Page 8

CHAPTER 7

Would he want a Little girl if the right one came along? It took a moment for those words to make their way through his brain.

She dropped her gaze, her shoulders slumping. And that pulled him quickly out of his daze. What was he doing?

“Yes,” he told her huskily. “If the right Little girl came along I would love to be her Daddy.” Her surprised gaze rose to his and he gave her a firm look. She smiled up at him.

“Such a brave girl,” he murmured, reaching out to cup her cheek. When she didn’t move away, he sighed in relief. He’d probably pushed her enough and she needed her sleep.

“I’m really sorry you have glitter all over you,” she told him again.

“Stop apologizing. You said sorry already and you didn’t mean to do it.”

“Oh, sorry. Shoot. Sorry. Oh my gosh!” She shook her head. “Sometimes, it feels like I’ve been apologizing all my life. Ever since I was born, I’ve been apologizing for being alive, you know? I think it’s become a habit… to apologize whether I’m in the wrong or not.”

He didn’t like that. Was it her brothers who made her feel that way? “You will never apologize for being alive again,” he told her firmly. “I catch you doing that and there is going to be hell to pay.” Her mouth dropped open in shock and he realized he had no real right to say that to her.

But he wasn’t taking it back. He would happily smack her butt until she realized that she should be celebrating her life, not apologizing for it.

“And if anyone makes you feel like you should be saying sorry for being here, you tell me, and I’ll make them feel sorry for even breathing the same air as you.”

She was silent and he waited for her reaction. No doubt she was regretting letting him walk her back to her room. Shit. Had he ruined things before they’d had a chance to even start? Maybe he should be the one apologizing?

As he opened his mouth, she suddenly threw herself against him. He let out a small grunt as he stepped back against the wall, but he didn’t let her go. He didn’t ever want to let her go.

“Hey now, what’s this for?” he asked. She tried to step back, and he tightened his hold on her without thought. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Thankfully, she just relaxed back into him.

God. She felt perfect in his arms. So much so that he didn’t want to let her go.

“Because you’re my Knight in Pressed Pants. Fighting off all the baddies for me.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head. “Fighting baddies, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Come on, let’s get you to bed. It’s late and Little girls need their sleep, or they have to have a nap during the day.”

“Not a nap,” she grumbled. “Naps suck.”

“They do?”

“Uh-huh,” she said as he led her down the hall to her room. “They’re so boring. So is sleep. Want to watch a movie with me?”

“You just watched a movie.”

“Well, yeah. But I could watch another one.”

“It’s too late for that, little girl.” He called her that so easily now. And she hadn’t protested, so he wasn’t about to stop.

“Do you think Master Derek will be upset at the prank?” she asked.

“I’m guessing Sadie was the instigator?”

Phoebe winced and nodded. “I think so. Do you think she’s in a lot of trouble?”

“I’m sure that she knew there would be consequences when she chose to pull this prank. Derek knows what Sadie needs. You don’t need to worry about her, he’ll always put her first. Besides, from what my friend has told me about this place, pranks are a fairly common occurrence and Sadie is often the one leading the prank brigade.”

He stopped in front of her door, feeling reluctant to leave her. So he took a chance and reached up to brush her hair back off her face.

Phoebe smiled up at him. “Are you sure you don’t want me to wash your clothes for you?”

“I’m sure, little girl. I have it under control.” Although he noticed that he’d left a small trail of glitter behind him. He’d need to tip housekeeping extra tomorrow.

“I probably shouldn’t have tried to remove your shirt outside, huh?” she asked, raising her thumb to her mouth to chew on the nail.

“I’m not complaining.” He drew her hand from her mouth. “No chewing on your nail.”

“I do it when I’m nervous. It’s a habit, I guess.”

He rubbed his finger over her rough nail. “It’s not a good one, little girl. You don’t know what germs might be on here. Not to mention you could chew your nail down too far. I think you might need something else to chew on.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Let me do some research.”

“Why… why do you care, Barren?” she asked, staring up at him with wide eyes.

“Again, that’s probably something to talk about at a later date.”

“Oh. I understand.” She turned away from him and he hated the sadness in her voice. What was he doing?

Why not tell her how you feel?

“Do you know why I came back here?” he asked her.

She turned back, giving him a puzzled look. “Did you want another vacation?”

“I just took one, so no.”

“I don’t know. You missed the Ranch? Being able to be yourself here?”

“I did, but that’s not why I’m here. I got a call from the mechanic in Porter’s Corner.”

“I don’t understand. Why would the mechanic at Porter’s Corner call you?”

“Because he had my phone number from when your pickup was towed there. It must have ended up on the paperwork. He tried calling you, but your phone was always turned off.”

Phoebe winced. “Oops. Is Cherry all right? Is she all fixed?”

“Yes, it’s ready for you to collect. What did I say to you about charging your phone?” he said to her sternly.

“But that was just about having my phone charged before I drove anywhere,” she said hastily.

Drat. That was true. “All right, let me add that you’re to have your phone charged all the time.”

Her lower lip popped out on a pout. “But sometimes I just don’t want to talk to anyone or answer my texts. I’m on vacation.”

“I understand that, sweetheart. But in terms of safety, you still need to have your phone charged. Even if you decide to put some people on silent, there are still some calls and texts you have to take.”

She sighed, nodding sadly.

“Or you need to give your phone to someone you trust so that they can take care of your life admin for you so you can completely switch off.” He could do that.

“I wish,” she said. “That sounds like heaven. But I don’t have anyone in my life I can trust to do that and you’re right. I can’t just switch off or I miss important calls.”

The offer to be that person for her was on the tip of his tongue. But he forced it back. He didn’t want to come on too strong and that sort of trust would take time to build. It wasn’t something she could just hand over to him. Suggesting it now might just freak her out.

“Why didn’t you just call the Ranch, though?” she asked. “You knew where I was. You didn’t come out here just to tell me that, did you?”

“I could have,” he agreed. “But I didn’t.”

“I’m confused.”

“It’s simple, really.” He reached up and brushed a finger over her cheek. “I wanted an excuse to see you again. Because the truth is that I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, and I wanted to know whether that feeling was mutual. That night when we went out to dinner when I walked you back to your room?”

She nodded.

“Well, I nearly kissed you. And then I spent these last few days regretting that I didn’t. So I want to know whether you’re as attracted to me as I am to you.”