Page 2 of Guiding Little Gabi

He didn’t look much older than she was, and he had a cute smile. She couldn’t help but smile in return. That was until he added, “Welcome to Rawhide Ranch! You’re Miss Gabi Swindler, right?”

That turned her smile into a scowl. “Shh!”

His brows lost themselves beneath the brim of his cowboy hat, and his lips rounded. He whispered, “Oh, sorry. Are you on the phone?” He held his thumb to his ear and his pinky to his mouth in the universal symbol of a telephone.

She shook her head. “No, it Schhhhwindler. Like Schwinn bikes? Not Swindler, Schhhhwindler.”

He grinned. “Sorry about that, Miss Schhhhwindler,” he said, drawing out the “shh” like she’d done. “My name’s Dax. Welcome to Rawhide Ranch!”

“Thank you,” she answered, doing her best to smile.

She hated her last name. People always mispronounced it by mistake. Well, except for the mean elementary school boys; they’d called her a Swindler on purpose.

“I’ll grab your bags and park your car. You can go on into the lodge and get checked in.”

“Thank you, but I’ll keep this one.” She pulled aside her duffel backpack. She always kept the most important things with her: Twinkle, the sock elephant stuffie her mom had made for her when she was six, and the magic flowers Raleigh had given her. Say what you want about the man, he gave good flowers.

Glancing down, she wondered about her outfit. She thought she looked cute. What if she wasn’t cute? What if the people here thought she looked like an idiot?

She reminded herself that what other people think is not important.

She thought it was adorable. And the ruffles on her shirt matched the ones on the back of her denim miniskirt. The high-heeled, bright pink, glittery, bedazzled cowgirl boots were to die for as well.

Raleigh would never have let her wear those shoes.

Maybe not, but he’d love the rest of your outfit.

Darn it, Beetlebrenda. She really needed to search online for a better internal voice. Once again, Beetlebrenda was painfully accurate.

The only thing Raleigh ever complained about her wearing was her super-high stiletto heels. But for heaven’s sake, she was one inch over five feet tall. He towered over her. The man must be at least two hundred and eighty-nine feet tall.

They fought over her spiked heels all the time. Did he care they made her feel sexy? Did he even notice they made her legs look amazing?

No. He droned on and on for hours about how she was going to break her ankle if not her neck.

Anyone could see she was looking out for him. If her height had him constantly staring down at her, he’d wear out the bones in his neck. If that happened, he’d have to walk around in a permanent neck brace. She was doing him a favor by wearing her “killer heels,” as he liked to call them.

Walking through the massive double doors into the lobby, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared around the room. It was a-maz-ing!

The vaulted ceiling with its exposed wooden log beams made her feel like a Little right off the bat. The wooden-paneled walls transported her straight back in time. It was as if she’d walked into Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home inLittle House on the Prairie. Well, if the Ingalls family had been gazillionaires and into kink.

Thanks to an elfish pixie named Erika who checked her in, the Ranch was Gabi’s to explore. She was about to ask where to grab something to eat when her stomach spoke for her.

Wearing the warmest smile Gabi had ever seen, Erika pulled Gabi out of her thoughts. “It’s a bit too late for lunch in the cafeteria, but the café is always open. You can grab something there. It isn’t unusual for the Littles to show up in the café across the lobby a bit later in the afternoon. You should be able to meet plenty of friends there. Everyone is so nice. Just go up and introduce yourself.”

Gabi shook her head before Erika finished her sentence. She had decided to turn over a new leaf. She wouldn’t start any more conversations with anyone. It was a wallflower life for her. “Mum” was her new theme word of the year.

People-watching was her newest hobby. She’d sit at a table near the wall and observe everyone. If she paid close attention, she could surely spot at least one person who wouldn’t mind talking to her.

If the people back home could see her, they’d think aliens had invaded her brain. Talking was all she ever did. Gabby Gabi, that’s what they called her.

They weren’t wrong. She could chat up a storm once she knew the role she needed to play. There was Gabi the Entertainer, Gabi the Listener, Gabi the Problem Solver… well, that role probably wasn’t her best. Her solutions seemed toalways backfire, which was a shame. That one was far and away her favorite role.

“… and that’s all you have to do,” Erika said when Gabi returned to the conversation.

Um… what did she have to do? Gabi swallowed her groan and nodded. She could probably figure out what she’d missed. Nibbling her lip, she considered asking Erika to repeat what she’d said but dismissed the idea. If she did that, Erika would know she hadn’t been listening. Then Gabi might get in trouble. Or worse, she might hurt Erika’s feelings.

There was no need to show Erika what a flake Gabi was. Instead, she wore one of those smiles that everyone always said was so pretty.

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