Chapter 8
“Daddy?”
Pike looked down at his Little one. “Yes, baby?”
“My feets hurts.”
Frowning Pike bent down in front of her to check her shoes. “Is it because of your new shoes?” he asked, picking up one foot and sliding the shoe and sock off. Her skin looked fine, no red marks or blisters he could find.
“No. My shoes is comfy.”
“Why do your feet hurt, Bitty Baby?”
“We’ve been doing lotsa walking.”
“Yeah, we have. Do you need a rest?” Pike asked.
They had been exploring the Ranch since they’d finished their breakfast, only going back to their room once for a diaper change.
They were on their way to the indoor playground and arcade, but if she needed a rest, Pike would take her back to the room.
“No, just maybe you can carry me so my feets can has a rest,” she said, nodding confidently.
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 and he 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.
Pike was beginning to learn that Little boys only had one speed—fast.
“Who called you?”
“Miss Phoebe. She is one of your teachers in the nursery and wanted to make sure they had a non-dairy ice cream for you for a party closer to Halloween.”
“Oh!” Her face lit up in the happiest smile. “I like Rawhide Ranch.” She pulled Teefs to her chest and rubbed the zombie's cotton foot over her nose. “I think our friends would too.”
He thought about their friends and smiled. “They would like it, sweet girl. Maybe we can plan another vacation and bring them next time.”
“Yeah, next time, but this time is just for me and you,” she said.
He nodded. “Just me and you, Bitty.” Reaching up, he tickled her tummy and she slapped her hands over it.
“Will you watch me slide down the big slide?” she asked, pointing to the biggest slide on the play structure.
“I will. That’s a very tall slide so make sure to take your time getting to the top, okay?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Pike walked over to the edge of the ballpit and waited for his Little girl to reach the top.
His Daddy heart beat rapidly in his chest as he waited for her to slide down.
Was it too high for her? Should he have told her to stay closer to the bottom?
Just as he was about to climb the structure, she came shooting out of the slide and into the ball pit.
Her loud giggles were the only thing that kept him from jumping in to get her out.
She crawled to him and he helped her out of the pit. “Did you see me and Teefs, Daddy? We was so super-fast.”
Pike laughed when he saw the zombie sticking out of the front of her dress. She’d tucked her lovie into the neck of her clothing. Clever girl.
“I did see, you were so fast, Daddy almost didn’t see you, that's how fast you were going,” he praised.
“Can I go down it again, Daddy?”
Even though every bit of him wanted to tell her no, he bit his cheek and nodded his head, smiling as she hurried off to slide down again.
He hadn’t expected to be so protective of Baby Dallas—he was already ridiculously overprotective as it was, but there was something about her new headspace that made him want to tuck her into his pocket and never let anything hurt her again.
Dallas was a fit of giggles as she sat in Pike’s lap steering a car in the arcade.
“Watch out for the chicken.” He laughed, helping her turn the wheel to miss the animal on the screen.
“You almost made nuggets out of him, Bitty!” The silly farm game had been her favorite in the arcade, even though she’d crashed into the barn four times already.
Suddenly Dallas froze and Pike paused the game. “Bitty?”
It was then that he felt the warmth through her diaper. “Oh, babygirl. What a good job,” he praised.
She turned to look up at him with her tear-filled eyes. “I didn’t mean to, I was just giggling so hard.”
“You did exactly what Daddy wanted you to do, Bitty. That was such a good girl,” he said, standing with her in his arms. He grabbed her bag and tossed it over his shoulder. “Let’s go change you, yeah?”
She pulled Teefs to cover her face, and Pike patted her soggy bottom. “You’re being so brave, babygirl.”
Pike made his way to the nearest bathroom where he knew they’d find a changing table.
He set her on the thin mat and quickly pulled off her diaper cover and wet diaper.
Wiping her clean took no time and he applied her cream and fresh diaper like a pro.
“Daddy’s getting pretty good at this, Dallas,” he teased, winking at her.
She watched him from behind one of Teefs’ legs.
She gave him a timid smile. He set her on her feet and cleaned the area before washing his hands.
“Alright, Bitty. What do you say we have some lunch, a nap, and then maybe we can go swim?”
“Swim?” she asked, perking up.
Once he had her in his arms again, he walked her back in the direction of their room.
He smiled at Hadley, the Little girl from the Caterpillar room, as she walked by holding the hand of a man Pike hadn’t met yet.
“Hi,” the Little girl called by pressing a different button on her tablet.
“Hi, Hadley,” Dallas greeted with a small wave. “Swim?” she asked once they entered the elevator.
“Yes, they have a large indoor pool that will be so fun for you,” he explained.
“Cold?” she asked.
“No, it’s heated, baby. Daddy wouldn’t let you in a cold pool,” he promised, kissing her cheek.
“Fun!” She clapped her hands together, her earlier embarrassment gone. Pike noticed she’d slipped into speaking in one-word sentences, not that he minded. Actually, he hoped it was a sign she was getting comfortable as Baby Dallas.
“I think you’ll have so much fun. And Daddy got you a spooky spider swimsuit.”
“Spooky!” She clapped again.
“Well, Daddy actually ordered you several spooky swimsuits, but I think you will like the spooky spider one the best.”
Pike stepped off the elevator and walked toward their room. “Eat?” she asked, her face wrinkled into a frown.
“We’re going to order room service and eat in our room. Daddy wants you to be cozy and have a bottle before your nap and he wants to rock you for a bit. He missed you today.”
Dallas laughed. “We were together alla the day.”
He unlocked the door and set her on the sofa in the sitting room. “We were, but Daddy didn’t get to baby you or hold you and now he needs to,” he explained, after kneeling in front of her.
She threw her arms around him and pressed kisses to his face. “I love you, Daddy. So manies.”
“I love you too, baby. So manies,” he repeated, meaning each word with his entire heart.