Page 4 of Pumpkin Patch Cutie
“Not a lot of time to be looking for things like that,” I replied, motioning at the stream of people headed into the corn maze.
“Well now’s your chance. The line has let up. Switch out while you’ve got the chance and head in to play guide or somethin’. Maybe you’ll spot ‘im and figure out if ‘e’s taken or not.”
“You do know a bond mark isn’t a sure thing. Some couples choose not to bond, and omega-omega pairs don’t have bond marks.”
He leaned in. “Now you’re just talkin’ yourself out of it. Most of the omegas without bond marks are single and ya know it.”
I sighed and was about to argue when the walkie-talkie on the table crackled to life.
“Anybody free up front?” asked my uncle Robert. “We’ve got a little girl separated from her family in the maze.”
I snatched up the walkie-talkie. “Dom here, Brian was just relieving me. What you got?”
“Name’s Madison. Blond, seven years old. Got separated after the dragon, and wearing a dragon slayer outfit.”
I froze, I remembered that little girl, and the handsome omega she was with.
“On it,” I replied, sprinting towards the maze entrance while Brian laughed behind me.
The dragon was about halfway through the maze, and off to one side. Getting to it was easy, but there were no more markers to follow afterward so that kids would still experience the maze aspect as they left.
I sprinted through the corn, knowing every turn of the maze by memory, then started looking into the offshoots and dead ends as I approached the area where the girl had disappeared. I heard more staff members calling for her from the other end of the maze.
I jogged past the plaster and chicken-wire sleeping-dragon sculpture and listened for crying. But either I was nowhere near where she was, or she was being brave.
“Madison?” I called. “Are you around here?”
I was about to move on, then heard a small squeak.
Gotcha.
“Where are you honey?” I asked. “Can you talk to me?”
“Not supposed to talk to strangers,” came a soft reply.
“I know sweetheart. But I promise I’m just trying to get you back to your family. I’ll even let you talk to them on my walkie-talkie. Ok?”
“Ok…”
I needed her to be a bit louder to pinpoint her location. “Talk to me Madison. What made you decide to be a dragon slayer and not a princess?”
“I’m not a princess,” she declared, letting me know that she had wandered into a part of the maze with several dead ends.
I made my way in her direction, understanding how she’d gotten so separated. It was easy to head in what a person thought was the right way, but on divergent paths. “Why do you say you’re not a princess?”
“Princesses are kidnapped by dragons,” she replied. “Dragon slayers rescue the princesses. Rescuing is better.”
I chuckled. “You’ve got a point. So how did you get separated?”
“I ran ahead,” she admitted. “Then I got lost.”
“Why’d you run ahead?”
“Because uncle Scott is slow...”
Uncle?My heart fluttered.
Don’t get ahead of yourself. Just because he’s her uncle doesn’t mean he’s available. Besides, you’ve got a job to do and flirting isn’t it.
