Page 19 of Deciding for Little Dallas
Pike laughed, realizing he was being played. “Oh, Baby Dallas needs to be carried? Is Daddy walking her feet off?”
“Yas, huh,” she said, lifting her arms. He scooped her up and set her on his hip. She let out the sweetest, happiest sigh andhe squeezed her fondly. Teefs brushed against his back as Dallas held her tight in her hand.
“Daddy should have remembered you’re just a tiny baby and your little legs just can’t keep up, huh?”
“Yas, huh, Daddy,” she agreed.
“I’ll try and remember that, Bitty.” Pike opened the door to the inside playground and Dallas squealed in his arms.
“Ball pits! Slides!”
Pike was delighted by her joy, although the room had much more than ball pits and slides. It had huge play structures that went from the floor to the tall ceiling. There were tunnels, slides, and bridges taking up half of the room. Large colorful mats covered the floor, protecting Little ones from big ouchies.? There was also a huge sandbox that he knew his Little girl would avoid at all costs—she hated to get dirty—and a large arcade area. He thought she might like to play there?as well.
He carried her over to a wall of?cubbies and helped her take her shoes and socks off before placing them in one of the cubbies.
“Do you want to leave Teefs here or take her in the tunnels with you?” Pike always had an extra inhaler on him just in case Dallas didn’t want to bring her lovie somewhere.
“Wif me, Daddy.”
“Okay, Bitty. We’ll just put your shoes in here.”
“Bye, shoes,” she said, waving like a silly Little girl.
He chuckled, removed his own shoes, and led her to the wall of slides and tunnels. “Go play, Bitty Baby. Daddy will be right here watching.”
“Okay!” she squealed before taking off.
He chuckled at her enthusiasm.
“She’s precious.”
“Thank you,” Pike answered, turning to face whoever had spoken to him.
It was an older woman. “I have a Little boy, so I don’t get to indulge in the cutesy dresses or bows.”
“Ah, a Little boy.? I bet your hands and heart are full,” Pike said.
“Very much so.” She nodded.
Pike’s phone started to ring and interrupted them. “Sorry, I need to take this,” he apologized.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mr. Miller. My name is Phoebe, and I work in the nursery. We are having an ice cream party, October 30th and we noticed Dallas has a dairy sensitivity. We wanted to know if there was any other type of treat she could have so we can make sure she’s included. We have a few alternatives like coconut and oat milk frozen desserts, non-dairy ice cream, and sherbet, but if none of those work, we will purchase whatever she can have.”
“Any of those are fine. She enjoys them all,” Pike said, recognizing several of the options. They had most of them in their freezer at home. “Thank you for taking my Little one’s needs into consideration.” He was touched by their thoughtfulness.
“You and Dallas are a part of our family now. We take care of our family.”
Pike thought over her words even after the call ended and he realized how blessed the community was to have someplace as wonderful as Rawhide Ranch.
“Daddy?” Dallas called from the large bridge she was standing on.
“Yes, Bitty?” he said, walking over to her, dodging two Little boys who were running through the area.
“No running!” the woman?he’d spoken to scolded. “We will sit if you can’t remember to use your walking feet!”
He and the woman shared a knowing smile as they passed each other.
