Page 19 of Big Daddy Mountain Man

He hoped he wasn’t being too forward. But he felt as if he needed to at least say goodnight and make sure she was comfortable. That was just being a good host, after all.

Right?

“Yes, Sir,” she replied before yawning again.

Poor cutie had to be exhausted, so he went to his own room, leaving her in the guestroom to get ready. He did the same, brushing his teeth and peeling his jeans and shirt off, replacing them with a gray t-shirt. He needed more, though, before he could go around Amber. So he rummaged through his drawer and found his workout shorts. He didn’t wear them around the house very often, but again, he couldn’t very well stroll around there in his gray boxer-briefs.

He had just gotten properly attired when he heard Amber’s sweet voice call out, “Mr. Sawyer, Sir? I’m ready.”

Cutie. She couldn’t help herself with thatmisterstuff.

“Be right there,” he answered back as he made his way to the guestroom.

The sight that greeted him upon entering broke his heart. The little sweetie was sitting on the bed, her head hung, sniffling. He rushed to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that… well… I always sleep with Honey. She’s my best friend in the whole wide world. But today…” She held up something and it took Sawyer a momentto realize it was a stuffie in two parts, with the bear’s head in Amber’s right hand and the body in her left.

“What happened to your stuffie, honey?” he asked.

The Little sniffled again before saying, “Someone was… mean to her.”

Sawyer’s blood boiled. He thought about asking more questions, but didn’t want to cause Amber to relive something painful right before going to bed. After a long day, she needed her rest.

So, he gently took the stuffie’s parts and said, “You know what?”

“What?” she asked.

“You’re in luck. I happen to run stuffie hospital right here out of my place.” He grinned, trying to put the Little at ease.

“You do?”

“Oh yeah. Littles come from near and far for my renowned skills. You wait right here. In fact, go ahead and lay down and get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

Sawyer hurried to the cabinet in his utility room where he kept his thread and needles. He got what was needed, grabbed his readers off table by his recliner in the living room on his way through, and went back to Amber, happy to see she’d been a good girl and gotten under the covers to settle in for the night.

He pulled out the ladder-back wooden chair that rested in a corner, brought it closer to the bed, and sat down.

“You said Honey is her name?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Well, Honey will be good as new and feeling great here in a few minutes. Then, you two can get some good snuggles and a great night’s sleep.”

Amber giggled. Sawyer put his readers on and then peeked at her to see that her eyes were transfixed on what he was doing.

“Where did you learn to sew like that, Sir?”

“My grandfather,” he said, keeping his eyes down and focusing on the task at hand now. “One of the many skills he passed on. Said it would come in handy and like almost always, the man was right. Got better at it in the Navy.” He chuckled. “Unfortunately, most of that was sewing up wounds and…” He cleared his throat and shot Amber an apologetic smile. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear about all that. Especially right before bed.” He continued working as he said, “Anyway, sewing is a great skill to have.”

“Would you teach me sometime, Sir? That is, if you’re not too busy. I know you probably have lots to do.”

“I’d love to teach you,” he said.

“Thank you.” A moment passed before Amber continued. “Sir, may I ask you a question?”

“You can ask me anything.”

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