Page 79 of Mail Order Splash

“I did not.”

“Kleine, come quick.”

Little Scrapper was thrashing about with his mother going nuts. Doc was in the pool with him trying to settle him down. I didn’t waste even a second before sliding into the pool with them.

“Come here, baby. Do you need a hug, are you frightened?” I wrapped my arms around him, whispering to him until he settled down. “Josh, bring me the shrimp.”

“Don’t give him too much,” Doc warned me.

“I won’t. He’s scared and in pain. Can we give him something for that?”

“I was holding off before but you proved me wrong so far. I’ll get him something to settle his pain down.”

“Not a lot, I need him to be active.” I offered him a small piece of shrimp.

“Did he take the shrimp?”

“No, he drifted again, but I feel encouraged.”

Doc gave him an injection for pain then announced he had to leave for a dinner date, which made me notice the time.

Where did this day go? Will Victoria be upset I missed the appointments?

“I’ll take this shift while he’s upset. You all eat and get some sleep. Dalton, thanks for bringing that food earlier.”

“That food is gone, but I asked Chef to send over more. Do you mind if I use your office to work?”

“We are getting married; what’s mine is yours.” I laid my head on the baby dolphin’s body.

I felt myself falling asleep laying there with Scrapper. I grabbed the extra strap for the sling and tied it around myself so, if I fell asleep, I’d stay on the sling. When I woke hours later, as I anticipated, it was to Scrapper wiggling.

“Hey, boy, you hungry?” I reached for the shrimp. “Come on, take one little bite for me.”

“Oh, look at him. You did it,” Dalton whispered from a cot very close to me. “You’re amazing, Kleine.”

“Hey, sorry if I woke you. What time is it?”

“Around two in the morning. Can I take a shift so you can eat or walk around?”

“If you feel alright with cuddling my baby, I could use a break.”

He slipped into a wetsuit he had next to his bed. Clearly, he’d planned it, which made me smile inside, thinking about how considerate he always was. I showed him how to wrap around Scrapper to snuggle him. As I made my way out of the sling and passed by, I kissed him on the cheek without thinking about what I was doing.

“Hey, grab some food out of the frig. I’m here with him.”

All I could do was smile, then try my best not to run. I hadn’t planned to kiss him. He touched my heart with his sweetness and my feelings took over. I made a plate of food from the multitude in the refrigerator and changed out of the wetsuit. When I walked back to sit on his cot, Netty and Cassy were hovering next to Scrapper. Dalton was smiling ear-to-ear.

“Look at you. I think you might be a girl magnet. I leave for five minutes and the girls are after my man,” I joked then paused.

Oops, I just said he was my man to his face. Well, I can’t take that back. Do I want to take it back? Gonna have to think about that some more later.

“You can feed him.”

“He seems to want to get closer to his mother.” He moved over so Cassy could move in if she chose. “Oh, boy, she doesn’t mind swimming right on top of me.”

“If it means she gets to her baby, she’ll go for it.” I laughed at the face he was making. “Keep in mind, she feels safe with you to do that. Good for you.”

“I have to admit, I feel a bit intimidated over here.”

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