Page 30 of Reaching Little Robyn

“Since when do you have a rooster stuffie?”

“Since last night I suppose. Believe me, it’s as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. I think that after I saw Nurse MacIntosh and Master Derek, I was just too tired to keep my eyes open. He must have carried me into the Ranch store and bought me a stuffie. Guess he thought I might need something to either scream into or to squeeze the life out of if I woke up in pain.”

“Robyn, I sort of feel like I’m in that old showThe Twilight Zone.You’re not making any sense. When I left, you were eating your lunch and Rooster was just about to check in.”

“So you knew he was checking in and didn’t tell me?”

“Already established and Daddy is giving me the side-eye. I guess I woke him up, which being as it’s 4:30 in the morning, I’mpretty sure he’s not happy about it. I gotta go, but I’m coming over later. Okay?”

Robyn had already checked her phone and had cringed at the numbers displaying the time. “Tell your Daddy I’m sorry, but do not think that gives you a free pass.”

“Noted, bye!”

When the phone call ended, Robyn reached for the stuffie which was sitting up, his head tilted to one side as if waiting to see what she was going to do. “I ought to toss you right out of this bed,” she said. “You’re lucky you’re awfully cute. I guess I’ll keep you. Now, what does one name a rooster?” She giggled and ran her hand over his plush feathers. “The only name that comes to mind is Cocky and I definitely can’t name you that.”

“Why not?”

Robyn screamed and threw the stuffie at the shadow standing in her door before attempting to scramble off the opposite side of her bed where escape could be found if she made it through the round window.

“Hey, hey, it’s just me,” Winston said, catching the stuffed animal as he took the few steps necessary to reach her bed before stopping her battle with the covers by dropping down to sit on the side of her bed.

“Don’t you ever do that again!” she demanded, one hand slapping at his arm while her other was pressed to her heart. “You scared the tar out of me!”

“I didn’t mean to. I heard voices and thought you might be having a bad dream.”

“You heard me? All the way down the hall or were you skulking outside my door?”

He chuckled. “I assure you, I was dead to the world in bed. Granted, I did leave my door open to make it easier to hear the bell if it rang.” He gestured to the bell that was supposed to be downstairs on the desk.

She supposed she could grill him but at the moment she had something more urgent to attend to. Wiggling out from beneath the covers, she started to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. It had to be a subconscious acknowledgement of the undercurrent in the room that kept her feet from hitting the floor. When she looked over it was to see him nod.

“Good girl. I’m guessing I might have scared more than tar out of you?”

He might have been correct, but did that give him permission to not even bother to wait for her to answer? Then again, she wasn’t sure it was such a bad thing. Asking a man to carry one to the toilet had to be at the very bottom of any list of how to attract a man. He simply scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. She managed not to smirk when he missed smacking his head on the sloped ceiling with a last second dip of his head. She groaned at the image that popped into her head of how her chickens bobbed their heads.

“Did I jostle you?”

Did this man always think of others before himself? She felt a rush of shame that had nothing to do with her bodily needs. He could have really hurt himself if he hadn’t ducked in time.

“Sorry, it’s a little small in here.” She reached over his shoulder to flick on the light before he tripped and they wound up in the shower.

He smiled and gave the room a quick glance to take it all in, which took all of about two seconds. “Not small, just a bit cozy,” he said. “Can you manage to, um, take care of business on your own or do you need help?”

“I’m going to draw the line at the bathroom door, cowboy. If I need help, I’ll shout.”

“Make it a quiet shout. I’m pretty sure your guests would appreciate a few more hours of sleep.” He set her down by thetoilet and she made sure to show him she could stand on her good leg without toppling over.

“Fine, just go!” She planted her palm on his chest and gave a little shove to hurry him on his way.

“I’ll be right outside.”

The moment the door closed behind him, she pulled her panties down and almost fell onto the toilet. There were certain things in the world that gave one a feeling of relief that was actually palpable. Relieving one’s very full bladder was one of those things. She prayed he wasn’t actually standingrightoutside as she was pretty sure she was peeing loud enough and long enough for him to consider calling Nurse MacIntosh. The thought had her burying her face in her hands to stifle her giggle.

Girls dreamed of growing up and sharing their time with boys until findingthe one. Of course, she guessed she wasn’t like other girls. Nope, she wasn’t putting on makeup and a pretty dress to go out to dinner where she could entertain her partner with scintillating conversation before they went dancing where she’d be incredibly graceful and not step on his toes. Instead, she’d twisted her ankle, had to be carried around like a baby, had threatened to haunt him after her death when they were in the infirmary, and was now peeing like a racehorse while he tried to stay awake long enough to carry her sorry self back to bed… her lonely, empty bed.

When she was finally done, she managed to put herself back together and stand at the sink washing her hands. The room wasn’t just cozy. It only took her three small hops to reach the door. She hadn’t even turned the knob before it opened.

“Seriously, you’ve got to stop popping up like a demented jack-in-the-box!”

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