Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Like a Rawhide Ranch Little, nature is wild and free
David
He had to wonder what Derek might think of him now.
Granted, Derek was smiling and leading a round of applause as he asked David to join him in the clearing where the campers had gathered.
Part of David wanted to correct Derek as he introduced him as “Master David” and have him change that to “Peeping Tom”.
Not that watching a beautiful woman in a scene was an unusual occurrence at Rawhide Ranch, but there were protocols in place where said woman was aware of her audience before deigning to perform.
If David were completely honest, it wasn’t really Master Derek who had his heart rate rising far more than was justified by simply walking the few steps to where Travis and Derek stood.
Nope, that honor was left to the man who stood as still and as silent as one of the soaring redwoods in forests a few states southwest of Montana.
Moses Banner.
A man who looked as if he held the power of nature in the palm of his hands and the entire history of humanity in his heart.
The man provoked a sense of awe without even trying.
David had nothing but respect for Derek’s right-hand man.
He also knew that as huge and solid as the man appeared, he was capable of turning into a soft cuddly teddy bear when it came to Littles.
Granted, he’d still be one hell of a giant stuffy, but Littles flocked to him like bees to flowers.
Especially one Little who was even now standing on Moses’ right.
Sadie couldn’t be more of a little sister to Moses if she was related by blood.
It was the girl standing on his left that had David’s heart stuttering. The moment she’d walked into the clearing, David had recognized her as the water nymph from the river.
If that young woman is anywhere near as special to Moses’ heart as Sadie Hawkins is, you might as well throw yourself on the blade right now.
It took all David had not to yelp when an elbow dug into his side. He looked up into Travis’ face to see the unspoken question in the man’s eyes. Shit, what was he supposed to be doing instead of picturing his future fate?
“Wanna say a few words of welcome?” Travis prompted, gesturing to the circle of campers waiting expectantly.
“Oh, um, sure,” David started and instead of impaling himself, settled for kicking himself in the behind. If he had to die, then so be it, but right now, he had a job to do.
“I want to commend each of you for being so willing to put effort into earning your spot in Rawhide’s River Camp. I realize it took a lot of energy to pass the physical part of the tests—”
“Not to mention having a case of chronic arthritis from filling out forms.” It turned out that Wren’s observation was shared as a chorus of “Yeah!” was accompanied by a great deal of hands flopping as if from broken wrists.
Of course, the fact that those hands were waving quite vigorously belied the severity of said arthritis.
“Forms that were necessary to assure your safety just as the physical requirements serve to do as well,” David pointed out. “I thank you for your patience during the process and commend you for completing all the requirements.”
“Does all that commending mean you’re going to hand out some lollipops to your patients?” a Little he recognized as Lori called out.
The question might have seemed silly to any other camp counselor, but this wasn’t just any camp and David might be a hardass when it came to safety, but he wasn’t an idiot either.
No way was he correcting the eager Little.
Instead, he raised his eyebrow and answered the Little girl’s question.
“I don’t recall seeing your name on my ‘patient’ list, Lori. ”
“I know!” she said with exaggerated sadness. “Daddy says I’m too little, but my big brother is Blake and I’m pretty sure he’d give me his lolly. I mean, if you are giving out any that is.”
“I see.” David gestured for Lori to come forward.
A chorus of “oohs and ahhs” accompanied her as she left her family which included a woman David was very familiar with as she was the head nurse at the Ranch.
He’d spent many a shift working alongside Beverly MacIntosh.
She and Gordon Sheffield had become the Bigs to both Lori and Blake to form quite the contented quartet.
Once Lori had joined him, not a single sign of worry on her brow, David said, “Just because you aren’t attending, doesn’t mean you can’t play a part.” He reached down to pick up the top shirt in one of the piles behind him before turning back to ask, “How would you like to help?”
“Oh, I’d love to!” Lori’s blonde curls jiggled as she practically shimmied like a small puppy.
When David bunched the shirt in his hands, her arms shot skyward and he pulled it down over her head. Once it was in place, he smiled as Lori stroked her hand down the front, beaming as if he’d pinned a Miss Universe sash to her dress.
“Now that you’re an official member of the staff, I’m going to give you a very big job. Are you ready?”
“Yes!”
David lowered his backpack to the ground and opened it to pull out a rather large drawstring bag. “Okay, then, and I trust you to remind your fellow Littles of their manners. Only one lollipop per patient.”
Lori giggled. “You mean campers, right?”
Glad he’d played along, he smiled. “How about we make it one lolly as a reward for each camper’s patience. Will that work, Lori?”
“Yep, but would it be okay if they want to pick out their favorite color, Master David?”
“That would be perfectly all right, and Lori?”
She looked up expectantly.
“What do you think about letting anyone else who wishes pick one as well?”
Her eyes lit up as if he’d just offered her the key to Candy Heaven. “I think that’s the bestest idea ever because it means I’m gonna get four lollies!”
David’s laugh joined the others, every person standing in that circle not having a single doubt that this Little would indeed claim every lolly her family chose.
After handing her the bag, he gave her time to begin the task of going person to person.
Of course, that also meant his gaze had time to stray back to the woman standing beside Moses.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered.
Of course, the last time he’d seen her, she’d been naked as a jaybird, swimming with strong strokes before diving beneath the surface with the gracefulness of a river otter.
Hair as black as a raven’s wing had floated like a wreath around her when she’d flipped to float on her back.
Skin the color of autumn acorns was unbroken by a paleness that spoke of clothing.
Whoever she was, yesterday had not been the first time she’d gone skinny-dipping.
It hadn’t been his intention to spy on the girl, but when he’d climbed from the river several yards upstream, he’d heard a voice and a horse’s snort.
Shaking what water he could from his clothes and body, he’d followed the sound only to lose it when the voices had gone silent.
He’d been about to turn back when he’d seen a horse that looked suspiciously like the one that had shoved him into the water break from the trees.
But it had been the horse’s companion that had stolen his breath.
He’d been thinking of some way to announce his presence without scaring her to death when he’d seen her toss something to the ground.
Recognizing that something as his missing shoe, he’d not had time to switch his plan from introduction to lecture before he’d seen a t-shirt and then a bra tossed to conceal the evidence of her theft.
Stepping forward when she was clothed involved a chance of scaring her.
Doing so when she was naked? That involved a probability of performing some sort of cardiac rescue when she had a stroke.
He’d like to know what else could a man do but simply stand in silence.
Perhaps leave?
He hadn’t given that stupid thought a chance to land before he’d watched the woman walk to the water and step right into it as if she belonged nowhere else.
He had no clue of her name but knew with that one choice that she wasn’t a fool.
Call him guilty as sin, but he hadn’t cared as he’d watched her become one with the water.
It was only when she bent over to perform a surface dive that another vision flashed into his head.
He’d seen the woman before. In fact, he’d seen her horse as well.
Both had been fused together as one when they’d raced between two others across the mesa only a few hours earlier.
While he couldn’t swear to the identity of her companions in a court of law, he suddenly had a good idea of who one had been.
Moses was an expert horseman and the only person David had ever seen riding bareback.
Which bade the question of where had he and the other rider gone?
Laughter snapped him from his thoughts and back to the present to see Lori jiggling the bag as if to garner his attention.
“All done?”
“Yep, and though some tried to sneak more than one”—Lori turned to glare at the culprits—“I reminded them of their manners just like you said.”
“Good girl, and thank you.” Taking the bag, David dug into it and pulled out a handful of lollipops and offered them to the Little. “I think employees who do such a good job deserve a prize, don’t you?”
“Yes!” she cried, not bothering to attempt to grasp all her treasure and chance losing one in the process. Instead, she lifted the hem of her new staff t-shirt and cupped it like a basket.
Chuckling, David dropped the bounty into the fabric and watched as Lori grinned from ear to ear.
“If I needed any evidence your training doesn’t include dentistry, I think I’ve got it,” Master Derek said with his own laugh.