Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
Beverly
The sound of a knock on the door had both her and Lori jumping up and running to answer it. Once they stood in front of the door, they looked at each other and Beverly saw uncertainty in Lori’s eyes.
“Remember what Daddy said,” Beverly said. “He is bringing Blake home.” At the Little’s nod, she asked, “Ready?”
“Yes, together?”
“Together,” Beverly confirmed and with her hand over Lori’s they opened the door. “Thank god.” Beverly pulled Blake into her arms, hugging him as tightly as she could. “You scared the daylights out of me, young man. Your sister has been beside herself. Oh, god, I’m so glad you’re home!”
Muffled sounds came from her Little boy, not a single word intelligible.
“Babe, I think he’s trying to apologize, or maybe telling you you’re smothering him.” Gordon chuckled and while Beverly instantly set Blake back and told him to breathe, Gordon scooped up Lori. “How are you doing, sweetpea?”
“I’m better now,” she said, hugging his neck.
“We’re so glad you’re both back safe and sound,” Erika said as she and Sadie joined them at the door. “We’ll leave you alone for a bit.”
“I can’t thank you both enough for staying with us,” Beverly said. Though she managed to give each of the women a hug, it was one-armed because she simply couldn’t make herself let go of her Little boy.
“I’ll see you later, Lori,” Sadie said. “If you’re going to school tomorrow, I can take you.” She looked at Blake. “Oh, I guess you’ll want your brother to do that.”
“No!”
The sharp rebuttal had everyone looking at Lori who instantly flushed.
“I mean, I’d like to go with you and the other girls. If that’s okay?”
Sadie nodded. “We’d like that, just let me know in the morning.” She gave Lori a hug after Master Gordon bent down so she could reach her. Then she hugged Beverly hard around her waist.
“What’s that all about?” Beverly asked when Sadie looked up.
“I-I can’t help but see you differently now. I’m so sorry about all you went through before you found your way to Rawhide. I’m so glad you came to us even though it meant you had to leave your family.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s the good thing about families. No matter how big they are, there is always enough love to go around. Don’t you worry, I’m the same Nurse MacIntosh you know and love.”
When Sadie giggled, Beverly said, “Now don’t you dare go around telling all the Littles that I’ve become some big old softie. I might have shed a bunch of tears today, but I promise you, I’ll still take my responsibilities very seriously.”
Sadie’s giggle turned into a bark of laughter. “And here I was thinking how it wouldn’t have been right to pull any pranks involving you or the infirmary anymore.”
“What do you mean ‘it wouldn’t have been right’?” Beverly asked, her eyes narrowing a bit.
“Nothing at all,” Sadie said vaguely. “Oh, I think I hear Daddy calling me. See you soon, Lori.” She gave Blake a quick hug on the way out the door. “See you later, alligator!”
Erika laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that girl leave a room quietly. Oh, don’t forget you are all invited to dinner. Let me know if you’d prefer tomorrow or the next night.”
“We will, and again, thanks for everything,” Gordon said. After Erika left, he pulled the door closed and for the first time since they’d been in the infirmary, their little foursome was alone.
“I’m sorry, Mommy. It was wrong to leave. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Blake’s apology made Gordon proud, but he noticed he hadn’t included Lori. He also noticed that Lori hadn’t been struggling to get down or demanding she be allowed to hug her brother.
Despite the apology offered and accepted by Beverly, there was a tension hanging in the air. One that Gordon especially didn’t like.
“I know there is a giant elephant in the room we need to discuss, but that’s going to wait for a bit. We need to eat lunch and then we are going to all fill out new forms?—”
“Why? We already filled out forms before we came,” Lori asked.
“Those forms covered when we came as a couple. The ones we need now will include all of us. As a family, roles are changing. Not in a bad way, just expanding. There might be different expectations from each of us and before the day is over, we need to address what those differences are. Does that explain the need for new forms?”
“I guess,” Lori said.
Beverly noticed the answer was given with about as much enthusiasm as if Lori had been invited to go shopping for a new paddle. While quieter than normal, she hadn’t withdrawn from those around her until Gordon had returned with Blake. She turned to look at her Little boy’s face and saw the same confusion in his expression as she was pretty sure he saw in hers. She wanted to discuss possible reasons with Gordon before she said anything to the Littles.
“Shall we order in lunch? All the menus should be in one of the drawers in the kitchenette.” She began to walk in the direction of the cabinets, but Gordon reached out and laid his hand on her arm.
“I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing quite a lot of this room after lunch. I think it would be better if we go to one of the eateries the Ranch has.” He looked between the Littles, again noticing that Lori was looking anywhere except at Blake who was staring at her with the saddest expression he’d had since walking out of the woods. That was something that would need dealing with as soon as possible.
“Blake mentioned this renowned mac and cheese. So I guess it’s the cafeteria?”
“We don’t have to eat in the cafeteria. All the restaurants offer that dish and other items specifically for Littles.” Beverly offered. “Both the Mexican and Italian restaurants have delicious dishes on their menus. Or we could get a sandwich in the Café if you prefer. We could even eat on the patio. We have lots of choices.”
When no choices were declared by the other three, Beverly gave it a last shot. “Okay, how about we leave the Ranch and go to my house? I can make lunch and…”
“No,” Gordon said, cutting off that avenue. “I don’t believe Blake will be leaving the Ranch until several things have been done. Which can’t be started until after he’s had lunch. Our boy’s belly has been talking since I found him in the woods. I don’t really care if it’s tacos, ravioli, or a PB&J sandwich. All I know is the quicker we eat, the sooner we can begin putting this family back together again.”
Beverly didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t the teary-eyed, hug-filled reunion she’d been picturing ever since walking into this room. Sure, she’d hugged her boy, but it now appeared her girl was slipping away. She looked at Gordon, trying to telegraph her concern. “Gordon?—”
“This isn’t right.”
It hadn’t been Gordon speaking, but Blake. She switched her attention to him. “What do you mean, pumpkin?”
“We can’t start until we finish.”
Blake’s cryptic answer didn’t do anything but further confuse her. “Blake?—”
She was cut off again, this time by Lori.
“What does that even mean? You were there in the room when Daddy finished the story. Well, until you decided you didn’t want me as your sister and snuck out, that is.”
“Lori—” Beverly only managed the single word before Blake cut in.
“No, she’s right?—”
“Will all of you stop interrupting me! Someone please tell me what the hell is going on here? I don’t care which of you does, but if someone doesn’t start talking right now, I swear, I’m going to open that cabinet and grab whatever implement I see first and start blistering some bottoms!” Beverly threatened.
“That’s what I’m trying to say!” Blake said, throwing his hand up.
“What? You want her to… to spank you?” Lori asked, the disbelief clearly showing in how huge her eyes had widened.
“No, I want him to spank me.”
Both Lori and Beverly’s heads whipped up to look at the only other him in the room. “Buddy, we talked about this?—”
“I know, Daddy, but I can’t do this.”
Forget the rabbit hole. Beverly felt as if she’d fallen to the bottom, then walked through some looking glass and was on her way to Neverland. Giving up, she dropped down on the ottoman. When she caught Gordon and Lori staring at her, she shrugged. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m done trying to get the three of you to make sense.” She pointed at Gordon. “You spanked my ass to remind me you’re my Dom, and I’ve never been happier to submit to you than right this minute. You’re supposed to be the one in charge. It doesn’t matter which role you want to take, Dom or Dadd—” This time she cut herself off. Looking back at Blake, she just realized what she’d heard. “You called him Daddy.”
“Uh, duh,” Blake said, rolling his eyes. “What did you think took us so long to come back? Daddy found me and we had a long talk. He set me straight on a few things after he let me bawl like a big fat baby.”
“Hey, we don’t call ourselves names,” Beverly said.
“According to Daddy, we don’t hide from the truth either. So, though I’m starving, if I try to eat I won’t be able to no matter where we go. I am not going to feel right until Lori actually looks at me and calls me her brother again and maybe even gives me a pinch or a punch for scaring her yet again, and then our Daddy gives me the spanking I so richly deserve. How’s that for truth?”
The Gordon Beverly was now looking at wasn’t the same Gordon who’d walked into the room. For that matter, the Little girl in his arms wasn’t the same girl who’d watched the prodigal Little boy return. Both these people were beaming as if they’d been dipped in a golden light.
“Daddy, let me down, please,” Lori said, already squirming like a worm before he even bent forward. The moment her feet hit the floor, she ran to Blake and the two toppled over at the force of the impact. Lori straddled Blake’s hips and leaned down to take his face between her hands in order to keep him prisoner as she began to plant kisses all over his face.
For someone much smaller than their Little boy, their Little girl was pretty strong, or perhaps just awfully determined. When Blake declared, “Uncle!” Lori gave him one last smack on his cheek before sitting back.
“Oh, I forgot this. Don’t ever do that again. Big brothers don’t run away from little sisters. Got it?”
Beverly couldn’t believe she saw what she had, but when Blake gave a very loud yelp, followed by, “Hey, I said a pinch or a punch, not both!” she understood she was witnessing her two Littles becoming siblings.
Climbing off him, Lori swiped her hands together to telegraph she believed she’d taken care of the issue between them before she marched back to Gordon. “Your turn, Daddy. But don’t spank him too hard because it’s sorta our fault too for not making sure he knew we wanted him. Oh, and don’t spank a long time because I heard his tummy talking too.”
Beverly bit back her laugh as she observed Gordon looking totally flummoxed. It was a sight she’d never seen and one she hoped to witness again and again. Their Littles were definitely going to keep life entertaining. Holding out her hand, she gestured to Lori to come join her. Once Lori was on her lap, Beverly put her feet up on the ottoman and added her two cents worth, “You heard our girl, pick up the pace, please.”
“You two just keep at it,” Gordon said, pointing a shaking finger at them. “There’s plenty of spanks to go around.”
“You better give me mine first, or else I might die of starvation.”
“We certainly can’t have that, now can we?”
Beverly and Lori witnessed Gordon extending his hand to Blake who was still lying on the floor. Instead of helping him to his feet though, the pull continued even after Blake was standing, until her Little boy found himself slung over his Daddy’s shoulder. As the two disappeared into the master bedroom, Lori and Beverly looked from the closing door to each other.
“Wow, did you see that? Daddy is really strong,” Lori said. “He’s kinda like a giant.”
Standing five inches over six feet, and weighing at least twice what she did, Gordon was indeed a large man. Add in the fact he made it a point to keep the same physique that had earned him a full football scholarship in college, and she supposed he could be a little intimidating, but never to anyone he cared about.
“Yes, but he is our gentle giant.” Beverly had always known Blake sometimes had difficulty feeling “Little ” when he was larger than his Mommy. Seeing how effortlessly Gordon had tossed him over his shoulder made her smile. Gordon’s pure physicality would go a long way in helping their Little boy feel small. “I must say I’m happier than a clam.”
“What does that even mean?” Lori asked.
“Well, it comes from the phrase happier than a clam at high tide .”
“Is that supposed to clear it up?”
Beverly laughed. “No, I suppose not unless you know that clams love when the tide is high because it conceals their hiding places and they feel safe and calm. They know the water is deeper and they won’t be picked up and eaten. You know, they’re happier.”
Lori nodded. “That makes sense…”
When the sound of a Little boy’s squeal made it to them despite the closed door, Lori looked at her Mommy. “I think the low tide just rolled in.”
“I believe you’re right, Li’l Bit.”
Lori laid her head on her Mommy’s shoulder and Beverly knew the Little was feeling every one of the smacks her Daddy was delivering to her brother’s behind. When squeals became cries and then pleas and promises never to be naughty again, she also knew Lori understood Blake needed every single one.