Page 14 of Rekindling Little River
“It’s Pirate Day!”
“Oh, it wasn’t mentioned.”
“Well,” said Quinn, “it’s not an official thing. But tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day and we Littles all decided it’s Do Everything Like a Pirate Day.”
“That sounds so stinking cool!” River loved pirates and wanted desperately to join the fun. They hadn’t brought anything to make a good pirate outfit, though. “Do you think I could get a good outfit from the gift shop?”
“If anyone can hook you up, it’ll be there. Ask for Liam. He’s the best with outfits.”
“He really is,” River told Hayleigh, “I met him yesterday to get an outfit for dinner.”
“He’s gifted,” Quinn added.
“I told him he should work in Paris for fashion week.” River laughed at themself but the others just nodded, as serious as if they’d just given a solution for world hunger. “But tell me more about Pirate Day.”
The others explained the plans for the day and River found themself caught up in the fun of it and looking forward to meeting all the Littles involved in making the day happen. They had a feeling it was going to be a blastie blast.
River played with their new friends for a while, sliding, climbing, playing hide and seek. As they were running fromHayleigh, doing their best not to get caught, they suddenly found themselves landing on their knees.Hard.
Before they’d even taken a full breath, River burst into tears. It hurt. It hurt bad. Their new friends were at their side in mere moments, Quinn hollering, “River’s Daddy! Come quick!”
Daddy came rushing around the corner, stopping for a moment at the sight of their tears, before he rushed over to them, worry creasing his brow.
“What happened, sweetness?”
Dave’s hands were running over every inch of River’s arms and legs, pausing as he passed over their knee and they winced.
“I tripped and fell down and hurted my knee.” River was shocked at the high-pitched Little voice that slipped out, but it was the best kind of shock. Their Little was finally peeking out again!
“Let me see.” Dave tenderly felt around, asking questions and then carefully manipulated River’s leg to make sure it wasn’t broken or sprained. Once he was satisfied it was nothing serious, he kissed River’s knee and asked if they wanted to continue playing with their friends, or if they wanted to go rest for a bit.
“I can play, Daddy.” No way was River giving up a chance to spend more time with their new buddies.
Dave
The sight of River in tears had torn at his heart. He never wanted to see them hurting. On the other hand, it was a clear indication that their Little side was coming out to play already, and he couldn’t deny the joy it brought him to be able to give them the comfort and security to be able to let go like that.
They’d also managed to find new friends if the Little girls surrounding them and comforting them as they cried were any indication. Yes, it seemed the playground was a fantastic plan. He hoped his next plan was just as successful.
CHAPTER 13
Dave
“Their friends have been planning a full day of fun pirate stuff to do. It’s going to be so awesome!”
It took less than half a day for Dave to realize he’d never seen Little River before. He’d seen them playing, he’d seen them trying, but it was plain as day now that River had never fully gone into Little space around him before. The difference was night and day.
Dave had admired River’s calm. He’d respected their organization. Their grace was unparalleled. These things drew him in and captured his attention. Little River, however, was the most chaotic, clumsy, impulsive, and adorable thing he had ever laid eyes on. In the short time they were in the playground room, he’d figured out he would need to carry a bag with him anywhere they went. It would need to have every first-aid supply he could get his hands on, as evidenced by the scraped knee from tripping over their own feet, bruised hand from knocking it on a platform edge, the bump he was convinced was on the back of their head from knocking it on the side of the slide and the badly bruisedstubbed toe. Keeping Little River safe was going to be a full-time job. One Dave was looking forward to.
“Is it an officially sanctioned event?” Dave was pretty sure it wasn’t or there was bound to have been something about it in their welcome packs. Not that it would keep him from allowing River to participate. The only thing they’d talked about since leaving the playground was Pirate Day, and he was not willing to be the one to dim their excitement.
“Well, not technically. But the owner’s wife is in on the planning along with a few others and Quinn said that nothing happens on the Ranch without Master Derek knowing.”
From what Dave had seen of Master Derek so far, he completely agreed there was likely nothing happening that man wasn’t aware of.
Doing some quick rescheduling in his head, Dave changed their direction. Once he let River know that he was agreeing to them joining the fun, he knew they were going to be ready to get their supplies. His babysaurus was not nearly as patient as Big River. Thankfully, the gift shop had been on his list of things to do today anyway. He’d just move that to before lunch so when it was time for a nap River would be able to relax instead of worrying about shopping.
“Where are we going, Daddy?”
