Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
The earth laughs in flowers—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tula
She had a Daddy!
If the look Wren and Sadie shared was any clue, she wasn’t the only one who knew it either.
Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single Little in sight who looked the least bit surprised to see her walking out of the woods with her hand holding Master David’s or appeared shocked when he pulled her to him and lifted her up to plant a kiss—not on her head or her forehead, or even the tip of her nose.
Nope, he kissed her full on the mouth and didn’t even stop when the camp became a raucous chorus of “oohs, ahhs” and a great deal of exaggerated smacking of lips.
“Wow,” she said as he released her.
“Figured you wouldn’t mind skipping a few more steps,” he said with a grin.
“You figured right. I’ve always been a fan of skipping.”
He chuckled, kissed her again and then set her back on her feet.
She was awfully glad he didn’t instantly release her because she wasn’t all that positive her legs were ready to hold her up. When he chuckled and said, “Bees at twelve o’clock and closing fast,” she giggled and looked to see Sadie and Wren making a beeline toward her.
“Go! There’s no reason to have them sting us both!”
He laughed and dropped a kiss on top of her head before heading in the opposite direction.
Tula felt a surge of desire shoot through her as she watched him walk away, the urge to run after him only curtailed by the arrival of her friends.
“Well, well, well, looks like somebody got their prize a bit early.” Sadie’s eyes twinkled and she had a huge smile on her face.
“I know you wanted fluffy, but that pretty much looked like the opposite of soft,” Wren said as she wagged her eyebrows up and down.
“I have a Daddy!”
The only thing more comical than a Daddy rolling his eyes was watching an entire circle of Little campers doing so in unison. Tula giggled. “Okay, I guess that’s pretty obvious. But, guys, I’ve got an honest-to-goodness Daddy!” She lowered her voice to add, “And he spanks!”
Her friends exchanged another look. “He wouldn’t be much of a Daddy if he didn’t, but how do you feel about that?” Sadie said.
Tula didn’t hesitate. “I feel good even though it hurt. Does that make me weird?”
“Do you consider us as well as a huge majority of Littles as weird?” Wren asked.
“Of course not! I think you’re all fabulous!”
“Then, there’s your answer,” Sadie said sagely.
Congratulations and hugs followed and Tula felt an acceptance she’d never imagined she’d ever find. It made her want to cry and laugh all at the same time. Unable to decide which was better, she reached out and touched Payne and then Blake. “You’ve been blobbed!”
“Battle blobs!” Payne shouted and after linking arms with Blake to form a “blob” they took off after their friends as Littles scattered with laughter and shrieks.
Players dodged and darted, until Blake tagged Everly and shouted, “You’ve been blobbed.
” Everly slid her arm into Blake’s free one and newly enlarged blob went in search of another victim.
“Behind you!” Sadie shouted as she leapt over one of the logs used as a seat.
Tula ducked and spun then feinted going right before darting to the left.
The tips of Everly’s fingers came within an inch of her arm.
When Tula ducked to avoid the sweep of Payne’s hand in what was most definitely a coordinated move on the trio’s part, she knew this was definitely not their first battle.
She heard Wren shriek’s cut off and knew without looking she’d been blobbed.
Sadie’s shout of “Double blob!” had Tula turning to look behind her to see how best to get to her fellow Bee without running into Blake or Payne or the new blob created when a fourth player was captured, dividing the original blob into two.
She still hadn’t located Sadie before Tula was lifted completely off her feet.
Her legs continued to churn in midair which earned her a deep-throated chuckle.
“Careful, otter. It’s better to actually watch where you’re going,”
She looked to see she’d been within feet of tripping over the camp sink. “Oops. Thanks, Daddy!”
“You’re welcome.” He set her down and she was off the minute her feet made contact with the ground.
Unfortunately, in the time it took her to circle back, she was not only too late to save Sadie, she had to do an abrupt about-face to avoid the third blob when Sadie snagged Eloise.
Tula took refuge behind a tree, trying to regain her breath as well as not give away her hiding place by giggling when Chloe’s cry was almost immediately followed by Elise’s.
“There she is!” Everly shouted, sending Tula dashing back into the clearing. Within seconds she came to the realization that unless she sprouted wings and flew away, she was done for. Every other camper was connected to another, four very determined blobs closing in on her from all directions.
She held up her hands and was in the process of saying, “I yie—” when she was not only tagged but was blobbed from all sides.
“No yielding allowed!” Payne declared as he and Blake broke apart before high-fiving each other.
As the sole player without anyone left to complete a blob, Tula lost the battle.
“No! Don’t touch her!” Payne said when Master David walked closer. “She’s been blob bombed. She can’t move until the bomb squad defuses her.”
Her Daddy looked around as if expecting to find additional players had joined their camp. Finding none, he asked, “Where’s the bomb squad?”
“Right here. Payne and I are the only ones who can defuse the bomb since we’re the original blob!” Blake said. “But I don’t want to defuse the bomb yet because I want to get my sketchbook!”
“Good idea! Make sure Master David doesn’t try to sneak her away, Master Travis,” Payne said and the two took off toward their backpacks.
Tula heard her Daddy laugh and though she didn’t dare move as she was the one who’d started the whole thing, her lips did turn up into a smile.
The freedom of being allowed to just be her Little self was a privilege she’d never fully understood until attending camp.
Of course, that was before her arms started to tire from being held up.
Her gaze found Blake and at his look of intense concentration, she decided she didn’t have the heart to demand release.
She didn’t even move when both Sadie and Wren simply dropped to sit crisscross-applesauce at her feet.
“What do you think she’s reaching for?” Wren asked.
“Maybe she’s not reaching for something, but offering herself up to something,” Sadie suggested.
“Ohhh, that’s even more fun,” Wren said. “I’ve heard stories about how villages are invaded and in order to save everyone, the virgin maiden has to be tossed into the nearest volcano.”
“Well, I was thinking more elephant than volcano, but that’s not a bad idea,” Sadie said.
The artists flipped their sketchbooks closed and tucked their pencils behind their ears then stepped up and tapped Tula’s shoulder. “You’ve been defused.”
Tula didn’t bother to drop her arms. She just lifted them higher. “Save me, Daddy. They’re trying to throw me in a volcano!”
Her Daddy picked her up but instead of setting her on his hip, he flung her over his shoulder. “Sorry, girls, you’ll have to postpone the sacrifice. It’s time to move out.”
From her upside-down position, Tula stuck her tongue out at her friends who just laughed and stood to follow the rest of the campers down to the river.
With the next shrill of the whistle, they paddled to the riverbank and climbed out of the canoe.
“Though I’m still trying to recover from the fact you two wanted to sacrifice me, I do like the idea of a flower crown.
I can show you how to make one if you want,” Tula said once they’d dragged their canoe well above the water line and had stowed away their paddles and life jackets.
“Well, since there aren’t any active volcanoes around, I guess that’ll have to do,” Wren teased.
“I don’t see any flowers either,” Sadie said, “Looks like you’ll have to settle for a crown of grass with a couple of weeds for extra decoration.”
“Weeds have their own beauty,” Tula said. “I’ll see who wants to join us. You two go make sure we aren’t going to get in trouble if we need to walk out of line of sight.”
Wren offered her hand to Sadie who took it with a smile. “Daddy!” Wren called and Tula’s heart filled when both men turned to look over their shoulders. It was yet another moment she’d never forget.
After getting permission, they rejoined Tula and practically the entire contingent of Littles. The only ones left behind were the Bunnies who were on dinner duty. “We’ll make you crowns,” Tula promised.
“With ribbons!” Eloise demanded.
“And bunny ears,” Everly, her camp buddy added.
“We’ll do our best. Now hop off and make sure our counselors don’t burn supper,” Sadie said.
Everly put her hands on her hips. “I believe it was you three who burned the bacon this morning.”
“Not burned, just rather aggressively charred.” Wren grinned and while Everly just rolled her eyes, Eloise giggled, grabbed her buddy’s hand and the pair began hopping like the rabbits adorning the backs of their t-shirts.
“Oh my gosh! This is awesome!” Sadie said when they squeezed between a pair of boulders and discovered a glen that was covered in wildflowers. “How on earth did you know this was here?”
“There’s a reason they say the earth laughs in flowers,” Tula said. “All you have to do is listen to its voice.”
“And smell the air,” Wren added as she inhaled.
“It laughs because flowers make everyone happy!” Chloe said.
“You can call me Flower if you want to!” Elise added as she flopped backward to lay in the grass while inhaling deeply.
“I think you’ve got your characters a bit mixed up,” Wren said. “Your shirts have deer on them, not skunks.”
Elise sat up to say, “We both can’t be Bambi soooooo…”
A chorus of “ahhhh” sounded as heads nodded, because, of course, to a giggle of Littles, that made perfect sense to them.
Quiet conversation hummed over the group as they picked flowers without having to walk around as they were literally sitting in a field of them.
They were all a bit tired from the exertion expended over the last two days, but everyone wore a satisfied smile as fingers wove stems together to form their crowns.
When Tula held up a length of thin leaves she’d braided into a cord, Blake called out, “That’s a ribbon if I’ve ever seen one. Lori would love that. Would you teach me how you made it?”
“Of course, it’s easy,” Tula said and soon enough they were adding the leafy ribbons Eloise requested to promised wreaths for the Bunnies left behind.
“How about these for ears?” Payne asked, holding up some small twigs.
“Those are perfect!” Tula said, passing him the crowns so he could add the ears Everly wanted. When the sound of a whistle was heard, they stood and helped brush off petals and leaves from each other’s clothing and legs before heading back, each head wearing a floral wreath.
“Your bunny crowns, m’ladies,” Sadie said as Tula and Wren placed them on their friends’ heads.
“You all look like fairies straight out of a story.”
“Daddy!” Sadie shrieked and launched herself into Master Derek’s arms.
“Thought I’d pop in and check on how everyone is doing,” he said after he’d kissed her. “From what I’m seeing, I’d say camp is quite the success so far.”
Tula knew his comment was meant for everyone but felt as if he was asking her directly. Her gaze drifted to Master David and she smiled. “It couldn’t be better, Sir.”
“I’m glad, little one,” Master Derek said, giving her a smile. “Now, who’s hungry?”
Shouts of “me” rang out as Littles started lining up as they did in the Ranch’s cafeteria.
“You look beautiful.”
Tula smiled and leaned against her Daddy as his arms wrapped around her. “You make me feel beautiful, Daddy.”
“Say that again,” he said softly into her ear.
“Daddy,” she whispered and then shuddered in pleasure as his teeth took hold of her earlobe and gave it a small nip.
“Do you remember seeing Tula on the menu board?” Everly asked, causing Eloise to giggle.
“No, but she must be quite tasty because he just took another bite,” Eloise said and then squealed and dashed away when Master David suddenly turned and made as if to grab her.
Tula laughed and accepted the plate Everly offered.
She couldn’t wait to do a bit of nibbling of her own, but until they were in the hive, she’d settle for some nuggets and mac…
. Tula stared at the large pans and then turned to gape at Everly.
“Wow. This looks fabulous. You two deserve far more than a little crown. I didn’t know Chef Connor taught you how to cook! ”
Everly giggled. “He didn’t teach us, he gifted it to us. Master Derek brought it with him. He said Chef Connor and my Daddy didn’t want us to starve out in the wild.”
“Meaning they don’t trust anyone else knows how to cook,” Eloise noted with a smile.
“That’s right. We got lucky. All we had to do was chop stuff for the salad.” Everly pointed to a big bowl at the end of the table.
Tula smiled. “I guess that makes sense seeing as how you have eight rabbit feet between you.”
Her friends looked down at their feet and then curled their fingers into paws before giggling.
“Speaking of lucky feet, may I interest you in a little something to nibble on?” Eloise asked as she lifted a ladle full of deliciously cheesy noodles that every Little on the Ranch knew and loved from eating Chef Connor’s famous mac-‘n’-cheese.
“Forget a little. I want a lot and load me up with those dino nuggets too!” Tula smacked her lips and held out her plate.