Chapter 8 #3
She didn’t respond, just stood staring at the bed like she’d never seen anything like it before.
Which I was sure was the case. The white four-poster bed had been modified, sides and ends added to make it look like a fairytale-style horse drawn carriage.
Deep pink lines and swirls added things like wheels and doors, contributing to the overall look.
From the top of the original frame, delicate pale pink fabric hung in a curve between each of the four posts, with more long sections hanging down each post. The pillows and comforter were matched to the rest of the bed, white with dark pink edging.
There were also pink and purple fluffy cushions. Two hearts and a crown shape.
It was a lot. And while I knew a whole lot of Littles who would give their right pinkie to be able to stay in this room, I didn’t know if Calla wanted to.
“Calla? Is this room okay?”
She nodded, then grabbed her necklace to chew on the edge as she moved deeper into the room.
But she didn’t head toward the bed as I’d expected, instead she went toward the large, framed artwork that hung on the adjacent wall.
The image was of a whimsical castle with a huge dragon flying over it.
Glancing back to Calla, I frowned. She was crying, silent tears dripping down her face.
Following her gaze back to the artwork, I realized she was staring at the dragon.
I couldn’t think of anything obvious for why the dragon would be upsetting her.
There was no sign of fear in her expression, only sadness.
Striding over to her, I reached a hand up toward the artwork, intending on taking it down.
“I’ll remove it from the room.”
I stilled when she touched my arm. Looking back at her I saw her shake her head, her gaze not leaving the dragon.
“Sweet girl, you’re crying. Let me fix this for you.”
Closing her eyes, more tears leaked down her cheeks and she shook her head again.
I was at a loss on what could be the issue, and how I could solve it.
Spotting her luggage where Moses must have put it, near the chest of drawers, an idea occurred to me.
It was something a Little would have, and even if she didn’t know it yet, I was growing more certain that she was one.
“Calla? Do you have a dragon stuffy in your bags? Moses has already brought your things up—”
I stopped talking when she lowered her face, now covered by her palms, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs.
When she started to drop down to her knees, I rushed forward, scooping her up before she could hit the floor and held her against my chest bridal style.
Instantly, she clung to me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she buried her face against my shoulder.
Her hot tears hitting my skin broke my heart.
I hated that she was in so much pain. Turning my face into her hair, I pressed a kiss against the top of her head.
I needed to think. This reaction was from my mentioning a stuffy. Dragon stuffy…
In a flash, an image filled my mind. The crocheted dragon I’d found in that rest stop earlier today. Could it be Calla’s? Hell of a twist of fate if it was. Not once in all the previous times I’d driven down that stretch of road had I stopped in that rest area.
Striding back out to the main room, I sat on the couch, rearranging Calla on my lap so I could pull my phone out. Rubbing one hand in firm circles over her back, I pressed a kiss to her temple as I texted Moses.
Could you grab the dragon stuffy from front seat of my car for me? Found it today. Might be Calla’s.
In less than a minute his response came through.
Figured you’d rescued it when I saw how dirty it was. Brought it with me after putting your car away. Gave to Jayne to fix. I’ll check with her on progress.
Shaking my head with a smile, I typed out a reply.
Angels, the pair of you. If you could bring it ASAP, I have a lap full of devastated Little.
Jayne, or Nanny J as the Littles all called her, was a magician with stuffy first aid.
I was extremely grateful Moses had thought to give her the dragon to mend.
If it was Calla’s, and the reason she was so upset, she wouldn’t care what condition it was in, so long as she had it returned, but I felt better knowing she’d get a clean and fixed stuffy to cuddle.
Setting my phone aside, I pressed another kiss to the top of Calla’s head.
“Shhh, sweet girl. Everything is gonna work out. You’ll see.”
I kept rubbing firm circles on her back, my other hand resting on the outside of her thigh, keeping her safely on my lap.
Closing my eyes, I rested my cheek against her hair, my heart aching with the despair that was radiating off her.
Every moment with her weakened my resolve to keep things professional between us.
Hell, I’d kissed her three times in the last few minutes alone.
Not on the mouth, but still, it was a level of affection I wouldn’t ever give to a patient. Yet I couldn’t resist with Calla.
The quiet snick of the door being unlocked had me raising my head to look in that direction.
Moses came in, his expression filling with sympathy when his gaze landed on Calla’s trembling form tucked in against me.
He held his hand up to reveal a now spotlessly clean dragon stuffy.
I gave him a thumbs up, mouthing “thank you” before I spoke out loud to Calla.
“Calla? Sweetheart, I want you to take a look at something. I think you may have lost it earlier today on your way here.”
She hiccupped and lifted her face, keeping one hand on my shoulder while she wiped at her face with the other. I reached over to the side table and tugged a few tissues from the box before using them to wipe her face clean. Then grabbed another one and got her to blow her nose.
“Sweet girl, did the picture of the dragon upset you because you lost your dragon stuffy?”
She hiccupped through a sob and gave me a jerky nod. Her eyes, red rimmed from crying, looked so heartbreakingly sad as she sat on my lap. She focused on my mouth, as she often did. I’d known her for less than twenty-four hours and she already had me fully hooked.
“Let me see if I can guess what happened. Your stepfather drugged you this morning, so he could fly you from Denver to here without having to actually deal with you. Since it’s not the first time he’s drugged you like that, you’ve built up a bit of resistance to whatever he used and came out from under its influence earlier than expected.
With how Jack’s been tormenting you with what he believed would happen to you here, I bet you threw a helluva fit when you realized where you were being taken.
You tried to get free, didn’t you, sweet girl? ”