Page 21 of Big Daddy Mountain Man

The day was indeed going to be wonderful. She just knew it!

An hour later, they’d eaten, with Amber having polished off a stack of pancakes, a side of bacon, a glass of milk and another one of orange juice.

“I made a pig of myself!” she said as they walked into the general store.

“Nope. You were just hungry. Probably knew you’d need fuel for all the hard work you’re going to do today,” Sawyer countered.

Amber knew the truth: breakfasts had been few and far between. Sometimes, food in general was. She had to load up when and where she could.

She’d tried to pay for her meal back at the diner, but Sawyer wouldn’t hear of it. That made her grateful, since she needed to buy some food in the store to get her through the next few days.

It was agreed that she’d start her job at the diner later that week, and Marsha had told her she’d take tips home every night.

Amber was thrilled. That money would come in handy! Suddenly, the sixty-three dollars she had didn’t seem so minuscule now that she knew she’d have income rolling in soon enough.

“Hey, Sawyer,” a man called out as they walked into the store. “And who do you have with you?”

“Hey, Joe. This is Amber. She’s new in town,” Sawyer said.

Amber looked behind the front counter to see a man that was strong, broad-shouldered, and handsome with blond hair and blue eyes.

“Hello, Amber,” he said.

“Hello, Sir. May I ask your last name?”

“Of course. It’s Graves.”

“Thank you, Sir. Now I know what to call you. Mr. Graves.”

Joe chuckled. “That’s sweet and very respectful. But you can just call me Joe. Or Uncle Joe, if you’d like. The other Littles do.”

She skipped happily to the counter. “How do you know I’m a Little, Sir?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I could tell that the moment you walked in.”

Amber giggled. It was sure nice being around others who understood!

“And my wife told me about you. She met you last night at the park.”

“Mindy, right?” Amber asked.

“That’s right. In fact, she’s right in there.” He jerked his head toward a door that was behind him on the wall. “Do you want to say hi?”

“Sure!” Amber said.

She walked around the counter and followed Joe through the door. What she saw in the backroom caused her jaw to drop in wonder.

“There’s so much… Little stuff!”

The main room of the store looked like any other general store in any small town across the United States. There was a hardware section, some food, and a few household goods. But the back room was a different story.

The racks in there held frilly dresses with plenty of ribbons and lace. There were rompers, onesies, and shortalls—all adult-sized, of course. There was also a variety of toys, stuffies, and a shelf of diapers and pull-ups.

It was a Little’s paradise.

“Amber!” Mindy said, dropping the stuffie she’d been putting on a shelf and running to her new friend.

The women hugged.

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