Page 1 of Rekindling Little River (Littles of Rawhide Ranch #14)
River
Seven Months Ago
The club was almost unrecognizable. The usual play areas that once resembled what one might find in a daycare or arcade, were instead reminiscent of a Valentine’s carnival.
Booths manned by club members offered up chances to win stuffed animals and various other prizes by playing undoubtedly rigged games.
Logically River Arrow knew this, but their Little side still squirmed in excitement at the appealing scene before them.
Taking a deep breath, River worked on reining in the more exuberant part of themself.
They had to keep a tight leash on their Little’s instincts.
Give them enough room to play, but not so much that they sunk too far into that headspace.
With no Big to keep them in line, their Little could be a hazard if left unleashed.
Still, River’s joy at the wondrous scene before them was something they’d missed.
It had been quite a while since anything had truly inspired such anticipation.
It was nice to realize that they were still capable of excitement.
Their assessing gaze traveled the length of the main playroom in Little Hearts Club, taking in the hearts in varying shades of pink and red and the paths made by game and ticket booths set up throughout the room.
There seemed to even be a kissing and a dunking booth set up in the back corners of the room.
River didn’t even want to begin to fathom the logistics involved in setting up an indoor dunking booth.
Though they were more than a little tempted to try their luck at the dunking booth when they noticed Beau was sitting in the hot seat.
Beau was a switch and one of River’s best friend’s Daddies.
His relationship with Kenzie, River’s best friend, might have turned out all right but that didn’t mean that River wasn’t just a tad bit eager to dunk Beau for all the pain Kenzie had felt during the year and a half the two of them were split.
It might have turned out that the separation was for the best, because had that not happened, then Kenzie and Beau might not have Sebastian, the missing link in their dynamic, but River loved Kenzie with an intensity that most would likely say was unhealthy.
River didn’t agree with most people though.
They knew that when you found that one person who accepted you for every single part of you, then you cherished that person and never took them for granted.
Kenzie was the first person to ever accept every messed up and contradictory part of River.
There was nothing they wouldn’t do for Kenzie. Nothing.
River reached into the pocket of their sunny yellow overalls and pulled out some cash, impulsively making their way to the ticket booth.
Whistling as they walked, River thought about how much fun it would be to hit their target, sending Beau into a vat of ice-cold water.
Beau wouldn’t even mind too much since it was for an extremely good cause.
Holly Joy needed a surgery that would save her life, but not having insurance meant that she’d either have to pay an exorbitant rate or go without the medical care she needed and likely die.
Little Hearts Club wasn’t about to let one of its members go out like that; so, they’d set up this fundraising carnival and silent auction.
The proceeds were going to pay for the surgery and each attending member knew how close they were to their goal thanks to the ever-changing dollar amount projected onto the back wall.
River took half the cash they had in their pocket and handed it to the person manning the ticket booth.
The other half they would save for the silent auction that would open up shortly.
As the attendant counted the cash, entered it into the tablet on their station, and handed River their tickets, River watched the number on the wall indicating how much more was needed for the surgery go down and felt a jolt of pride, knowing they’d done even that small amount to help.
Whistling a tune as they went, River made their way over to the dunking booth and stood in line for their chance to throw balls at the target.
As the person in line before them threw their final ball, missing the target yet again, River felt a rush of anticipation that was quickly stifled when Sebastian came up and stood before them.
“Switch,” he called, and River knew they hadn’t hidden their disappointment very well when Sebastian winked at them and said, “Don’t worry, little one, it won’t be your last chance to dunk Beau. He’ll be back up there in a bit.”
A moment after Beau disappeared, another man’s head popped up over the top.
River recognized him from the few occasions they’d managed to both make appearances at events that took place at Kenzie’s.
Dan? No, Dave. That was his name. River had nicknamed him “Director” because he was always trying to boss them around.
Well, if they couldn’t dunk Beau, Director Dave was an excellent consolation prize.
Dave
The place was packed full of people, all coming together to help one of their own.
Dave Shepphard had only recently joined Little Hearts Club but already he knew its members were special.
They’d formed a sort of second family within the club and the fact that they’d shown up for one of their own just emphasized that.
Dave was gladder than he could express that he’d taken the suggestion of his friend and joined when his divorce had finalized.
A flash of bright yellow caught Dave’s attention in the milling crowd, and his breath caught in his throat.
River. He’d met River a few times when Sebastian had invited him over for things like cookouts.
River and Dave both worked demanding jobs and it wasn’t often that they were both able to be in attendance.
Each time they were, however, Dave found himself trying to catch River’s attention.
There was something about them that Dave couldn’t seem to resist.
So far, Dave hadn’t caught more than River’s ire, but like a child on a playground he’d take what he could get.
Not in a mean way. He’d never be a bully.
Most of the ways he’d managed to irk River had been by trying to take care of them.
Like the time he’d replaced their vodka and sprite with water to save them from the massive hangover they were headed for.
Then, there was the last time Dave had earned River’s ire.
They’d had a cookout in the park and several of the Littles had been set on going skateboarding until he’d absolutely forbidden it.
In his defense, it had rained heavily the night before and the entire skate park was a nightmare of a slip-n-slide.
No amount of protective gear was going to keep skateboards steady on those wet surfaces.
Had River been in the right mindset, they’d have forbidden it too.
But being in a Littler mindset meant that River had come close to a tantrum and sulked most of the afternoon.
Dave didn’t really mind River sulking, though, as long as those enthralling eyes were aimed his way.
It didn’t matter to him if they were filled with frustration or defiance.
As much as the Little one consumed his thoughts, it was only fair to put himself in theirs as often as possible.
River made their way to the dunking booth he stood behind chatting with his friend and, before he’d thought better of it, Dave blurted, “Let me work the booth for a bit.”
Sebastian looked at Dave in his button up and slacks and raised a brow. “You want to sit in the hot seat of a dunking booth dressed like that?”
“Sure, why not?”
Okay, Dave wasn’t stupid. He was well aware it was a terrible idea, but his need to catch a certain Little’s attention was much stronger than his need to remain dry.
“Do you even have a change of clothes if you happen to get dunked?”
Well, no, he didn’t but that wasn’t going to stop him. “I’m bound to have something in my locker here.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he stared Dave down, but Dave’s determination was stronger than Seb’s stink eye. He stood taller and said, “How about you loan me the clothes you were going to use. Or are you really looking forward to being dunked that much?”
“Why?”
Dave didn’t bother acting like he didn’t understand Sebastian’s question; he just laid it out there. “River.”
With a surprised look on his face, Sebastian bent down and grabbed his duffle bag from the floor. “Hurry and change, we’ll switch as soon as you get back.”
Dave rushed off and changed in record time, returning just as the person in line before River took their turn.
Dave’s heart hammered in his chest as the Little bought enough ball throws to equip a little league team for three seasons.
As it turned out, not even that amount guaranteed the pitcher would come even close to hitting their target.
One pitch went so wide Dave had to duck behind the tank from where he’d been peeking on the opposite side of the target to avoid being conked on the noggin.
When the last ball had been tossed and the target still hadn’t been hit, the pout on the Little’s face made Dave want to hit it for them.
He’d always had a soft spot for a pout, something he’d have to rein in if he wanted to wrangle a Little as wily as River.
If they ever figured out Dave’s kryptonite, it would be his undoing.
“Switch!” Sebastian called and Dave rushed to take Beau’s place above the water.
“Thank goodness!” Beau exclaimed as he scaled down the ladder. “That Little hellion was practically rubbing their palms together in their excitement to knock me into that water.” As he stepped down the last step, Beau continued, “Good luck out there, man. You’ll need it.”