Page 5 of Rekindling Little River
“Maybe”—Dave’s head tilted again as his gaze took on a contemplative gleam—“maybe it’s actually me who’s the lucky one though.” He tapped a finger on the top of the cap to his soda as he considered River curiously. “What are the chances you’d let me accompany you to the library?”
For some insane reason they couldn’t fathom River’s heart stalled for a beat or two at Dave’s suggestion before leaping into their throat with anticipation. That was not good. They needed to be keeping a distance from Dave, not that they thought Dave would have any designs on them, but unrequited feelings werejust as likely to complicate things with their friends as anything else. River opened their mouth to shut the idea down, but that was not what came out of their mouth. “I could be convinced.”
What the hell were they thinking? Convinced? Seriously? Where was this even coming from? Was it something in the Ranch’s water? They really needed to get a grip on whatever was happening with them.
“Well, now, what would it take to convince you?”
Dave’s wink was causing havoc with their systems and igniting wholly inappropriate images of things Dave could do to convince them. Thankfully, their brain caught up with their words this time before any of those suggestions could escape.
“A soda of my own would be nice.”
“Deal. What kind?”
Dave
It had taken River all of about five minutes scanning the romance section before they had a book in their hands and had settled into one of the reclining reading chairs set up by small side tables throughout the space, their legs curled beneath them and a dreamy smile on their face as they turned pages.
Dave was sure he’d have been settled just as quickly if he hadn’t been spending more time studying River than looking through the titles available to him. He couldn’t believe his luck at running into them on their way here. He’d planned to get his drink, then head to his room and see if he could get a book or two ordered at this time. This was amuchbetter plan.
They honestly shouldn’t have been able to get in. Once they’d gotten to the doors of the library, they’d found the hours of operation listed in big white print letters on the glass. However,when River had noticed the lights burning bright inside, they’d decided to try the door. When it opened easily, they’d called out.
A woman almost as tall as Dave himself with short, cropped hair and a smile on her pleasant face walked around a shelf and approached. She carried a clipboard holding a large stack of papers in her hand. She held one pen in her other hand and another was tucked behind her ear. As soon as she spotted them, she put a finger to her lips in ashushmotion and whispered, “My girl’s sleeping in the office.”
River had apologized for disturbing her and for not realizing that the library had hours of operation, but the friendly head librarian, who introduced herself as Amelia Grayson, had been more than understanding. She had allowed them to stay while she did inventory, as long as they were quiet.
Reminded that they had limited time, Dave finally selected a book at random, not even bothering to read the blurb and made his way to the chair on the opposite side of the table next to River hoping he hadn’t gotten something that was in the middle of a series.
Crossing his legs, he blindly opened the book to the first page, his mind a million miles away or, more accurately, a few feet away. He considered how to make his interest in River known, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary. They weren’t going to be here long enough to draw things out or dance around his desires. More than a little part of him feared the likely rejection, however. He hadn’t exactly made the most pleasant of impressions up to now, after all.
“That’s an interesting method of reading you have there.”
River’s voice cut into his thoughts and he looked over at them inquisitively.
“I’ve never met someone who reads their books upside down and backwards.”
The twinkle of amusement in their eyes as they held back laughter almost made the heat Dave could feel climbing up his neck worth it as he glanced down to see the upside-down text before him. Chuckling good naturedly, he shrugged and admitted, “Sometimes my mind wanders. Especially when I haven’t had much sleep.”
“I know the feeling. Being a paramedic means long hours and short naps. My body seems to have become accustomed.”
“Same. Firefighters rarely get more than a few hours at a time and even having climbed into a position with more steady hours, my body still hasn’t acclimated.”
“Haven’t you been an inspector foryearsnow?” The sheer horror in River’s voice caused his eyes to lock with theirs as he slowly nodded. “So, what you’re saying is that I’m never sleeping again.”
Dave chuckled at the dramatics but answered honestly, “Pretty much.”
As River let out a pained groan, Dave righted his book, reopened it, and settled in to actually read. After a moment of comfortable silence, Dave broke it to make one offer he really hoped River would take him up on. “The good news is that you don’t have to worry about disturbing my rest if you want company at any time of day or night. So feel free to call me.”
River didn’t respond to his offer with anything more than a hum before settling back in with their book. Dave followed their lead, diving into his own story and soon being sucked into another world.
CHAPTER 4
River
Frustration consumed River by lunchtime on their first full day at Rawhide Ranch. What was happening? Were they broken? Would they never find that all-consuming peace again?
They didn’t get it. Their outfit reflected their Little side. The cute overalls covered in rainbow-colored dinosaurs made them feel light and happy. The space buns wrapped in colorful scrunchies served to not only keep their long hair out of their face, but also brought joy to their heart each time they caught sight of them. With an atmosphere geared toward helping people let go, and the added benefit of their own personal trappings, there should have been no reason that River wouldn’t be able to let their Little free. Despite all that, however, River had yet to find that state of mind.
They’d idly wondered over the last year if maybe they were broken. While they’d managed to put on a show, play with their friends, and pretend everything was normal, they hadn’t actually slipped fully into Little space in so long they could hardly remember what it felt like.
