Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Each path in nature leads to a new discovery
Tula
“I spy a horse’s ass.” Tula smiled as the flicking tail of her mount gave away the horse’s position where she’d pushed through the trees.
“What were you looking at?” she asked even as Sky Dancer turned and nuzzled Tula’s neck.
Tula slid a hand up the mare’s body to stroke along her neck.
“Is that supposed to make me forgive you for running off?” she asked. “Or were you a bit jealous too?”
The horse didn’t answer but she didn’t really need to.
Tula had been jealous enough for the both of them.
Seeing her uncle so crazy in love was one thing but seeing her aunt giving him a look in some sort of unspoken challenge had Tula making her excuses as needing to find a “pink” bush to give the two some privacy.
She’d been visiting for a week now and knew the couple would appreciate a bit of time to rest their weary bones.
Your definition of “rest” must differ from most.
Tula giggled at the snark of her inner goddess.
True enough. Those two had been itching to get their hands on each other for days now.
Of course, it was partly their own fault.
They would have had plenty of time to be all kissy-kissy if they hadn’t made it their duty to keep their niece entertained.
Could it be that neither of them considered the fact that their niece wasn’t some kid who required constant entertaining?
She hadn’t yet found a way to admit how she’d really like to be entertained.
By a Daddy, you mean?
Well, yes, but how does one go about admitting that? It wasn’t like she could look across the kitchen table and ask, “Have any clue where a needy Little can find the perfect Daddy?”
Sky huffed, drawing Tula’s attention back to her, but when the mare tossed her head, Tula found herself turning to look over her shoulder down further into the valley.
Though too far away to really see, Tula smiled.
“You’re right, it’s not like the two don’t know the exact place to find what I need.
I just need to woman up and ask for advice.
” After all, those two couldn’t be better suited for each other if they tried and they’d met where?
Rawhide Ranch.
Exactly, and while she was currently staying on Rawhide Ridge, tomorrow she’d be an official Ranch client. All she had to do then was find a Daddy of her very own. Perhaps she’d even ask Aunt Jayne for some tips on how best to find her man.
Laughing, Tula fisted the fingers of one hand into Sky’s mane in preparation of mounting when she spotted something on the ground. Dropping into a squat, she looked up.
“Sorry, Cinderella, but I’m afraid even if you’d managed to get your foot inside the actual shoe this wouldn’t fit,” she teased as she pulled the Velcro that had attached itself to Sky’s leg free.
“Besides, from its size, I’m betting this glass slipper belongs to some Prince Charming rather than any princess.
A prince who is currently wondering where he lost his shoe.
” Standing, she looked around but nothing caught her eye.
She had no clue how far Sky had walked while dragging the shoe, but just because she didn’t see a cliff face where one would need a unique type of climbing shoe didn’t mean there wasn’t a cavern nearby.
Instead of ascending, perhaps they’d chosen to descend into the earth.
Looking down, she tried to imagine someone walking unseen beneath her feet.
She shook her head. They’d have to be rather silly to try spelunking with one shoe missing.
Still, she hesitated to take the shoe with her. Instead, she stood at Sky’s side and showed her the shoe. “Any hint to where you found this?”
You do know she’s a horse and not a bloodhound, right?
Tula also knew the horse belonged to a man who possessed the remarkable ability to relay information simply by motions and expressions rather than speech.
It wasn’t like she’d expected Sky to actually answer.
It only stood to reason his beloved horses would take on a few of her uncle’s talents.
When the horse tossed her head and stepped forward, Tula stuck her tongue out at her inner pessimist. Accepting the victory, she followed Sky with the intention of leaving the shoe at any site where it had more of a chance of being discovered.
A glare had her squinting as the sun reflected off the river’s surface causing the water droplets tumbling over the short falls to dance like diamonds tossed into the air.
There wasn’t a soul in sight, but that didn’t dampen Tula’s enthusiastic praise.
“I can see why the prince picked this spot. It’s straight out of a scene from a fairy tale.
” Tula reached up to pet the horse’s neck as she looked over the river.
As an urge far too strong to ignore hit her, she grinned.
Deciding that providing additional “private time” as her hostess gift would only endear her further with her aunt and uncle, she dropped the shoe.
It was quickly joined by her t-shirt, her bra and, after sitting to tug off her boots, her jeans as well.
Shimmying out of her panties, she turned to see Sky watching her. “Keep an eye out for bandits, okay?”
The horse tossed her head and Tula laughed and since it wasn’t safe to simply fling herself into the water without knowing what might lay hidden beneath its surface, she walked down the bank and into the river.
The shock of the cold water stole her breath as it wrapped itself around her.
Tula didn’t fight its embrace, but simply opened her arms and hugged it right back once she was deep enough to curl into herself and dive into its depths.
She swam until there were no bubbles left to expel before reversing direction.
Riding had been glorious, but swimming was up there in her top five favorite activities.
The only way it could be better was if she had her friends to play with.
She couldn’t wait until the next day when she’d meet up with more of Sadie’s and Wren’s cohorts.
Sadie was not only married to the owner of Rawhide Ranch, she was also a Little.
And Wren was the wife and Little of Travis who had the responsibility of taking care of the Ranch’s horses.
The trio had instantly bonded upon sight when Tula had first visited her Uncle Moses when he’d still been living at the Big House.
Since then, he’d not only married Jayne, the Ranch’s beloved Nanny J, they’d moved to the Ridge which was where Tula was staying on this visit.
Her friends and their Daddies had come to dinner the first night Tula had arrived on the Ridge.
Upon learning there was a camp opening, and at the two Littles’ rather compelling insistence, Tula had not only convinced her uncle and aunt that she really, really, really wanted to attend, but then had spent hours filling out the numerous and ridiculously long forms included in the registration packet.
Her sense of triumph lasted all of two seconds, which was the amount of time it took Master Derek to accept the forms from her possibly permanently clawed fingers all that writing had induced, and then to look at her and ask one of the silliest questions she’d ever had to answer.
Of course, she had the sense not to roll her eyes when asked if she felt she was proficient at swimming, riding, and hiking.
Instead, she sighed. “Do bears shi… um, poop in the woods?” She quickly changed her choice of verb at the sight of three pairs of eyebrows quirking.
“They do, but they also eat Littles who don’t respect the rules.” It was her uncle’s hands that had done the signing of the words, but Tula was pretty sure all three of them agreed with that little warning.
Turned out she’d not been taken at her word either. Riding hadn’t been any issue as Sadie and her Daddy had joined the trio on a ride one afternoon along with Master Travis and Wren. It had taken all of five minutes for both men to sign off on her horsemanship.
When being informed that they still had another skill to prove, the three girls had performed a very extensive happy dance when learning it included a trip to the pool.
However, visions of floating on giant inflatable swans, dolphins, and seahorses were dashed when they’d arrived at the Ridge’s community pool to discover playing wasn’t one of the skills being tested.
“Master David needs proof that you can not only swim, but can tread water,” Master Derek said.
“Fiiiiiiiine…” Wren had drawn out the word as if it contained about a thousand syllables before taking another breath and adding, “Then we can break out of pool prison and play, right?” The boldness of which Wren had asked the question had increased her standing in Tula’s eyes.
It turned out that proving their abilities took a bit more effort than any of the trio being tested had thought.
“Wait. Let me get this straight. We have to tread water for fifteen minutes?” Wren had asked.
“Forget the time. I want to know who swims with their clothes on?” Sadie had asked when her attempt to strip down to her bathing suit was thwarted by none other than Tula’s aunt.
Aunt Jayne shook her head and lifted her eyes from the clipboard she held where she’d been marking off who knows what on yet another form. “Snarky Littles who flip out of canoes or slip off river banks.”
Wow, no wonder Littles tended to scatter like skittles when her aunt used that tone of voice.
Tula stood in awe as she personally witnessed her sweet Auntie Jayne don the persona of the stern Nanny J of Rawhide Ranch legend.
If Tula needed proof that Sadie hadn’t just been telling tales, witnessing that interaction had erased all doubts about her friend’s veracity.