Page 44 of Tizzy's Little Thanksgiving

“Put me down, your parents are here!” Teresa hissed as he stood and began to walk across the dining room.

“Not going to happen,” he said firmly, carrying her bridal style in deference to the dress she wore as she’d likely be uncomfortable straddling his waist or wrapping her legs around his body if carried on his hip.

“We can’t take this!” Teresa argued as he settled her in the backseat of one of the limos that had ferried guests from the Ranch to the party.

“We can.” Eddie closed her door and walked around the car to speak to the driver. With a single nod, the man slid behind the wheel, pressed the button to raise the divider between his seat and theirs, and pulled out of the lot.

“What if someone needs a ride?”

“It’s only a few minutes back to the Ranch. I’m sure the party will go on for another couple of hours,” Eddie assured her.

Teresa huffed her discontent but then remained silent until they reached the Ranch and he once more had her in his arms and was headed in the opposite direction than their room.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he said, striding across the large lobby.

“Yo-you didn’t finish your dinner,” she said.

“And you didn’t even bother to begin yours,” he countered as they reached the elevator that would take them down to the lowest level of the Ranch resort building. Eddie pushed the button and when the doors opened, carried his Little girl inside.

“Am… am I in trouble?”

“Why would you think that?” he asked.

“Because I ruined Georgie’s rehearsal,” she said her tone filled with such sadness that he pulled her closer to his body and pressed his lips to her forehead.

Eddie knew Teresa was hyper-sensitive in that she often chose to accept blame when none was due. This wasn’t about her being naughty by not eating her dinner. This was about getting her in the correct mindset to have fun and enjoy her best friend’s wedding and knowing she was the best damn maid of honor in the history of nuptials.

“Babygirl, you did not ruin anything. You just need to remember that the world does not lay on your shoulders and even if it did, you aren’t alone. Georgie and Lucas love you, your new Little friends love you, and most of all, your Daddy loves you.”

“I’m just so scared I’m going to fuck things up.”

“Don’t curse, little girl!” he reprimanded just as the elevator doors opened. “And that is why we are here. To relax you and let you know you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing.”

She had the grace to look ashamed of saying the f-word, two spots of pink highlighting her cheekbones far better than any cosmetic could do. “We’re going to the playground?” she asked, catching sight of an area he knew mirrored the one outdoors she and her friends had used during their visit to the Ranch.

Eddie chuckled and shook his head. “I’m afraid the equipment on the playground isn’t the type Daddy needs tonight.”

“What kind do you ne…” She broke off when he paused to check in with Drake, the security guard, sitting at the podium next to the door of their destination. “You-you… we-we… I-I can’t go… in there!” she mock whispered as her head swiveled to look between the guard, the double doors and then back to Eddie. “Tha-that’s the dungeon.” The last word was whispered against his shirt where she’d buried her face in his shoulder.

“I know,” he said, returning Drake’s grin. Knowing he wasn’t going to leave the Ranch without introducing his Little girl to its possibilities, Eddie had arranged everything earlier in the week after speaking with Lucas who had introduced him to the heavily tattooed man. Eddie was pretty sure Teresa would be fascinated with the fact the large, imposing-looking guard was addicted to romance novels. That was if she ever got over her shock at having Drake not only open the doors to the dungeon for them, but say, “I hope you enjoy your visit, Teresa.”

It was only when the door closed behind them that she turned her head enough to say, “He… he knows my name! He’s gonna tell Master Derek and you’re gonna get in so much trouble.”

The force of his laugh had her bouncing a bit against his body. She was just too adorable. “How about you let Daddy worry about that? As for you, all you need to do is relax and know that by the time we leave, you’re going to feel so much better.”

Her eyes were huge as she looked at him as if he’d grown two heads. And granted, he wasn’t a freak of nature, but he did have two heads, one of which had begun to stir the moment he pulled her into his lap at dinner. She stopped fretting to look around the dungeon, her face flushing but her breathing quickening and her eyes shining as the reality of where she was truly began to sink in.

Eddie didn’t bother pausing on the upper level where there were several tables and various seating areas where one could sit and enjoy a drink from the bar and watch some of the activities happening on the play level below. When a woman dressed in nothing but a sheer teddy and red stilettos passed them, he heard Teresa inhale deeply. With a tug on his shirt, she urged him to bend his head down so she could whisper in his ear.

“She’s… she is, um… I-I don’t think I’m, um… dressed for this.”

“Don’t you worry, little Tizzy, I’ll take care of everything.” When she looked as if he’d told her the room was full of dancing purple elephants, he chuckled again. “Do you trust me, babygirl?”

“Always,” she said without a second’s hesitation.

“Then that’s all we need right now.”

---