan Mackenzie.” I walked over and took the tartan cloth. “This is just extra fabric I brought in case I needed it. My kilt should be at the bottom.”

  “Wow!” Madie reached into the box and lifted my kilt. “Why don’t you wear this anymore?’

  “Believe it or not, kilts are not common in Scotland. It’s more of a ceremonial thing these days.” I stared at the kilt and sighed. “I always thought I’d wear it on my wedding day—that’s tradition, ye know.”

  “I remember that picture of you in your tuxedo that was on the wall by the door.” Madie nodded. “I can’t believe she didn’t even let you honor your heritage when you got married.”

  “My mum definitely wasn’t happy—but, what can ye do? I was trying to fit in. That was the plan from the beginning.” I shrugged and moved the kilt over to the table that was full of stuff we would be keeping.

  “Is it true that Scottish men don’t wear anything underneath them?” Madie’s eyes lit up and she grinned.

  “Some don’t.” I chuckled under my breath. “Honestly, that’s more myth due to the time period than anything. Kilts were around long before people started wrapping their cock in fabric when they wanted to wear a pair of fancy trousers.”

  “You’ll wear it for me—right?” Madie walked up behind me and put her hands on my hips.

  “Aye, if ye want.” I leaned back against her and nodded. “Ye can find out for yerself if I’m wearing anything under it.”

  “I’ll definitely do a little exploring.” She pressed her lips to my neck, and then flicked her tongue against my skin. “I’ll kiss every inch of skin I find exposed underneath it.”

  “Maybe the kilt needs to be moved to my closet.” I exhaled sharply. “I might want to wear it tomorrow.”

  We finished clearing the room out and had a fresh canvas to start working on the next day. I made arrangements for my local thrift store to stop by and pick up the stuff I wanted to donate. The rest of it—minus the kilt—was piled into one of the rooms that I hadn’t touched yet. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I got to the last room and had to actually do something with all the stuff I decided to keep. A storage locker was probably my best option. I wanted to keep a lot of things my great aunt owned as well. She didn’t bring a lot of stuff with her when she immigrated to America, but she had a lot sent over once she was settled into her house. Even if I didn’t keep it myself, it needed to be returned to my family in Scotland.

  “What does this mean?” Madie walked up to a large painting on the wall that had a circular golden strap, a Gaelic slogan, and a mountain that was burning in the middle.

  “This is the crest of Clan Mackenzie.” I walked up and took her hand. “If you translate the words, the motto is I Shine, Not Burn and the slogan along the bottom basically means The High Knoll.”

  “Wow, that’s really cool.” She tilted her head slightly. “I don’t know anything about my family or heritage—I’m sure I come from a long line of people that only care about their religious beliefs.”

  “I’m sure there are a few rebels like ye in the family tree.” I chuckled under my breath.

  “Maybe…” She shrugged.

  I took a quick shower and started making dinner. Madie decided to help. I wasn’t making anything fancy, but it was a start. I was able to teach her how to boil water—without a microwave, which sounded crazy to me, but that was how she had always made her Raman Noodles. I was still laughing about that when we sat down to eat dinner. I told her a few more Clan Mackenzie stories—the interesting ones at least—while we ate. After dinner was done, we cleaned everything up and I pulled her close for a kiss before we decided where we were going to spend the rest of our evening—I certainly knew where I wanted to go.

  “So, I got something today…” She looked at me and grinned after our lips finally separated.

  “Aye, ye wouldn’t tell me what it was.” I nodded.

  “I’d rather show you. Will you wait for me in the den?” She tilted her head slightly.

  “Sure.” I pressed my lips to her forehead and grabbed a beer from the fridge after she walked away.

  I wonder what she bought—it must be pretty interesting if she wanted it to be a surprise.

  I went to the den and sat down on the couch. I heard Madie’s footsteps on the stairs, so I opened my beer and drank it while I waited for her to return. The bag she had wasn’t that big. I assumed she got something sexy to wear—possibly some lingerie or something. She didn’t need it—she was beautiful in anything and no matter what she wore, I would be eager to take it off. She was gone for nearly ten minutes before I heard her footsteps on the stairs again. She walked to the door of the den—and she was wearing one of my bathrobes, which was comically big on her much smaller frame.

  “Not what I expected…” I tilted my head slightly. “What’s underneath it?”

  “The surprise, of course.” She grinned.

  Madie walked in front of me and untied the bathrobe, but she kept it closed. She slid it down her shoulder first—and I saw that she was wearing what appeared to be a white blouse. If she planned to do me a striptease for me, I had no problem being the only member of the audience. She slid the bathrobe down a little more and I saw that it was definitely a white blouse—one that was tied around the waist and exposed her midsection. I was intrigued, but unsure what look she was going for. The confusion faded a few seconds later when she let the bottom of the bathroom fall open and I saw a plaid skirt that barely made it to the top of her thigh.

  “Ye must have went to the costume shop.” I tilted my head slightly. “Sexy schoolgirl?”

  “Yes.” She grinned and let the bathrobe hit the floor. “Although I was going for—naughty schoolgirl.”

  “Ye don’t need a costume to be a naughty lass.” I chuckled under my breath. “Ye do a fine job of that in everything ye wear.”

  “I know, but this is the start of a discussion.” She looked down at the floor for a moment. “I like it when you’re my Daddy—I really do—but I don’t want that to be the primary focus in our relationship.”

  “Are ye sure?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “That seemed to be—a big part of it.”

  “It will be, but I also want the relationship to be about us sometimes.” She walked closer. “How would you feel about me—dressing the part when I want to call you Daddy?”

  “If it works for ye.” I nodded. “I could see it working well—unless this is just a naughty ploy to get me to give ye a beer when ye want it.”

  “I didn’t say that…” She grinned and bit down on her lip. “I just want to explore both sides of our relationship.”

  “Aye, I’m okay with that.” I leaned forward and put my hands on her hips. “I’m guessing that yer feeling a little naughty right now?”

  “Maybe…” She reached behind her back. “I got one more thing to go with this costume.”

  “Oh? What’s that?” I tilted my head inquisitively.

  “A—little something that all naughty girls probably fear…” She removed something from the back of her skirt and when her hand came back into view, I saw that she was holding a thick wooden ruler.

  “I should probably hang onto that—for safekeeping.” I extended my hand and smiled.

  “Yes sir…” She handed it over. “I know I’ve
been rather naughty.”

  “Aye.” I nodded and patted my knee. “Ye know where ye belong.”

  Madie tried not to smile as she took her position over my knee. Dressing the part would definitely remove some of the complications. I liked that idea. As much as I enjoyed the dominance, there were times when I just wanted to enjoy being with the woman I was falling for. We got that a lot during the day and there were plenty of tender moments when I felt more like the guy she liked instead of her Daddy. Separation would help and let both sides of the relationship flourish.

  “This is going to sting a lot more than my hand.” I tested the ruler on my palm.

  “Yeah—I know…” She wiggled her ass at me.

  I guess that’s what she wants.

  The ruler felt more like a paddle than an implement of measurement and it had some weight to it. I slid my fingers along the edge of her skirt and then pulled it up to reveal a pair of panties—if they could even be called that. They were little more than a thong. The sight of them clinging to her ass made my cock throb, but I tried to push that out of my head for the moment. She needed to be punished before I could pull her into my arms and take her to bed. Her panties wouldn’t offer much protection, but I slid them down anyway. It was more symbolic than anything else—if she wanted the ruler to sting, it would definitely do the job.

  “What did ye do to end up in this position, lass.” I rubbed the ruler against her skin. “Misbehaving in school?”

  “Yes sir.” She nodded. “I didn’t pay attention in class and I got a bad grade.”

  “That’s certainly unacceptable.” I gave her ass a couple of pats with the ruler. “Yer definitely going to learn that tonight.”

  “I know, Daddy…” She sighed and settled back into position. “I won’t screw up again—not after you do what has to be done.”

  “Aye, I suspect ye won’t.” I lifted the ruler and brought it down sharply across the middle of her ass.

  SMACK!

  “Ow!” Madie bounced on my knee and kicked her feet.

  Yep, this ruler is going to hurt a lot more than my hand—but she understood that before she brought it downstairs.