Free Be My Baby by Andrea Smith Page A

plainly
pissed me off. I went over and lifted Preston from the high chair
to take her up for her bath.
    I turned with her in my arms as I was
departing the dining room. They were both watching me as I knew
they would be.
    "By the way Dad, do I have a curfew?"
    I left the room hearing my father mumble
something inaudibly followed by Trey's chuckle.
    Preston enjoyed her bath with the bath toys
I kept in a basket in my bathroom for her. She played while I
brushed my teeth and touched up my hair and make-up.
    I proceeded to bathe her and wash her hair -
something that she was not particularly fond of. I toweled her dry
and put baby lotion on her skin. She loved that part of her daily
ritual. I got her diapered and in her pajamas.
    We sat in the rocker in her room and I read
her three storybooks. She seemed to enjoy being read to immensely.
I would point out the pictures to her and identify them: doggie,
kitty cat, and monkey. I was trying to get her to say the words. I
guess it was all about repetition. I decided I would continue to
re-read these same three books to her and see if she would start
trying to mimic the words.
    I was rocking her now. I looked over at the
clock. It was 8:30. She was dozing off. I placed her in her crib
and placed her blanket on her. She rolled to her side and put her
thumb in her mouth and drifted to sleep.
    I turned her baby monitor on which had
listening units in the family room, my dad's room, and Edie's room.
I went and put the mobile one we had into Trey's room.
    I threw my jacket on and went out the back
door of the mansion towards the stables. Danny was waiting for me
when I got there.
    "You're late," he commented opening the door
of his truck for me to climb in.
    "Geez, sorry. I had to get my baby tucked in
for the night."
    Just as promised, Jackass Flats was just a
couple of miles from my dad's estate. The parking lot was pretty
much full when we got there. We could hear the band playing from
the parking lot.
    Danny and I sat at one of the two long bars
inside.
    "What'll you have Tylar?" he asked me.
    "Hmm - I want a 'Grateful Dead," I replied
wondering if the bartenders here were as astute as making them as
the ones employed at Tristan's and Gina's club.
    The bartender didn't bat an eye when Danny
ordered my drink. Danny ordered a bourbon and water for himself. I
looked around. The place had appeal. I liked the old barn siding
that the owners had left in place. It gave it a rustic look. The
dance floor was huge and the acoustics were pretty good.
    We were sipping our first round when a
couple of girls came up to Danny. They were both probably in their
late twenties. They were made up to look like 'club girls' as Gina
had often referred to those ladies that frequented the clubs on a
regular basis 'trolling for meat' as she so eloquently had put
it.
    "Danny," the taller blond girl whined,
immediately running her fingers through his hair and leaning into
him.
    "Why haven't you called me in a couple of
weeks, babe?"
    "Sorry Leanne," he said, "I've been really
busy."
    "Oh, I guess I can see that," she retorted
giving me the once over still clinging to him.
    "No," he explained, "Busy at work. This is
my friend Tylar. She works with me at the stables."
    I was so glad that he hadn't gone into
detail about me being the daughter of the owner.
    "Haven't seen you around before," she
commented continuing to look me up and down. "Are you from around
here?"
    "No," I replied, "I'm from Atlanta most
recently."
    "Uh huh," she replied unimpressed.
    "It's nice to meet you Leanne," I said
offering her my hand.
    "Yeah you too Tylar," she replied shaking my
hand.
    "This is my friend Georgia."
    I turned my attention to Georgia who was
really cuter than Leanne. She seemed a bit more refined even though
she was made up every bit as much as Leanne.
    "Hi Georgia," I said smiling, shaking her
hand.
    "Hi Tylar," she replied, "I hope you like it
here in Baton Rouge. I'm originally from Augusta, Georgia. I knew
that it