Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
The walk from the art tent to Master Derek’s office was the longest of Fiera’s life. Her Daddy held her hand the whole way, and it was a good thing. She was furious. Her tears betrayed her, slipping down her cheeks no matter how hard she blinked.
Laura had ruined everything. Fiera had wanted to win a ribbon at the art show so her Daddy would be proud of her.
Ever more important, she’d wanted her Daddy to love her painting because she’d drawn it for him.
Laura had even cost her wonderful friendships with Sadie, Wren, and Daisy.
Fiera would never forget the look on Daisy’s face and how none of them waited for her to finish before they left.
Now here she was, disqualified from the art show, and marching to Master Derek’s office. And it was all Laura’s fault. She should use this time to plot her ultimate revenge. But Fiera couldn’t think about that right now. Her head was too full of worries about what her Daddy was thinking.
He hadn’t said anything to her since he’d walked back into the tent to find her in so much trouble. He’d barely even looked at her. What if he decided she was too much trouble? No Daddy wanted drama all the time.
But this time it really hadn’t been her fault.
Laura was determined to get Fiera into trouble, and she might have succeeded.
No one was going to believe Fiera when Laura had all those supposed witnesses to lie for her.
Fiera had thought she had friends who would stand by her, but she was wrong.
Her friends had left without even asking what had happened.
Fiera’s chest ached more with each step she took. Wilder, with a Master Mace who wasn’t her Daddy, was going to be awful. It was a small town. They were going to run into each other. How was she supposed to act?
Master Mace said something to Fiera only she had no idea what it was because she didn’t have her stupid hearing aids. Another thing that was Laura’s fault. She wasn’t sure that was true, but she didn’t care. Everything that was wrong in the whole world right now was Laura’s fault.
Master Mace pulled Fiera closer to him. “I want you to come with me.”
Fiera would have stumbled if her Daddy hadn’t been holding on to her. “But… I thought we had to go to Master Derek’s office. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” he said. “Master Gavin is going to tell Master Derek I needed a few minutes.”
Sure. He wanted to tell her he didn’t want to be her Daddy anymore. At least he wasn’t doing it in front of everyone. Sniffling, she walked by his side. Now her tears were real.
Of all the places he could have led her, she never would have expected him to take her to the stables. The smell of dust and hay comforted her. They were familiar and reminded her of home. But what in the world were they doing there?
He led her to one of the stalls, lifting her so her feet were on the lower rung of the Dutch door. Since the top half of the door was open, it was easy to see the horse inside the stall.
Mace stood behind her, his chest pressed against her back, and his arms braced on each side. Reaching into the basket hanging from the post by the stall door, he pulled out a carrot and handed it to her.
“It occurred to me while I was leading the lasso class that I hadn’t introduced you to Giddy.”
Fiera’s heart skipped a beat. Inside the stall stood the most beautiful horse she’d ever seen. Giddy was a darker buckskin with a black mane and tail, and gorgeous black socks. “He’s so handsome, Daddy. Can I ride him?”
“He’d love that, firefly. As soon as we finish talking with Master Derek, we’ll go for a ride.”
Her breath quickened. That didn’t sound like he was leaving her. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “I didn’t cheat.”
He didn’t even look at her. He simply said, “I know.”
That was it. He didn’t ask for an explanation. He didn’t go on for hours about how bad she’d made him look.
He held out the carrot to her. “I thought you might want to give him a snack before we head to the lodge.”
She held the carrot out to Giddy. The horse walked over and bit off the bottom half. She patted his head as he stood there before giving him the other half. Then, for no reason at all, she burst into tears.
Mace took her in his arms and held her. “Here now, little one. What’s all this?”
“I-I was scared y-you wouldn’t believe me.” The relief was overwhelming. “I w-wanted to give it t-to you as a p-present. I w-wanted to w-win the art show so you could be p-proud of me.”
“Hey,” he said, his voice deeper now. With his finger under her chin, he lifted her gaze to his.
“Listen to me. Do you think I need a contest to be proud of you? I don’t.
I couldn’t get any prouder of you if I tried.
I’m proud of you because of who you are, not what you win.
And you can still give your painting to me as a present.
It’ll be the first thing I hang at the Three Eagle Ranch.
Now, we’re going to go talk to Master Derek and explain what happened.
I’ll be by your side the entire time. There is nothing they can say that will make me think anything different about you, do you hear me? ”
With a sniff, she nodded, “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good, now let’s get this over with.”
Laura and her friends were sitting on benches outside Master Derek’s office. Laura’s Daddy was there, too, though he didn’t look very happy.
Fiera tried not to imagine all the awful things that could happen next.
She’d overheard some girls talking the day before about Master Derek’s paddle.
They said it was really big, and Master Derek paddled really hard.
She glanced up at her Daddy. Surely he wouldn’t let someone else spank her, right?
She wished Sadie, Wren, and Daisy were there as well. They’d know if what those girls said was true. This would be so much easier with her friends by her side. Then it would be three against Laura and her four friends instead of one.
Master Mace led Fiera to the only bench still available. She started to scoot past him to sit down, but he scooped her up and placed her on his lap. She’d never felt so safe and protected in her life. When she rested her head on his chest, he began to hum the tune she’d become so fond of.
“Daddy?” she whispered so softly she wasn’t even positive she’d actually spoken. But when his head bent closer to hers and he whispered, “I’m here,” she knew he’d not only heard her, but he had her.
“That song, the one you hum? Does it have words?”
He didn’t answer immediately, as if the question caught him by surprise.
She wondered if she shouldn’t have asked him or at least not asked him when she was sure his mind was already on trying to figure out how to get out of yet another mess she’d gotten them into.
Clutching his shirt a little tighter, she shook her head against his chest.
“Never mind…” she began at the same time he said, “I Cross My Heart.”
What?
His head lowered even further so that his lips brushed against the shell of her ear.
As he began to hum again, the vibration had tingles shooting throughout her entire body.
When he began to sing, the rich tone of his voice poured over her like melted chocolate and had her fingers relaxing their clutch on his shirt.
But when the words made their way into her heart, tears filled her eyes.
She tilted her head back when the last word floated away. The pad of his thumb brushed across her damp cheek.
“Do you really mean that, Daddy? The words you sang?”
“I’ve never meant anything more, babygirl. You can count on every single one of those words being true.”
She snuggled deeper into her Daddy’s arms, knowing he did. This vacation hadn’t been anything like what she’d thought it would be, but at least she was leaving with a new Daddy. And not just any Daddy. Master Mace was the best Daddy in the world.
Everyone jumped when the wide double doors of Master Derek’s office swung open. He stood in the doorway, and to say he didn’t look happy was the biggest understatement of the year.
Derek stood to the side. “If everyone will step into my office, we have a lot to discuss.” He turned as if to walk back into his office.
Looking back, he pointed at the girls who had been sitting with Laura.
“On second thought, Miss Tate, you go in. You ladies stay here. I’ll speak with you separately. ”
Laura looked back at her “gang” before turning to follow Master Derek along with the others. To say Laura’s friends looked squeamish was another understatement.
Despite her Daddy’s assurances, Fiera suddenly didn’t feel so good herself.
She pressed her hand over her mouth. If she threw up, it wouldn’t be a surprise.
The last time she felt this way had been after her final conversation with Erwin the Vermin.
But everything would be okay. Her Daddy had said so.
Comforted by that thought, she wiggled off Master Mace’s lap.
Once on her feet, her Daddy’s strong hands held her in place, making sure she had her balance before those same hands turned her around to face him.
She was eye level, even though she was standing, and he was still seated.
“Listen to me, firefly. This is going to be okay. I promise. You did nothing wrong. Master Derek is a fair man, and he’s been doing this a long time.
I will be right beside you the entire time.
You have a Daddy now, and I will take care of you. ”
Fiera knew he spoke the truth when he traced the letter “X” across the front of her t-shirt where her heart beat beneath the thin cotton.
Finding someone who would put her first and take care of her for a long, long time was a new and comforting experience.
A calmness filled her. She didn’t have to worry.
She was telling the truth, and she had the best Daddy in the world.
More importantly, she knew Mace believed her.