She frowned. A new one? But she was used to this one.
“I donts need a new one.”
“This one is dangerous, and you do need a new one. Now, stay here while I go do the washing. Then I’ll help you clean up.”
“I thought I’d make a picture for Archie. Unless you think he wouldn’t want one.” She bit her lip. Was it all right that she wanted to make one for his brother? Or was it weird? Would he think it was weird? It was just…she missed Archer so much.
“I think he’d love one, baby girl. We can mail it when we next go into Bozeman.”
“We’re going into Bozeman?”
“Yes, we’ll need to go get some groceries next week and you need to visit a gynecologist.”
Oh. Freaking awesome. Most Littles might get to go to the movies or an arcade.
She got the gynecologist.
He must have seen something on her face because he grinned. “Don’t worry, baby doll. If you’re a good girl, Daddy will take you to do something fun as well.”
“Like what?” she asked suspiciously. “Get a flu shot? Have some blood taken?”
“Hmm, both good suggestions, I’ll add them to the list.”
She groaned. She needed to learn to stop while she was ahead.
22
Doc looked over at Caley’s clay creation. He’d gotten her some the other day to play with, thinking that it might be good for her hands. He was trying to coax her into figuring out how to use the dictation software that she owned but had never used.
He’d spent today stacking the load of firewood that had finally arrived while Caley worked. She hadn’t been terribly impressed that he’d ordered and paid for the firewood without her knowledge. When she’d told him she was going to pay him back, well, he hadn’t been too happy about that.
When she’d stomped her foot, the beginning of a tantrum, and called him a couple of
not-nice names, he’d ended the argument with a hand spanking then sent her to spend fifteen minutes in timeout.
Afterwards, her mood had been a lot better. Although she still wasn’t happy about the wood. She wasn’t going to be impressed when all of Archer’s gifts arrived, which should be any day now. But she could call Archer and have a chat with him.
He frowned, thinking about his brother. He’d been surprisingly hard to get hold of lately. In fact, he’d only spoken to him twice since he’d left nearly a week ago.
Of course, in the last two years you’ve only spoken to him a handful of times.
But that was before…when he’d been holding onto a foolish, misplaced anger.
He and Caley had settled into a bit of a routine. He brought her coffee in bed in the morning, they got up and did some light stretches and exercise. Then after breakfast, she worked while he did some things to tidy up the property. After dinner, they spent time together, with her in Little space. This was his favorite time of the day; when they were together, and both of them were relaxed.
“That looks great, baby doll. It’s time for your bath soon. This is your five-minute warning.”
He’d learned about the need to give her warnings rather than just spring things on her. She did not do well with change.
“Couldn’t we skip the bath tonight, Daddy? I want to do some more playing.”
“Nope. We could not. A bath is important for your bedtime routine.” He’d managed to instill a routine, hoping it would help with her sleep. He’d give her a bath then comb and braid her hair before putting her to bed with a bottle of warmed up chocolate protein shake.
“And you haven’t picked up your stuff yet, either,” he reminded her sternly.
She groaned. He just gave her a look. She got up with a huff and grabbed the empty basket then started walking around, picking things up. He’d put her rules board and her reward/punishment chart up on the wall. Where she could see them every day. The punishment and reward jars were kept on the mantel of the fireplace. So far, she had slightly more smiley faces than frowns, but he wasn’t betting on that lasting.
“Remember to go through the bedroom and your office,” he called out. He followed her into her office to make sure she got everything. His gaze went to the train set and he walked over, sitting down to study it.