Page 4

CHAPTER 3

Did he like to spank?

Had she really asked him that? And what the hell had he done? Gotten all flustered and turned away from her? At forty-eight, he’d thought he was too old to get flustered and embarrassed. Turned out, he wasn’t.

Clearing his throat, he turned to find her sitting sideways in the driver’s side of her pickup with her legs out the door. She seemed to be muttering to herself while holding a stuffed horse in her arms.

He strode toward her, coming to an abrupt stop as she glanced up at him. There was such naked vulnerability in her face that it caught him by surprise. Barren cleared his throat as he crouched in front of her. “Phoebe, are you all right?”

Of course she’s not all right. Look at her. She looks like she’s close to tears.

“What’s your name?” she asked, surprising him.

Jesus. Where was his brain? “I’m so sorry. It’s Barren.”

“Barren?” She blinked, looking surprised. “That’s not what I expected you to say.”

“It isn’t?”

“Nope. That’s a really cool name.”

“Is it? Am I not cool enough to pull it off?” he asked, feeling amused.

“Oh no,” she said hastily. “I’m sure you’re very, uh, cool.”

He snorted. “No lying, little girl.” Fuck. What was he doing? “I’m sorry,” he said hastily.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she replied.

“Yes, I do. I shouldn’t have said that. Whether you’re a Little or not, it’s inappropriate.” He was really off his game at the moment.

“All right,” she whispered, looking more uncomfortable by the moment.

Fuck. What could he say to make this better? “Who is this?” He gestured at the horse in her hands.

To his surprise, she gasped and hid the horse behind her back. Then she shied back from him. As though… as though she was afraid of him?

Shit.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to have him out.”

“Hey, you don’t have to hide him,” he told her gently.

She eyed him suspiciously.

“I wasn’t going to take him from you.”

Hmm, she didn’t flinch or change expression so that didn’t seem to be her worry.

“Or make fun of you,” he added.

This time, she winced. That was it. Had someone made fun of her for needing a soft toy? There could be assholes out there. People who didn’t understand the Daddy/Little dynamic.

And Phoebe was so open and unguarded with her Little and her feelings. He could see how she could be easily hurt or ridiculed. Anger flooded him at the thought of someone putting this girl down or making her feel less.

“Please bring him out again.” He kept his tone soft but injected a firm note in his tone so she knew he meant business. “I would like to meet him.”

“Really?” she asked. “He… he doesn’t really like meeting new people. Not everyone understands him.” Her voice was growing younger, and she raised her hand to her mouth, chewing on her thumbnail.

Barren knew it wasn’t his place, that he was overstepping. But her distress wasn’t something he could ignore. The Daddy part of him was yelling at him to fix this. To help her. So he grasped hold of her hand before he could talk himself out of it, pulling it from her mouth. “Don’t chew your nails.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. But before she could say anything, he spoke again. “I would like to meet him.” There was no mistaking the stern note in his voice.

Slowly, she reached back and drew out the tan-colored horse. It had a large white patch on its back, and it looked soft and well-loved.

“Well, hello, and what is your name?” he asked the horse, not looking at Phoebe.

“This is Snickerdoodle,” she told him. “He’s a bit shy.”

“That’s all right, Snickerdoodle. Nothing wrong with being shy. Can I pet him?”

This time, he glanced up at Phoebe. Her lips were parted, and she was staring at him with a look of wonder on her face. It was pretty obvious she wasn’t used to such acceptance. Had she ever had a Daddy? Was that why she was on her way to Rawhide? Was she looking for a Daddy?

He had to stifle a wave of irrational anger over that thought. After all, hadn’t he gone to Rawhide hoping he might find a Little? He should be happy that she was going somewhere where she’d be safe and accepted.

Then she slowly nodded.

“Thank you,” he told her solemnly as he reached out and lightly patted Snickerdoodle. “It’s good to meet you, Snickerdoodle. You’re a very handsome boy.”

“He likes being called handsome,” she told him.

“Just the truth.”

She tried to put the horse behind her again, but he reached out and placed his hand on the toy, stopping her.

“Does holding Snickerdoodle make you feel better?”

“Yes,” she replied. “He’s my best friend.”

“Then don’t put him away,” he told her.

“Someone else might come.”

He glanced around and then back at her. “Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon. And if someone comes, you can put him away then if you’d like. But I want you to feel settled and it’s obvious he helps. Not that you need to feel upset for asking me if I liked spanking.”

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Her shoulders were slumped, her gaze on her lap.

And he hated that she looked so dejected. Working on instinct, he reached out and cupped her chin, tilting her head up so she had to look at him. “You did nothing wrong, and I won’t have you feeling ashamed. Understand me?”

“Not really,” she replied. “You’re kind of confusing.”

He couldn’t blame her for feeling that way. He was confusing himself. “I wasn’t offended. I promise. So you don’t need to be embarrassed or upset. Now, I talked to roadside assistance and they’re going to be twenty minutes.”

“Oh.” She chewed her lip and glanced around. This road was quiet, and he could see she was nervous. “Thank you. I suppose I better let you get on your way.”

That wasn’t happening. “You really think I’m going to leave you here alone?” He stood. “Sorry, can’t crouch down forever. I no longer have twenty-year-old knees.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” She stood quickly. “Are you all right? Do you want to sit down?”

Barren waved her off. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you can stay? Weren’t you headed somewhere? I don’t want to make you late.”

He didn’t want to tell her that he’d likely already missed his plane. “I have nowhere to be.” It wasn’t entirely untrue. “I just need to make a couple of calls.”

With a sigh, Phoebe watched him walk away. She should insist that he leave. It was unlikely that a man like him didn’t have somewhere he was supposed to be. She was being selfish because she didn’t want to be out here on her own.

It was just too quiet out here. So she kept quiet and held on to Snickerdoodle as she stared at Barren. He paced back and forth as he spoke into his phone. Did he have a girlfriend? A wife? Surely a man that gorgeous was taken? But he didn’t act like he had a wife. And she got the feeling he’d be a very possessive husband. She sighed dreamily at the thought.

Maybe he was already taken, but a girl could dream. And she’d never had anyone talk to her or treat her like he did. With acceptance and caring. Her dad had loved her, but he hadn’t always understood her. Same with Uncle Tim. It was a bit sad that she’d felt more acceptance with a stranger than she ever had with the majority of her family.

As a truck pulled up, she set Snickerdoodle into the backseat and got out with a sigh. Time to adult again. Which really sucked.