Chapter 7 #2
She let out an indignant grunt and stomped her foot. She’d never stomped her foot before, but really. “Daddy! I walked all the way here, just like you said!”
He chuckled, low and warm against her ear. “You did, and I’m very proud of you. But before you race willy-nilly around the field, you have a new rule to follow.”
Don’t be sassy. Don’t be sassy.
“Did you really just say willy-nilly, Daddy? What does that even mean?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “I’m not sure. Would you like to sit beside me while I look it up on my phone?”
“No!” She sighed dramatically, but she stilled, even though every muscle in her body buzzed with pent-up energy. “What’s the new rule?”
“No taking off your sunglasses,” he said firmly. “Not for any reason. You get tagged, you get tagged. You trip, you trip. But those sunglasses stay on.”
She nodded before he finished speaking. “That’s not a new rule, but okay!”
He narrowed his eyes. “That was too fast.”
“I promise,” she insisted, already bouncing on her toes. “I won’t take them off.” She must have satisfied him, at least for now, because he finally released her.
She shot across the field in a blur of motion.
Running felt like flying. The sun was bright but manageable behind her dark lenses, the air warm, and her lungs burned in the best way. She zigzagged through bodies, darted around trees, and laughed until her sides hurt. This was who she was. Fast and reckless and alive.
Then her sunglasses slipped down the bridge of her nose.
She shoved them up mid-sprint. They slid back down. And again. And again.
When they finally tumbled off entirely, skittering across the grass, she skidded to a stop with a growl, scooped them up, and immediately felt a hand slap her shoulder.
“Tagged!” Daisy called as she ran past, laughing.
“Ugh!” Fiera snapped, standing frozen in place, waiting for someone to run by and unfreeze her. It was all the stupid sunglasses’ fault. She shoved the sunglasses into her back pocket, irritation buzzing hot under her skin. They were stupid, anyway.
Sadie swung by moments later and tapped her. “Unfreeze!”
Fiera bolted. Unfortunately, her path took her straight into the sun. White exploded behind her eyes, blinding her. Panic flared, and she cut hard to avoid being tagged again, only to collide full force with another girl. Their heads collided with a sickening crack.
The world spun. Fiera hit the ground hard, stars bursting across her vision as she groaned. “Ow…”
“Hey!” the other girl snapped, clutching her forehead. “You ran into me on purpose! You had your eyes closed!”
“I did not!” Fiera protested, mortified, tears stinging her eyes.
Master Mace was there in seconds, kneeling beside her, hands gentle but firm as he checked her head. “Easy, babygirl. Look at Daddy.”
She did. Or tried to. Everything felt fuzzy.
“She did it on purpose,” the girl insisted. “She wasn’t even looking!”
The girl’s Daddy appeared by her side. “Let’s take a look at you, Laura. We can work out who is to blame once we know everyone is all right.”
Master Mace’s voice stayed calm, but steel underpinned it now. “Fiera.”
Fiera squirmed, embarrassed to be the center of attention, with a throbbing head and now defensive. Was he taking another girl’s side against her? “I didn’t mean to!”
“I know that, little girl. I also know why you ran into her. She was hurt because of your actions. You need to apologize to Laura,” Master Mace said quietly.
She crossed her arms, not caring that his voice was so soft she was probably the only one who heard him. “I said I didn’t—”
His gray eyes turned stormy. “Now.”
Okay, everyone around them heard that. Her jaw clenched. “I’m sorry I accidentally ran into you,” she muttered.
Master Mace exhaled slowly. “That’ll do for now.”
He scooped her up before she could argue, settling her gently against his hip.
Heat flooded her face as campers stared.
He turned to the other girl’s Daddy. “I’m very sorry Laura was hurt.
Please let me know if she’s all right or if there’s anything I can do to help.
” Turning to Fiera, he added, “We are going to have a talk.”
“But I wanted to do crafts,” she mumbled, her headache shifting from throbbing to pounding.
“Then you should have made better choices,” he said firmly, carrying her toward a few cabins on the other side of the stables.
She slumped against him, secretly comforted by how solid he felt. Big. Strong. Safe.
Inside his cabin, he set her on the couch and examined the bump on her head.
“It doesn’t look too bad, but you are going to have a bruise.
Wait here while I get some pain reliever and a boo-boo bag from the freezer.
” He returned with pain medicine, a bottle of water, and a bright green ice pack shaped like a frog.
“Hold this to your forehead until I tell you to stop.”
“Yes, Daddy. What’s the froggy’s name?”
“I don’t think it has a name. What would you like to call your boo-boo frog?”
She studied the frog through narrowed eyes. It was cute. She’d never had a boo-boo frog before. “I think I’ll name him Hopsicle.”
“Hopsicle is a fine name. Now, hold Hopsicle to the bump on your forehead.”
He sat with her for the ten minutes she held the compress to her forehead, pulling her to lean against him and humming a tune she didn’t recognize. His voice was deep and soothing. When he took it from her, she had to admit her headache was gone.
Returning to the couch, he sat beside her, but this time he turned her to face him. “You disobeyed my explicit instructions to keep your sunglasses on,” he said evenly. “And you hurt yourself and someone else because of it.”
“I didn’t mean to. They kept falling off, and after the three hundred millionth time, I just didn’t put them back on.” She needed him to know that, to believe she wasn’t a bad person. She wasn’t selfish.
“I know, babygirl,” he said. “But intent doesn’t erase consequences. You’re lucky that all you each got was a bump on the head. What if it had been a concussion? That could have been very serious. Neither of you would be able to participate in all the fun this weekend.”
She sniffled. Scolding sucked. Especially when everything he said was right.
“And speaking of consequences, I want you to write a better apology to Laura. You owe her that,” he continued. “Then you’ll write one to her Daddy. I’ll help you find Laura at the bonfire tonight.”
Her stomach dropped. She had to write two apologies? What was she supposed to say? Yes, she was sorry. She felt awful. She would never deliberately hurt anyone. “Can’t I just write lines?”
“What would that do? This isn’t about punishment. It’s about doing the right thing. If it will help, we can talk about what you can say. I’ll help you all I can, but you have to put pen to paper and write it out.”
She really wished she hadn’t given in to her temper and had kept her sunglasses on. Her Daddy was right. She needed to apologize. It was the right thing to do, but she wasn’t sure how much it would help her feel better about what she’d done.
Master Mace helped her to the kitchen table and gave her paper and a pen.
She had an extra sheet, so she doodled swirls and loops while trying to think of the best way to start.
Her heart was too heavy to think. True to his word, Master Mace sat down at the table opposite her, ready to help if she asked.
Without looking up from what he was doing, he rocked her world. “Oh, and, Fiera, just because this isn’t a punishment doesn’t mean you don’t have one coming. We’ll be having another discussion after the bonfire tonight.”
Her heart fluttered, nervous and thrilled all at once. “Yes, Daddy,” she whispered.
And somehow… she felt safer than she had in months.