If she did, she had no doubts that he’d catch her. He led her into the trees growing around his property to a small clearing where he’d set down a picnic blanket. Sitting around the blanket were Chompers, Tiny, Jamie and her doll, Aggie.
“Ooh, everyone is here.”
“Picnic first? Or fairy hunting?” Spike asked, setting down the basket at the edge of the blanket.
“Silly Daddy. Fairy hunting of course.”
He smiled at her.
“Come on, Mr. Fluffy!” she called.
Mr. Fluffy gave her a baleful look and plopped down on his belly. Okay, so it seemed Mr. Fluffy was not into fairies.
“Now, the rules.”
“Daddy, there are no rules when fairy hunting!”
He gave her a stern look and she sighed. “Fine, what’re the rules?”
“You have to hold onto Daddy at all times. No running. No sharp movements and when Daddy says it’s time to stop and rest, no arguing.”
“Oh, fine, Daddy. Let’s go, though!” He worried way too much in her opinion.
They headed off through the trees and she was careful where she stepped, although most of the ground was pretty flat. She bet he’d scouted this area to make sure she could navigate it safely.
“Daddy, there! There’s one!” There was a gorgeous yellow fairy house attached to the big tree trunk in front of her.
“Let’s go have a look then.”
She squealed as they moved closer. Reaching out carefully, she opened the tiny door and inside there was a small fairy sitting at a tiny table drinking tea.
“Oh my gosh, she’s so beautiful!”
For the next fifteen minutes, they explored. She found fairy houses set between roots of the trees, some hanging from branches and there were even a couple of fairies flying around. After house number eight, she could feel her energy levels starting to plummet.
“All right, baby doll, that’s enough. Back to the picnic. It’s time for a rest.”
“No, Daddy, I want to find more,” she complained.
“What was my last rule?” he said sternly.
She pouted. “But I don’t want to stop. I want to find all the fairy houses.”
“We can come back after you’ve rested and gotten something in your belly.”
“Daddy, please,” she wheedled.
“No. Do I need to carry you back?”
“Daddy, you’re being so mean.” She slid her hand free of his arm and stomped her foot on the ground.
“Did you just stomp your foot?”
“Daddy!”
“You definitely need a rest.”
“Do not.”