Page 23 of Deciding for Little Dallas
“I promise we will take the best care of your Little one. We’re going to have so much fun, right, Dallas?”
“Yas, Ma’am.” Dallas said, smiling up at him.
Fuck, he didn’t deserve her.? He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then gave Teefs a kiss too when she held the baby out to him.
“Have fun, Daddy. Learn lots of new things, okay?”
Pike and Nanny J chuckled, and Pike left her to play, but he felt like he was leaving his entire heart in the nursery.
He made himself walk through the halls with brilliant boards of fun information, gaggles of Little ones, and into the elevator. Pressing the button for the second floor was much harder thanit should have been and he swallowed the lump in his throat. She was fine. Logically he knew she would be having the time of her life and meeting new friends, hopefully realizing there was a whole classroom full of friends who had the same needs she did.
“Are you okay?” a man asked, standing outside the open elevator doors. Shaking his head, Pike apologized, “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
“Sam Denton,” the man said, sticking out his hand.
Pike noticed his leather briefcase and business clothes. He wondered if the man judged his ripped jeans and black polo. He doubted it, everyone at Rawhide Ranch seemed very kind. “Pike Miller,” he said, shaking Sam’s hand.
“Are you visiting the Ranch?” he asked when Pike stepped off of the elevator.
“Yes, with my Little girl. I just dropped her off in the Caterpillar Room.”
Sam chuckled. “Ah, that explains the long face. I was worried since I’m one of the therapists employed by Rawhide.”
This time Pike chuckled. “I am okay. I was just contemplating going and getting my baby. I thought she would have a hard time today, not me.”
Sam clapped Pike on the back as they fell in step together. “It always seems they do much better than we do on their first day. It’s hard on a Caregiver's heart for sure.”
Pike nodded. “For sure.” Checking his phone, he wondered if fifteen minutes was enough time for Dallas to “experience” the nursery. He was not having a super magical day at all.
CHAPTER 10
Nanny J held Dallas’ hand as she led her into the room. She helped Dallas hang her bag on a hook before looking around the room. There was only one other?friend in nursery right now, but he was napping on one of the bean bags chairs. Dallas wondered why they were sleeping if everyone just woke up—it was only nine-thirty a.m. Maybe being a baby was super tiring.
Dallas looked around the room and clapped her hands when she saw all of the art supplies on the table. “May I paint, Nanny J?”
“You sure can, sweet girl. Let’s get you in a smock so we don’t get your pretty dress messy.”
“My Daddy buyed me this dress,” she told her.
Nanny J grabbed a pink smock and helped Dallas work it over her head. “Well, it’s so pretty and so spooky! Perfect for a Halloween-loving girl.”
“Thank you,” Dallas said as Nanny J helped her get settled in a blue plastic chair. “I love Frankie so manies,” she said, rubbing her hand over Frankenstein.
“Do you want to paint a coloring page or create your own art?”
“Create my own art, please.”
“Good choice!” Nanny J grabbed a white plastic basket from the shelf and set it down for Dallas to see. “We have some art sponges here that you can use too.”
Dallas pulled out a witch’s hat and a pumpkin-shaped sponge. “Thank you!”
Nanny J laughed. “I thought you might like the Halloween shapes,” she said before pouring some paint into trays for her.
“My Daddy said someone special was coming to read to us this week.”
“Well, your Daddy was right. We have a very special guest coming to read a very special book.”
“So ‘citing!”
