Page 9 of Raelynn's Little Repeat Day
Less laughed again and put his arm around her shoulder. “So, what you’re saying is you want to do it all.”
She grinned up at him. “Pretty much.”
Daddy’s eyes landed on hers and she couldn’t look away. She remembered from when they were together before, that his eyes turned more blue than gray when he was happy. In that moment, there was almost no gray to be seen, just a light blue color that held her in a trance. Her breathing sped up and she felt tingles forming in places that hadn’t tingled for averylong time.
Daddy’s head moved just a bit closer, and Raelynn wondered if he was going to kiss her. Part of her hoped so. She wanted to find out if kisses from him were as amazing as she remembered, but some silly part of her brain was saying it was too soon. That they didn’t know as much about each other as they should. Before she could contemplate it more, Daddy cleared his throat and looked back toward the sun.
“Look, babygirl,” he said as he turned her around to face the setting sun.
Raelynn’s breath caught in her throat. The sky was alight with shades of red, orange and pink, glowing and shifting with the movement of the sun. “It’s so pretty.”
“That it is, babygirl. That it is.”
But when Raelynn smiled at Daddy, she saw that he wasn’t watching the sun setting in the sky. He was watching her.
They watched the sunset until the last ray faded and the sky turned Raelynn’s favorite color. A beautiful shade of purple, fading into black spattered with sparkling stars. It was the most peaceful she’d felt in longer than she could remember.
The more time they spent watching, the more she felt herself slipping into that mindset where she was carefree and happy. Responsibility didn’t exist, and she knew without a doubt that Daddy would take care of her.
By the time the last drop of purple had bled from the sky, Raelynn was fully in Little space. It was the best place to be.
CHAPTER 8
Les
She was sobeautiful with the sun glinting off of her hair and her eyes sparkling with joy and innocence. He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her the whole time she’d watched the sun setting.
Les stood behind Rae-Rae, his arms around her waist as they watched the stars for a few more minutes. Neither of them wanted to let the moment go, but when he felt her shiver, he realized that the temperature was dropping. Raelynn had been in Texas for a long time. She probably wasn’t used to the cooler evenings in Montana anymore.
“Let’s get you a sweater, then I have an idea for your first Rawhide Ranch activity.”
Rae-Rae looked at him and chuckled. “It seems so weird now to need a sweater in June. I don’t think I even packed one.”
That wouldn’t do. Not at all. Les wasn’t about to have her cold every night, so he took her hand in his and said, “Then we’ll get you one.”
She didn’t argue with him, probably remembering how insistent he could be. She’d hardly ever won anytime she tried to argue over something that involved her health, safety, or comfort, and she wouldn’t win now, so it was good she didn’t try to.
As they made their way to the Ranch store, she began to skip instead of walk and Les knew it was finally happening. She was feeling comfortable and getting into her Little space. He couldn’t be happier.
As they browsed the clothes, he found the perfect sweater on a rack. It didn’t scream the nineteen-seventies like her wardrobe tended to do, but it was purple and looked like it would reach her knees. When he held it up for her approval, she bounced on her toes clapping in excitement.
Les helped her into it. When it fit perfectly, and she was purring over how soft it was, Les knew it was the one. He took her to the checkout counter, finished checking out, then took her by the hand and led her out of the store. It wasn’t until they were back outside that one of the lights glinted off the tag on the sweater and reminded him it should be removed.
“Hold on a second, babygirl,” he said as he raised her arm and pulled the tag off. Tucking it in his pocket, he took her hand again and told her, “Okay, we’re good to go.”
“Where are we going, Daddy?”
God, he loved hearing her call him that. He’d never get tired of it.
“You’ll see.” He gave her a wink and they started back on their way.
Before long, the light from the fires came into view and Raelynn stopped short.
“It’s so pretty, Daddy. Are we going there?”
“Yep. What’s a trip to Rawhide Ranch if you don’t go to at least one bonfire.”
“Yay,” she exclaimed, “race you to it!”
