Maybe to the Littles and submissives under his care he was.
Then another thought hit him. “You do know I’d never purposely hurt you, don’t you?”
Mallory immediately sobered and reached across the table, laying her hand on his. “Of course I do. Well, except when you’re punishing me or I need a good emotional cleansing. And I promise you will have my answer before you pack your bags and leave.”
Fletcher nodded. “Good bunny. If you’re finished, we’ll go by the office and talk to Erika about setting up a meeting with Sadie and her minions for after your nap.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I don’t want to be the focus of the show,” Mallory repeated for the fifth time in the last half hour. She wasn’t sure if Sadie was deliberately ignoring her or was just determined to center everything around the dozen paintings she’d brought with her from home and the caricatures she’d begun drawing since being at Rawhide.
“Yes, we know, Mallory, but you’re the artist we want everyone to see. We’ve got a couple of other artists who are going to take part, right, Payne?”
Payne nodded. “Yes, and that includes me, but you’re going to be the main draw. Especially since we’re going to use the picture of Sherlock the llama on the program,” Payne said, holding up the picture she’d drawn her first morning with Fletcher.
It was a cute picture, one of her favorites, and though Payne had repeatedly assured her it was fabulous, she still wasn’t sure it was good enough for the program’s cover.
“Do you think Master Colt can make frames for the paintings?” Reese asked as she walked around the table where they’d laid out her work.
The paintings were on one side, colorful, full of life and passion. On the other side of the table were pages and pages of the caricatures she’d drawn. She, Payne, and Sadie had spent the morning before carefully cutting the pages out of her sketchbook and sorting through them, choosing the best to be included in the show.
Reese had pulled a dozen sketches that she wanted to put together in a coloring book that would be sold at the Ranch store. Mallory had hesitated to give her consent until she’d come up with the condition that any money raised would be donated to care for the zoo animals that she and so many others had fallen in love with.
“Oh, I have an additional picture for the coloring book, if you’re interested,” Mallory said, pulling out her newest sketchbook. Flipping through several pages, she carefully tore the page out before laying it on the table. “Since you didn’t get the turkeys fully trained to line dance, I thought you’d like this instead.”
Reese and Sadie looked at the picture and began to giggle. The page showed a group of turkeys tripping over one another.
“What are they supposed to be doing?” Payne asked.
“Dancing!” Sadie shouted and then she pulled Reese away from the table and the two began doing the line dance they’d been trying to teach the turkeys.
Payne laughed and nudged Mallory with his elbow. “I’d say you nailed it. Those turkeys have a far better chance of dancing on paper than in real life.”
Mallory smiled. “Yeah, but you’ve got to admit, it would be rather amazing.”
“Amazing? Nope, dancing turkeys would be awesome!” Sadie squealed.
“We can hang it in the show and put it in the coloring book. Would that be all right?” Reese asked.
Mallory nodded. “You can do whatever you want with it.”
“And we’ll need to get something to use as a backboard so the sketches don’t wrinkle or droop. If Master Colt agrees to make frames for the paintings maybe he’ll do the same for the sketches?” For the first time since the meeting had begun in one of the empty classrooms in the Littles’ Wing, Sadie sounded unsure.
“If you tell me how to find his workshop, I can go talk to him. Maybe even help if he’ll let me,” Mallory said.
Anything to get away from this trio who seem determined to turn what was supposed to be a simple little showing of her work into a circus of major proportions.
Someone knocking on the hall door drew their attention. When it opened and Fletcher walked in, Mallory sighed with relief. Maybe he could talk some sense into her friends.
“How’s it going?” he asked as he crossed to her, pulling her into his arms and giving her a hug.
“Master Fletcher, you need to order Mallory to cooperate, otherwise we’re never going to be ready in time. The show is only a week away,” Reese looked at Fletcher with a big-eyed, puppy dog expression.
When he looked down at her with one eyebrow raised, Mallory melted and leaned against him.
“I don’t want to be the focus of the show,” she repeated once again, this time addressing the one person she thought might understand.
“Is it because you’re nervous to show your work to people? Or do you not think you’re worthy of the title artist?” Fletcher asked as he cuddled her close with strong arms hugging her.
