Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
By the time the doors closed on Saturday afternoon, Carri was done. All she wanted was to pack up the remaining critters and take them home. She still did not want to just give them away, but she also did not think she had enough left in her to sit through one more day.
Her ankle was throbbing despite over-the-counter pain medication, her butt hurt from sitting all day, and her head hurt from being social when she really just wanted to hide in a closet and crochet.
She was also out of patience with nosy customers who wanted to know all the details of how she’d injured herself, and her sisters who were hovering around her and treating her like a brainless twit.
Reaching across the table, she picked up the critters she could reach and tossed them into a box under the table. Once she finished the ones she could reach, she began breaking down her table.
An elephant out of her reach jumping off the table into the aisle proved to be the last straw.
Tears filled her eyes and overflowed as she tossed empty shoe boxes over her shoulder before wadding up the tablecloths her sisters had used to cover the boxes that had added height to her displays. She shoved them, and the last few animals into a box.
“What are you doing?” Lottie asked after she dealt with closing down her own booth for the night.
Carri saw Rooker approaching, so she waited until he was close enough to hear before answering.
“I’m done. I won’t be coming back tomorrow.”
While her words were directed at Lottie, her gaze remained on Rooker. He nodded back as if in agreement.
“But …” Lottie started, stopping when she could not come up with an argument.
Rooker stopped in front of the table and picked up the escaped elephant before moving around the table and knelt before her.
“How about we both take a day off? We can snuggle on the couch, watch movies and recover.”
Carri nodded as he used gentle fingers to wipe her cheeks free of the tears that had escaped. “I’d like that, Daddy.”
Rooker looked around her booth. “What are you going to do with the rest of your critters?”
Carri shrugged, too tired to think about the fate of her crocheted friends. “I guess I’ll let Lottie donate them to the hospital.”
“Or you could let me sell them at my store,” he offered as he handed her the elephant.
She hugged the light purple pachyderm before setting it in the box with the others. “Do you think you could sell them?”
Rooker smiled as he stood up. “I think my customers will buy anything you want to let me put in my store. You have a unique product that speaks to people. They’re too cute for words and I think people can feel all the love you put into each animal.”
“She’ll need to think about it.” Lottie broke into their conversation. “We’ll also need to see a contract that spells out the details, like sales price, your commission, and so forth.”
Carri looked at her sister then back at Rooker. “I’m sorry. She’s the business mind of the family. I’m just the critter maker.”
Rooker gave her a frown which she took to mean they would be having a discussion about her self-view. But it was the truth. She did not have a business mind, she just wanted to play with yarn.
“I’ll get back to you next week, Miss Business Mind. For now though, I’m taking Carri home with me. Will you need help tomorrow afternoon getting everything packed up and out?”
By then Tilly had joined them. She looked at Carri as she answered for her sister. “Give me a call tomorrow afternoon, Carri. We should know by then if we’ll need help or not.”
Carri nodded and looked from one sister to the other. “I’m sorry I won’t be here tomorrow.”
Tilly stepped closed and gave her an awkward hug. “I totally understand. Take it easy and if we don’t see you here, we’ll see you at home tomorrow night?”
That was a question Carri could not answer at the moment. Though she and Rooker had been together for less than three days, she already knew she did not want to leave him behind and return to her lonely life filled with yarn, critters, and her tablet full of stories about being Little.
Swallowing hard, she glanced at Rooker before answering. “I’ll let you know tomorrow what’s happening.”
“All right,” Tilly said before turning to Rooker. “Hurt her and you’ll answer to me. Understand?”
“Yes, Ma’am. But I have no plans on hurting her. I want to take care and make sure she’s healthy and happy.”
Before Tilly could respond, a security guard joined them. “Sorry folks, but you need to take this conversation outside. I gotta close up now.”
Looking around, Carri was surprised to see they were again the last ones in the hall.
She gasped when Rooker bent down and picked her up.
Grabbing her bags with one hand, she wrapped the other arm around his neck to hold on as he carried her out of the room.
Taking a deep breath, she relaxed into him.
She was in pain, exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but knew there was a lot to discuss when they returned to Rooker’s home.
She only hoped she had enough energy left to be a part of that conversation.
Rooker looked over and found Carri was nearly asleep as they left the parking lot. She did not rouse even when he stopped at his favorite restaurant to pick up the order he’d called in just before joining Carri and her sisters at their booth. He hoped she liked it.
As they waited for the food, he called Laura.
“Yes, Boss?” she said after answering on the third ring.
“Call Sam and ask him to join you in the booth tomorrow. When you pack up, just get everything in boxes and we’ll worry about inventory and putting everything away next week.”
“Sure thing. You okay? Or is it that sweet Little critter crafter that’s got you actually taking a day off?”
“If you need me before tomorrow afternoon, text me,” he said, purposefully not answering her question. “Otherwise I’ll see you about four.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” she said with a giggle before he cut the connection.
“Smartass,” he muttered as he laid his phone in the cupholder.
“Bad words, Daddy,” Carri said as her head swiveled lazily so she could look at him.
“Sorry, little artist,” he apologized. “Close your eyes and go to sleep. We’ll head home as soon as they bring our food out.”
“Okay,” she breathed. Her eyes closed again, and in another moment she was snoring softly.
She did not wake up when he parked in his driveway, so Rooker carried the food and their bags into the house before returning to carry her in.
“We home, Daddy?” she asked softly as her head dropped to his shoulder and he shifted her to one hip to carry her inside.
“Yes, little artist, we’re home. Do you think you can wake up and eat something?”
“No eat. Sleep now,” she breathed.
Instead of carrying her to the bedroom, Rooker laid her on the couch and covered her with a blanket.
“Hector?” she asked without opening her eyes. One hand extended and made grabby-hand motions.
He pulled the oversized purple hedgehog from her bag and handed it to her. She pulled it to her chest and sighed, going immediately into a deeper sleep.
Turning the lights on low, Rooker changed the television to a cartoon channel and set the volume low so as to not disturb her. Leaving her bag with her crocheting in it by the sofa, he put away the others and carried their dinner to the kitchen.
Even if she wasn’t hungry right now, he was, though he did not want to leave her alone. After plating his meal, he carried it and a bottle of water to the living room and settled in his recliner.
It was an hour before Carri’s eyes popped open and she surged to a sitting position. “Oh my god,” she said, looking around with wide, panicked eyes.
“Carri? You okay, babygirl?”
His Little girl focused on him and released a long sigh. “Oh thank goodness. I had a dream you’d decided you didn’t want me anymore and left me sleeping in a strange hotel lobby.”
Rooker rose from the recliner and went to her.
Picking her up, he sat down on the couch with her cuddled on his lap.
“First of all, I would never leave you alone in a strange hotel lobby, sleeping or awake. Secondly, I will never stop wanting you. I know we haven’t been together all that long, but I already love you and don’t plan on letting you go anytime soon. ”
He met her wide-eyed gaze and hoped she could see the certainty in his eyes.
For the last hour he had been debating how long he would have to wait before telling her of the feelings that had been growing out of control since their first meeting.
He had originally planned to wait, but she needed the assurance that he was not going to abandon her anytime soon.
Carri’s eyes widened even further and she looked at him in shock. “You can’t love me already. It’s too soon. Isn’t it?”
He shrugged with a grin. “I don’t know if it is or isn’t, but that’s how I feel. I love you, Carrigan Elizabeth Smith. What do you have to say about that?”
Carri blinked and then swallowed hard before a smile spread across her face. “I think I love you, too, Daddy. And I don’t care what anyone else thinks, but I’ll warn you that Lottie will have something to say when we tell them.”
“That’s okay. They love you and care about you. I expect them to have something to say, though I don’t think they’ll say too much because I think they both found their Daddies this weekend.”
“Really? I saw some men hanging around, but didn’t think much about it,” Carri admitted softly. “I was too busy thinking about you.”
“Good. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing. Now, are you ready for some supper, and a movie?”
“And something to drink?”
“Yes, little one, and something to drink. Do you need to potty first?”
He watched as Carri shifted into her Little headspace. “Yes, please, Daddy. And I’m ‘posed to remind you about finding the scooter that’s in your garage so I can move around without you carrying me everywhere.”
Rooker stood with her in his arms and carried her to the closest bathroom, just off the kitchen.
“I think that can wait. I like carrying you everywhere. It may be the only time I know you’re not getting into trouble.”
Carri looked at him with wide eyes and a sweet, innocent smile on her lips. “But Daddy, I never get into trouble. I’m a good girl.”
He brushed a kiss on her forehead after setting her down in front of the toilet. “I’m sure you are a good girl, but I have a feeling you’re a daredevil, which is why I’m carrying you around in the first place.”
Carri thought about his words before shrugging. “Maybe a little.”
Kneeling before her, he unfastened and pulled down her jeans and her panties. “Sit and pee, babygirl and I’ll be back in just a minute. Call me when you’re finished.”
He stepped out of the bathroom, but hovered nearby. He had a feeling that if he went any further away, Carri would be trying to hop around on her good leg, which would probably end up with her hurting other parts of her body if she lost her balance and fell.
When he heard the toilet flush, he stepped back into the bathroom just in time to catch her when she over balanced as she hopped toward the sink. Sweeping her up, he set her on the counter and frowned at her.
“Didn’t I tell you to call when you were finished?” he asked as he turned on the water and began washing her hands.
She sighed and stared down at their hands under the running water. “I thought I could hop over here and wash my hands without your help.”
“That’s another five to your tally,” he said as he turned off the water and then dried their hands.
“Yes, Daddy,” she sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat.
Picking her up again, he carried her back to the living room and settled her on the sofa once more.
“I’m not trying to be an ogre about this, but I really don’t want you putting any weight on this foot.
Now sit here and find something you want to watch while Daddy fixes your dinner.
Afterward, we’re going to have a conversation about where we’re going from here.
Then we’ll snuggle on the couch, relax, and watch a movie. ”
“Yes, Sir,” Carri answered softly.