Page 21

Kyler

Six months later

“Sprite, are we ready for this?” I stared out the glass on the office door as car after car pulled into the parking lot.

Most were familiar faces from last year’s opening ceremonies of littles week but this year we had pets added to the mix.

This was our largest crowd to date, and I just hoped we were prepared for it.

Roen jumped up and down and clapped “ Yes, Daddy! Puppies and monkeys and kitties. I can’t wait!” I nearly added, oh my , but figured he’d miss the joke.

I’d watched enough online videos and even attended as a guest of Mark’s at Cordes in Las Vegas and saw it first-hand during our last trip to visit Roen’s family.

Blue Underground was in Phoenix, but we hadn’t been down to the valley yet.

His parents were in the midst of building a cabin on our property and my family preferred to visit us and get out of the heat.

His father, Kory, had plans to retire at the end of the year, sell their Vegas home and move up here full time.

Sprite was beyond excited for that as was I.

The overall plan was to expand our business not only here but in the other states Richard, Alex, and Vivienne had proposed.

Numbers had been crunched and land negotiations started.

In the interim, focusing on expanding our current site was crucial given the number of requests I’d had to turn away due to consistently selling out.

I hated telling anyone no, but space constraints left me no choice.

We just moved into our new home right in the nick of time considering we needed another room to rent which was our old apartment.

To free up another cabin, we rented our spare room in the new house to Daddy Timothy and his little, Jamie, at a discounted rate.

They offered to pay full price but that didn’t feel fair, and my boy was far too excited about having his friend stay with us.

“Come on, Sprite, let’s help Daddy Timothy and Jamie with their bags and show them their room.”

“I’m so excited for my first sleep over.”

I hadn’t thought of it from his point of view. I knew he and Jamie were thrilled to play in Sprite’s playroom, but I hadn’t seen it as a sleepover. Huh, I learned something new today.

The ball pit was cleaned and ready to go.

We found a couple of local certified ACCT, Association for Challenge Course Technology, zipline instructors to oversee that this week.

The rock-climbing wall and expanded jungle gym were completed too.

Mark, Kory, and Roen worked tirelessly to get everything up to par in time for the summer events.

Not that we hadn’t had guests during the cold months, because we had plenty, but this summer was booked solid again.

I felt bad that Kory gave up his weekends to help out, but he insisted upon it. Kat too has been a tremendous help with cooking and cleaning rooms, and I looked forward to the day we hired them full-time. Whether it be with Ramsey Construction or for R & R, they were great assets to the team.

Not to mention how happy it made my Sprite to have them here.

Our mothers were in constant contact with one another.

I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad but at the very least they’d both found another friend.

Not having to split the holidays up to see both families was a win-win for Sprite and me.

Both were always up for getting together up here.

Bet it wouldn’t be long before my parents were picking out their section of land to build a house on.

“Roen!” Jamie hollered as he and my boy ran straight for each other. I foresaw bruised foreheads and bandages in the near future. “You got a puppy!” The boys hugged then Jamie dropped down to snuggle Sasha. She was getting so big at only eight months old.

“Timothy, glad you could make it.” We greeted each other then I took one of their bags from him. “Follow us and we’ll show you to your room.” As we walked past the line forming outside the office, I decided it was best to have Roen show them our place.

“A golden retriever is a perfect family dog. Hello, Sasha,” he ruffled her fur, “it’s so nice to meet you.” She barked and the gathering crowd giggled. I’d forgotten Timothy was a vet. which made having them stay with us even more ideal.

With them sent off to settle in, I began checking the others in and sending them off to their assigned rooms. Jacob and Orion hadn’t yet arrived, though I knew they’d be here soon enough. Kitchen staff were onsite preparing tonight’s welcome dinner, my to do list was cleared and we were ready to...

“Mr. Kyler!, Mr. Kyler!” Darcy came running into the office. “Come see!” I darted out of the office and ran after her.

“Who’s hurt? What’s wrong?” Little’s were on the playground running and giggling. I didn’t see any blood or anyone crying.

“Nobody. Look, that’s my best friend Vale. He’s a monkey.” She pointed to a boy swinging above the rock wall from the hand holds. “Good lord, Darcy, you scared the daylights out of me. I thought someone was hurt.”

“Princess, what did Mommy tell you about that?” Vivienne questioned her girl as she walked up to us. “I’m so sorry Kyler. She’s prattled on about how excited she was for you to meet Vale all the way here. I just didn’t think she’d handle it like a true emergency.”

Vale dismounted and landed perfectly in the sand. “Hello Mr. Kyler, I’m Vale. Darcy told me so much about you and Roen. This place is awesome!”

“Yes it is, little monkey. Kyler, I’m Jack and this is my boy, Vale.” I’d missed them at check-in since Vivienne did it for all of them. They wanted to share a place, so I put them in our old apartment.

“It’s nice to put the pet with the daddy, Jack. Now that my heartrate is back to normal, I’m going in search of my own boy. It was very nice meeting you both. Great form on the land, Vale. I’ll see you all at supper.”

I needed a hug like there was no tomorrow and right now only one body could help ease the adrenaline rush my heart just endured.

“There you are.” Before Roen could reply I yanked him into a tight embrace.

“Are you okay, Daddy?”

“Just had a bit of a fright. Nothing your hugs can’t cure.” I nuzzled his hair, drawing in the familiar, calming scent. Such a perfect boy. Didn’t ask to be let go so he could play with his friends. He just stood there and hugged me back as long as I needed him to. “Okay.”

“All better, Daddy?”

“Yes, my love. Let’s go introduce you to everyone.”

It was hard to tell the pets from the littles with no costumes on. Every boy and girl mingled and played. All the new additions were filled with giggles from the jungle gym to the ball pit.

“This is a fantastic set up you’ve got here, Kyler.” I turned to the familiar man I’d met when I checked him in, though I’d forgotten his name. “Jonovan,” he smiled.

“Yes, yes, I’m so sorry. You have two boys, correct?”

“Yes, a puppy and a kitten. They’re over there,” he pointed to the corner of the sandbox.

“Making sandcastles. They’re in heaven and we have you to thank for that.

Riya, my kitten is very shy and timid, but the others have pulled him out of his shell, though I need to watch Stefan, he’s a bit protective. ”

I’m sure there was a story there, but it wasn’t my place to ask. “Roen is beyond thrilled to watch the pets play. We’ve got quite the set up for them we’ll put together after supper in the mess hall. Don’t want to ruin their pretty costumes sticking them outside in the dirt.”

“I for one, appreciate that. Pet gear is not easy on the wallet. The ball pit was a genius idea.”

“Thank you. My boy came up with that and helped build it. He’s a tradesman. Electrician by license with a side of woodworking.” Jonovan laughed. “He’s a beautiful soul, inside and out. Are you local?”

“Yes, we live down in the valley and frequent the Blue Underground. Have you been there?”

“No, but my best friend and business partner Mark likely has.” As if saying his name summoned him, his familiar truck came up the drive. “Speak of the devil.” But he wasn’t alone.

“Jonovan,” Mark greeted him as he joined the crowd. “Great to see you here. Where are the boys?”

“Believe it or not, over there making friends,” Jonovan pointed to the sandbox. “And who is this sweet boy?”

Mark grinned wide, “This is Peyton.”

“Peyton, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Kyler and that ball of zoomies that just ran by giggling is my boy, Roen.”

“Nice to meet you,” he whispered. Mark landed himself a shy boy. “Daddy, do you think Roen would play with me?”

I caught Roen’s eye and waved him over. “Roen, this is Daddy’s Mark’s boy, Peyton. Why don’t you introduce him to the others.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Sweet Roen took Peyton’s hand and led him over to the playground.

“He’ll be just fine, Mark.”

“I know, but it’s so new and the protective daddy is alive and in charge.”

Jonovan and I both laughed. “The protective daddy never goes away, Mark, you know that.” Hell, he’s the one who shared those very words with me.

“Yeah, but this boy I plan to keep even if it means wrapping him in bubble wrap and tucking him somewhere safe.”

I’d be grilling my best friend tonight for sure.

Fair is fair, after all. This was the first I’d heard about Peyton or a boy of any sort that he was interested in and already I could tell Mark had it bad for him.

Dare I welcome Peyton to the family already?

Nah, I got one better. I’ll just call Mark’s mom in the morning.

Taking all this in, old faces and new. Smiles and laughter surrounded the campground. I had to agree with the others, we truly built something wonderful that brought families from all walks of life together. And I for one, couldn’t be prouder.

Did you know most of the littles and pets mentioned in this book have stories of their own?