Page 13 of The Captain's Little Girl

CHAPTER5

“Hi, girls!” Cricket ran up the steps to the elevated platform to join her friends. She tried to look normal—not like her whole world had changed.

“So…” Hope began with a big smile.

“How are you all?” Cricket asked quickly.

“We’re good. Rosie brought cinnamon rolls,” River shared, watching Cricket’s face as she lifted the platter to offer her friend one.

“Yum. I’ll have one later. I ate too many pancakes this morning,” Cricket excused herself as she sat down on the platform next to Hope.

“Did Mark have one of those all-in-one mixes?” Rosie probed.

“Yes. It was really good,” Cricket answered enthusiastically before she realized what she’d revealed.

“We saw you leave in his truck,” River shared. “Mark finally took you home with him?”

Cricket nodded, feeling her face heat under her friends’ scrutiny.

“Yay!” Rosie cheered before scooting over to hug Cricket.

The other women followed suit as they all celebrated Mark coming to his senses.

“You guys,” Cricket said, laughing. “Thanks.”

“You’ve waited long enough for him to convince himself you didn’t need to meet someone closer to your own age,” Ember observed.

They turned in mass to look at the men in the process of strapping on weighted backpacks and adding water bottles to their rigging. A few seconds of silence followed as they appreciated the honed masculinity displayed in front of them. When River yawned, interrupting their attention, everyone looked at her and giggled.

“What? Like you all got a solid eight hours of sleep without interruptions?” River challenged.

“Maybe four hours?” Rosie admitted.

“Three,” Hope shared.

“I turned the clock around so Daddy wouldn’t know what time it was,” Ember confessed.

“I slept plenty.” Cricket tried to fool her friends but couldn’t keep her poker face on. When the others collapsed to the wooden platform below and giggled joyfully, the men turned as one to see only Cricket sitting up. At Mark’s questioning expression, she gave him a thumbs up and flopped down next to her friends. The men’s laughter drifted up to them.

“They love us,” Rosie said, propping herself up on one elbow. Nods followed from everyone.

A masculine chorus of “Be good, Littles!” drifted up from below and everyone scrambled up to lean over the railing.

Mark pointed to a bag sitting on the stairs before blowing a kiss to Cricket. Her heart in her throat, Cricket joined the others as they cheerfully called out and waved goodbye as the team set off in formation.

Filled with emotion, Cricket braced herself for a barrage of questions, but her friends didn’t intrude, as if they knew everything was so new. She needed to keep some secrets. Seated next to her, Hope patted Cricket’s knee before turning to a canvas bag behind her.

“Let’s color first,” Ember suggested.

All the Littles pulled out coloring books and crayons from their backpacks. Cricket felt a bit lost until she remembered Mark pointing at the stairs. Jumping to her feet, she pounded down the stairs to grab the bag embroidered with an ornate C on the top flap. Running back up to her friends, she opened it and started crying. He’d packed everything for her.

River wrapped an arm around her. “It sucks they’re so sweet, doesn’t it?”

“Look at everything. He didn’t just do this today. Mark had this assembled and ready to go. It was already in his truck. And look! It has my initial on it. He had this made for me a while ago,” Cricket shared, dashing her tears away.

Without a word, Hope handed her friend a tissue.

“Thanks.” Cricket blew her nose.

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