by Allysa Hart
“Ice cream,” Katie spoke into his neck, but they all heard what she said and burst into laughter.
“You just had ice cream.” Jeff smirked.
“Not enough!” Katie crossed her arms across her chest and gave him her best pout. “I wanted two scoops!”
“She always wants ice cream. And it’s never enough.” Rose walked to the freezer and pulled out a fruit bar. “How about this, little girl?”
Katie scrunched her nose, but accepted, instinctively knowing it was the best option she had. Rose had begun blending frozen fruit together and calling it “ice cream” in an attempt to give her a healthy alternative, but Katie was not impressed. They were a poor mockery of a Popsicle and nowhere near the creamy, sugary goodness of ice cream.
Jeff lifted her off his lap and sat her in his vacated seat. “Time for meds, my little patient,” he announced, as he crossed the kitchen to get her pills and water.
“Why did the stupid doctor prescribe horse pills to someone who can barely swallow?”
“I don’t know, but take them, please.” He replaced the Popsicle in her hand with the medicine and didn’t move until she obeyed.
“Good girl. Now you can finish this.” He handed her back her Popsicle and pulled a chair up next to her.
Keith sat back and crossed his arms, watching with a smug grin on his face. “Looks like you have a good handle on things.”
“Just doing what a Daddy does,” Jeff responded, smiling at Katie.
“Jeff, I…I know I called you Daddy when I was feeling badly...” She trailed off, and he peered at her, his face crinkled in concern as he listened. Her voice was thick and raspy from the strep throat, but it would have been either way, at this point, she was feeling so emotional. “I meant it, and I was ready. But, if you’re not, that’s okay. You don’t have to flip some magic switch, just because I felt ready.”
His face softened, and he gripped her chin, tilting it up until she met his gaze. His voice was warm yet stern when he spoke, and his eyes looked a bit welled up. “Katie, I’m ready to be a Daddy to you, and to baby Noah, if you’ll both have me. I realized over this weekend that it had begun to come naturally to me. I think you felt it, too, and that’s why you felt safe calling me Daddy then.”
She nodded, her chin quivering as tears clouded her vision. “You’re a really good Daddy to us both,” she cried, burying her face in his chest once more.
Their emotional moment was interrupted by a slow clap coming from the other side of the table, and she startled, having forgotten they had an audience.
She looked up to see Keith and Rose smiling, clapping, and beaming at her. Noah sat nearby in his high chair, banging his keys on the tray.
She blushed, and her heart swelled with happiness.
“Looks like you had an eventful weekend.” Keith looked at her with a proud smile.
“Now, all that’s left to do is make it official!” Rose chimed in, winking at Jeff meaningfully.
Katie’s eyes widened, and she shook her head slowly. They had made enough progress for one weekend.
Jeff chuckled, shaking his head at them all. “When we do, you’ll be the first to know.”
Katie clung to Jeff’s free arm as they entered the large family arcade. She bounced with excitement, making it hard for him to keep a good grip on Noah’s hand. Since he had started walking, life changed drastically.
“Be careful,” he admonished.
She pouted. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t let me ask Keith and Rose to babysit. It’s not like the baby can play any of the games—”
“Oh, I see how it is, now,” Keith’s booming voice interrupted. “We’re just the babysitters. We don’t get to have any of the fun. Oof!”
He had barely finished speaking when Katie turned and squealed, broke free of Jeff’s grasp, and darted for Keith, nearly knocking him over as she ran into his arms.
“Uncle Keith! Auntie Rose! What are you guys doing here?”
“We came to spend time with our favorite little girl and our nephew, of course!” Rose exclaimed while Katie crushed her in an exuberant hug.
“Favorite?” Katie scoffed with an exaggerated pout. “I better be your only!”
Rose laughed and kissed her cheek. “Of course you are, dear.”
Jeff watched with a smile as the scene unfolded just as he had expected it to. While Katie and Noah still officially lived with Keith and Rose, they had been spending a lot of nights in his newly made-over home while they worked on finding their dynamic and functioning as their own family.
Katie had agreed that the arrangement was for the best, and they had moved her and Noah into the spare room, keeping their vow of propriety before marriage intact, but he knew the adjustment had been difficult for her. She missed Keith and Rose deeply.
Their presence was one of many surprises he had planned for today.
Even though it hadn’t seemed possible, their arrival doubled Katie’s excitement level, and she bounced between the three of them, squealing.
“C’mon! C’mon! What are you waiting for? Let’s go play!”
“Calm down, little girl,” Rose admonished. “We just got here. We’re going to have lunch before we play.”
Katie’s crestfallen expression was almost comical. “What? Noooo! Games first then lunch.” The second was announced with a decisive nod, as if she had a choice in the matter.
Jeff had stayed silent throughout the exchange, but he put his foot down. “Lunch first, little girl. No arguments.”
Katie’s glare was pensive, and he knew from experience she was weighing the options and possible consequences of naughtiness.
He prepared to double down his edict with a threat, but Rose stepped in before he could.
“Don’t forget our girl’s day next week,” she warned, catching Jeff’s eye, so he knew what was coming next. He nodded, above Katie’s head. “You don’t want to start it with a spanking, do you? Because that’s exactly what’s going to happen, if you don’t stop right now, and that will be on top of whatever your Daddy chooses to do about it today.”
Katie’s mouth dropped open, and they all watched as the hamster wheel in her brain spun in circles. Her confusion was tangible, and her jaw worked as she tried to decide on a response.
Finally, her tongue came out, pointed straight at Rose. “Nuh-uh!” she argued. “You can’t spank me, till he says so, so there!” Her thumb stuck out from her fist like a hitchhiker’s as she pointed in Jeff’s direction.
Jeff handed Noah to Keith, and moved to stand in front of Katie with one hand on each of her shoulders.
“That’s what we planned to tell you over lunch, little girl, I already have. So, it’s going to behoove you to be on your best behavior today, because if not, you’ll have to answer to all three of us, understand?”
Tears welled in Katie’s eyes as she nodded. “You’re okay with it? You’re ready?” she asked, checking on him.
“I will be after today.” Jeff grinned, groaning inwardly. This was not how he had planned for the day to go, but the time was right.
Katie’s eyes narrowed at his cryptic response. “What’s that mean?”
“It means,” he began, letting go of her shoulders and reaching into his pocket while dropping to one knee. “That there is just one thing I have to do first.”
Behind him, Keith and Rose gasped, and Katie’s hand flew to cover her mouth as the ring box came into view.
He looked up into the vulnerable eyes of his future. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. Do you know that?”
An adorable blush crept across her cheeks, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the box in front of her. With a smile, he popped it open, revealing a beautiful heart-shaped solitaire. “Katelyn Summers, from the moment I saw you, I knew you were special. You captured my attention, and it didn’t take you long to capture my heart. You and Noah have come to mean more to me than anyone, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I want you to be m
y wife.”
It was not much of a question because there was no question in his mind, and her stunned silence did not bother him in the least. Removing the ring from the box, he slipped it onto her finger.
“I have had this ring in my pocket every day for over a month, just waiting for the right time.” He kissed the spot on her finger his ring now occupied, and looked up at her beautiful beaming face. “Are you going to say yes?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that a question?” She giggled.
He smiled at her sass. God, he loved this woman. “You’re right. There was not a question. You don’t have a choice.”
“Promise?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
Cupping her face, he kissed her forehead. “I promise.”
The wedding went off without a hitch. The sun shone bright, but the light, cool breeze from the coast kept the temperature comfortable. Katie could not have wiped the smile off her face if she’d tried. Her simple yet elegant ivory gown reflected the light, making her feel like an angel. She floated down the aisle to her handsome, dark hero. He had swooped in at just the right time and saved her from a life alone. No, not alone. She would never be alone. On one side of her stood Rose, tears streaming down her face. On the other side was Keith. He had a tight hold on her arm. One that conveyed love and security. One that would be difficult to let go of. In front of her, in the arms of her hero, was her little boy. Her piece of Mark she was more than blessed to have. She never would have been alone, but, with Jeff, their family was once again complete.
Letting go of Keith and Rose was going to be one of the most difficult things she had ever done. She was scared but filled with hope. As they untangled their arms, neither one of them let go until her arm was secured in the crook of Jeff’s elbow. For that one moment, the five of them were linked. One family. Forever and always. Just the way they were meant to be.
A Rose in Bloom
“You are not just my wife, you are my world.”
Keith and Rose have been happily married for years, but when they begin their journey to build a family they are thrown into a tailspin of disappointment and they begin to lose each other and themselves.
After months of growing apart, Keith makes the decision to reclaim his wife and whisks her off to an exclusive BDSM resort. Rawhide Ranch had come highly recommended as a place for lifestyle couples to congregate and play out their fantasies. But upon arrival, they realize there is a lot more to the ranch than meets the eye.
Keith and Rose aren’t quite sure what to do about their discovery, but a vacation is a vacation and they decide to embrace the experience and all it has to offer. What they find opens up a whole new world and a journey they could have never foretold.
Adopting Katie
“If you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I will take you over my knee and spank your little bottom until I am convinced you have learned your lesson… How does that promise make you feel? Because make no mistake about it, Baby, it is definitely a promise.”
A successful CEO by day, Katelyn looks forward to the minute she crosses the threshold to shed all of her adulthood stress and worries and become a carefree, mischievous little mess maker. Her husband and Daddy, Mark, is one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, that she has ever met. His dominance turns all of her switches, but she learns quickly that he means what he says and testing Daddy is not in her backside’s best interest.
Mark is not alone in his endeavor to create a safe and loving environment for Katie. His best friends, Keith and Rose, round out their little family. Being intimately familiar with alternative lifestyles, the couple love and spoil Katie in abundance, but never think twice about turning her bottom red if she steps out of line.
Surrounded by her loving Daddy and adoring Auntie and Uncle, Katie learns that the love, safety, and guidance of this family are what help to make her feel complete. Exploring the little girl who lives inside, the one that she has hidden for far too long, she spends her time building elaborate Lego structures and playing in her special tree house that Mark built by hand.
When tragedy strikes, Katie's idyllic life is shattered and it takes all of the love, support, and discipline of her family to pick up the pieces and put them back together. However, will love and spankings be enough? Katie is not convinced. She doesn’t believe anything will ever be okay again.
Meet Allysa Hart and Allycat’s Creations!
I am a full-time mom to a sassy, strong-willed, loveable little girl. Okay, so she is all me. I am on the wrong side of 30, and I have been married to my best friend for over eight years. Like most couples, we have our ups and downs, but I could not imagine doing life with anyone else by my side. We are Southern California transplants, currently residing in a very rural part of the east coast. I have two crazy dogs that I adore, even though they drive me out of my ever-loving mind, most days.
I have recently rediscovered my love of words and decided to become a writer. My first story is my heart and soul, and it reaches into the depths of all that is me. I also create covers, promos, and logos for authors. I have met some amazing friends on this journey that I now happily call family. Without my family members, whether biological or chosen, I would not be half the person I am today. Their constant love and support keep me afloat.
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