Page 43 of Big Daddy Mountain Man

“Yes, Sir.” She walked at a more measured pace until she was standing before him. “Whatcha doing?”

“Just waiting on you.” He looked past her to where Marsha was working behind the counter. “Is it okay if I hang out in here?”

“It’s always okay, Sawyer. You know that.”

“How’d my Little girl do today?”

“Amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I don’t know how I ever got by without her. I swear, today was so much easier with help. I’m liable to never let her go,” Marsha said with a laugh.

In a lower tone, Sawyer told Amber, “I’m proud of you, babygirl.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” she responded. “I forgot I have that sleepover night. I wish I would have told you! I hate that you’re waiting around here all day for me.”

Sawyer shook his head to dismiss the notion. “It was my choice. I spent time in the store, and then hung out over at Clyde’s garage. Have you met him yet?”

“Briefly. He came in for lunch today,” she replied.

“He’s a good guy. His Little, Belinda, is as cute as can be. I think she’ll be at the sleepover tonight. Anyway, I got some parts from him to fix up that old truck at the Collier’s place. I’ll probably work on it tomorrow.”

“Ooh and then I can drive it again?” she asked eagerly.

“And then I can teach you to drive,” he corrected. “I can teach you in my Bronco, too. But once you know—and have a license—you can use that truck around the property.”

“Thank you, Sir!” she said as she bent down and threw her arms around him, hugging tightly.

“You’re welcome, babygirl.”

“Do you want to go on home?” she asked. “I can walk to Mindy’s place. It’s close.”

“Actually, I’m going to come over for a bit and hang with the other Daddies. Plus, you need to go back home and pack some stuff. You didn’t bring anything for the sleepover.”

“Oh, yeah. I didn’t think about that. I’ll finish up here.”

Forty-five minutes later, they were at her cabin where she packed up a few things. From there, they went to Sawyer’s place so she could get the rest of her stuff that she’d brought over the night before.

“I need to change,” Sawyer announced. “I got some grease on me when I was poking around Clyde’s garage.”

Amber plopped down on the couch and waited for Sawyer to finish, looking at her stuffies who rested on her suitcase just a few feet from her.

“I shouldn’t go in there,” she said after a moment of staring at them. “He’s changing clothes.”

The stuffies seemed to be grinning at her, almost as if encouraging her to get up and proceed down that hallway and into the bedroom.

“I really want to take a peek,” she added.

Honey and Jazzie both seemed to understand and approve.

“I’m just gonna go really fast. In and out,” she told them with a giggle, already springing up from the couch.

She inched quietly down the hallway and stopped before the partially open door.

Should I do this?she wondered. He deserved his privacy. But thoughts of that morning kept flashing through her mind. She’d been so close to finally…

Too late.

Lost in thought, she hadn’t even realized she’d been leaning so far forward until she lost her balance and spilled into the room.

“Whoa!”

---