Page 17 of Soothing Little Sylmen

I thanked them all, even going so far as to pull my phone out to jot down what they said because there was so much.

“Do you all live here?” I asked. I got a chorus of yeses in response.

“Do you think you want to live here?” one asked me.

I shook my head. “No. I have to travel so much for work, and honestly, as great as this is, it feels more like a vacation for me. A chance to reset.”

“And your boy?” he asked.

“Well, that’s a discussion we still have to have. We’re very new. I don’t expect to move in with him after this. I would like to keep in touch, though. He’s utterly perfect for me.”

“They usually are,” one of the men said. The group agreed, laughing heartily. Then they started to tell me some stories about how they had all met their Littles, about how they loved to play pranks, and about the way the Ranch had grown after Master Derek bought up the neighboring land to create the community of Rawhide Ridge.

It sounded amazing, and I made a mental note to see if there was a history of Rawhide Ranch class offered somewhere. I would definitely sit in on one of those just to see how it all had come together.

When my alarm went off telling me it was nearing the hour, I excused myself from the group. A couple of the guys stood with me and followed along while others dove back into conversation. We each went our separate ways, a few down to the Littles’ classrooms and some to the Caterpillar Room. One of the guys followed me to the Butterfly Room, where I’d left my boy.

When we approached, Miss Samantha popped up again, her smile in place. She motioned for me to lean inside the doorway, and when I did, my heart swelled. Sylmen was curled up on his side, his thumb in his mouth, watching some of the others play. He had a blanket draped over him, and I could see that he had changed out of his clothes.

I covered my mouth with my hand to stop the sob that wanted to burst free. I didn’t know why I was so overwhelmed, why I felt like this momentous occasion was just as much for me as it was for him.

Miss Samantha nodded, meeting my gaze. “Yeah, I know. It’s pretty special. He wrote down what he envisioned, and we gave it to him. He’s got on a pull-up, though he did express an interest in diapers along the way. He wanted to simply relax, to not have to think. I think you actually might have a Caterpillar on your hands.”

I swallowed thickly at the thought. It was exactly what I had hoped to find out by bringing him here. “You really think so?” I asked, my voice soft so as not to draw attention.

The guy who had come with me, Cord, leaned in, his gaze going over to where my boy was curled up. “Oh yeah,” he said. “That’s textbook. I imagine he was probably too nervous to ask, since you said you two were new.”

Miss Samantha bobbed her head. “I think that’s exactly it. Maybe later you could encourage him to try it out tomorrow. I’m sure today will be a lot for him.”

As if he could hear us, Sylmen’s eyes moved toward the door. I looked at him with my head slightly tilted. He shook his head once, and that was enough to let me know he wasn’t ready to leave.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” I said, my voice at an even tone where I knew he would hear me.

I shifted out of the way to let the other guy to the door. As soon as he did, a Little with short dark hair came toddling over, her body bouncing like they were full of energy.

“Daddy, Daddy!” she called out even before she’d reached the door.

The man smiled at his Little indulgently. I could see their connection clearly, and it was beautiful. Miss Samantha released the Little and they were off.

I considered going back to sit with the other Daddies, maybe get to know more about them. But I also wanted to look into the room rental situation. If what they said was right, it would be amazing to have a space already equipped with everything we needed. Plus, it meant that when we left the space, my boy wouldn’t feel obligated to do anything else. I could still go back to his room with him, but it was an option.

After stopping to ask the guys where I would need to go, I set off. Luna, the young woman who helped me at the front desk informed me that there would not be any rooms available until much later in the evening. They’d all been reserved. And while part of me was frustrated, I knew that maybe this was a sign that I needed to stick with what was already happening.

“Can I reserve something for tomorrow instead?” I asked her.

She bobbed her head quickly, keying away on the computer. “Absolutely. You can have up to three hours. That’s the standard window. It is a bit early in the day though—is that okay?”

I agreed right away, noting the time and taking down the directions for how to get to the space.

“Is there anything specific you need in the room?” she asked me.

“Blankets,” I told her. “Lots of blankets. I’m making a fort for him tonight in his room, but I think having one in his play space would be nice as well.”

She smiled quickly. “We could build it for you, if you want. That way when you go in, it’s already ready. It’ll be more of a surprise.”

I smiled widely. “That would be perfect. Thank you so much.”

I left her there, then went toward the cafe. I needed to see what I could get to go and place the order for pick up later. I had a feeling my boy still wouldn’t be ready when I went to see him again. The young girl working there was very kind. We went over the menu, and I picked a few different things. After getting it all settled with a delivery time for later that evening, I went back toward the Littles’ Wing.