Page 24 of Doctoring Dolly

“Cheesy soldiers?”

Sadie stared at her wide-eyed. “You don’t know what cheesy soldiers are? Oh my gosh, we’ve got to fix this right now.”

Dolly headed to the end of the line, only for Sadie to pull her to the front of the line, ignoring the protests of the Littles they passed.

“Sorry, folks, we have a cheesy soldier virgin here,” Sadie said loud enough to draw the attention of the large man who had just appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“Sadie, you know better than to cut the line,” the man said. “Back of the line, little girl, before I call your Daddy and demand you spend the rest of the day washing pots.”

“Yes, Chef Connor,” Sadie said as she turned and headed back to the end of the line of waiting diners. “But can you please save Dolly some cheese soldiers?”

When the chef grunted and disappeared back into the kitchen, Dolly had a feeling they were on their own when it came to getting the special meal Sadie had her heart set on.

They both chose chocolate pudding for dessert and a fresh vegetable platter to go with their soup and sandwich. They then reached the entrees where the server behind the counter gave Sadie a sad, pitying look. “Sorry, Sadie, the soldiers are all gone. Do you want nuggets instead?”

“Hang on, Sadie. Don’t move,” a deep voice called from the kitchen.

Dolly giggled when Sadie froze. She could not tell if the woman was even breathing as she waited for whatever the voice in the kitchen wanted.

A moment later, Chef Connor appeared. He carried two plates, which he handed to the server who grinned as she passed them over to Sadie and Dolly.

“Yay! Thank you, Chef Connor,” Sadie said as she did a little happy dance.

“You’re welcome, little one,” he said gruffly before returning to the kitchen.

After adding a bowl of tomato soup to their trays, they found a table and then fetched drinks to go with their meals. Once they were settled, Dolly looked at her plate.

“So, these are cheesy soldiers?” Dolly asked as she studied her selections. Instead of being cut in quarters or triangles, it had been cut in half and then each half cut in half again the long way.

“Yeppers. I know it’s only a grilled cheese sandwich cut differently, but dip it in the soup and try it. It’s delicious.” Sadie demonstrated.

Dolly followed her example and found that she was right. It was fabulous. And the perfect comfort food. She would have to remember this for when she was back home and in need of a smile. Just the memory of lunch with Sadie would help her feel better.

“So how are you and Quincy getting along?”

Sadie showed great restraint in waiting until they were nearly finished with lunch before asking the questions Dolly knew were eating her up inside.

“We’re getting along fine,” Dolly answered without going into detail.

Maybe she had a little bit of a sadist in her for wanting to torture Sadie by not oversharing. Especially since she was not exactly sure what was developing between her and the man. Though they had only known each other for two days, she could see herself spending time with him after leaving Rawhide Ranch.

If only she knew how he felt.

“So, what’s the sales pitch?” Quincy asked as they arrived back at the resort’s front door after an extensive tour of Rawhide Ranch and Rawhide Ridge, the housing development Derek was building next door for the Ranch’s employees.

“Sales pitch?”

Derek’s tone sounded casual but as a fellow Dominant, Quincy knew better. The man was up to something. He just had to push a little harder to uncover what that something was.

“Yeah. Are you planning to sell the Ranch and retire? Or are you looking for an investor. Because I have to admit, though I have my retirement and a tidy sum in savings, there’s no way I can afford this place… even if I was in the market for a BDSM ranch of my very own.”

Derek chuckled as they climbed from the pickup they had used for the tour. “I’ll never sell this place. My great-great-great grandfather started it and I’m just continuing the work generations of my family did in the past. And I’m not looking for investors, either, though if you’d like to, I’m always willing to accept donations for scholarships or future needs. No, this was just a chance to get out of the office and spend the morning with a friend who I’m hoping to convince to accept a position here.”

Derek headed to a path that led around the main building instead of going straight inside. Quincy walked beside him, keeping silent and waiting patiently.

“I know your future is wide open and you’re trying to find a new path. I’d like to offer you another option to the ones you talked about the other day.”

“Uh-huh.”

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