Page 6 of Soothing Little Sylmen

My next question had him thinking a little longer, but he explained to me the schedule of mealtimes in the cafeteria and what to get from the different restaurants.

“You know your key is your ticket to everything, right?” he said.

I pulled it out of my pocket and held it up, smiling. He gave me a thumbs up and then went back to my screen. By the time he finished, I felt confident that I wasn’t going to screw everything up. My stomach growled at that exact moment, though, which sent him into a fit of giggles. And suddenly I realized maybe he was Little too… or a Middle.

He handed my phone back and then linked his arm through mine. “Why don’t we go get some food together? I could use something myself.” He patted his stomach.

We double-checked to make sure all the animals were secure, and then he hollered into the barn that he was going to get a snack. He received a grunt in return, which apparently was an entire conversation. It was casual. It was quiet between us as we made our way back into the main building.

Zack led the way. The only time he spoke was to greet people he knew, either throwing a hand up or shouting out to them. They all gave me curious looks, though no one stopped to chat. I was thankful for that much, because the gnawing pain in my stomach grew the closer we got to the restaurants I had passed earlier. It was as if the scent of food in the air sent me past the point of uncomfortable and straight into I could eat an entire cow right now.

We were given a seat at a table and menus. I wanted one of everything. It was tempting. I was here to indulge, after all. But I also knew my stomach could not handle it and I didn’t really want to have to haul leftovers to my room or figure out how to reheat them.

Honestly, I was overwhelmed.

Zack must have sensed as much because his hand appeared on the top of my menu as he eased it down to reveal my face. “Just take a deep breath for me,” he said, eyes locked with mine. “Everything’s okay. You can have whatever you want, and if you don’t like it, you can order something else. They’re pretty quick with it here.”

I kept breathing, then tilted my head down to look at the menu. I could feel my body rising with each slow inhale and exhale. It was working. The calmness was seeping into me and giving me what I needed to place the order when the waiter came back around.

But then I heard a voice. It was a voice I’d never heard before, but the deep rasp of it had my entire body coming alive. As discreetly as I could, I raised my head to look around for the source. I needed to know who was behind it, needed to see what they looked like, and if I was simply imagining things.

Our table position gave us a clear view outside to the gorgeous mountains in the distance on one side. In the other direction I could see the lobby. It was there I saw a man talking with a woman who had her hands on her hips. She was scowling at him while he laughed and responded to her ire. I wasn’t able to make out the words, but the vibration of his deep tone carried, nonetheless. It wrapped around me like my favorite blanket and held me close.

I couldn’t look away.

I didn’t want to look away.

I’d gained the strength to finally turn when he stopped talking and his gaze moved to me like a bolt of lightning. I gasped with an audible squeak when our eyes connected. I didn’t believe in fate or destiny or anything like that. Love at first sight was something for fairy tale books. Yet in that exact second, it was as if the world opened up and I could see a future that hadn’t been there before.

I didn’t know this man. I didn’t know if he was a Daddy or what he was doing here, or if he even had a partner. Yet I wanted to stand up and run into his arms and hold on for dear life.

A figure moved in front of me and I blinked, breaking the spell.

“What can I get you folks?” the young man asked, smile wide and bright.

Zack explained what he wanted, and I found myself staring at the menu without a single thought.

Did that really just happen? And how in the world do I move on from it?

Chapter Four

Gael

Amelia’s voice was full of sarcasm, but I couldn’t hear a word. My mind was stuck on the figure I had seen in one of the main restaurants. We were far apart, far enough that I shouldn’t have been able to make out the sharp lines of his jaw and the way his hair curled just to the left. I shouldn’t have been able to see the tension in his shoulders or the way it faded the second I locked eyes with him.

My arrival to the Ranch had been tumultuous in a sense. Nothing went wrong, of course—we’d gone through the proper channels and they’d been expecting me. But then my rental car decided to break down in the driveway. They had to send someone out to tow it. Then I had to call the car rental place and explain what was going on. I also had to explain that they could not come get it off of the Ranch because I was in a private sanctuary of sorts. It was the best I could come up with at the time.

After going back and forth and eventually getting Master Derek himself involved, we were able to come to an agreement that the car would be pulled to outside of the gate, and then someone could come pick it up.

I hated to be the person to create such a negative experience on my first day there. Master Derek had grinned at me, slapped my shoulder and said, “There’s always something new happening,” as if I’d done nothing wrong. I appreciated his vote of confidence. It still did not help me feel any better about the situation, though.

I was meant to be here to de-stress, to relax, and maybe meet a Little or two. To connect with people who understood me. And already things had not been as smooth as I’d envisioned. For someone who liked control and order, that was a tough pill to swallow.

Amelia had found me pretty quickly in the midst of everything going on. I wasn’t sure who spilled the beans to her. I only knew that she had come tracking me down with a fervor of excitement. Seeing her in person versus on a video screen felt different. Her personality had always been two-dimensional in a sense—I could count on her to be honest with me and give feedback where I needed it. But she was also someone I couldn’t touch or feel the presence of.

Now, though, it was like she had come to life, spawning into this person who was very loud and present. Someone who demanded I tell her why I had not texted the minute I arrived and then to explain what the whole car situation was. Gossip had traveled fast enough that she knew of my plight before running into me.

And now, instead of thinking about explaining the car situation or telling her about how nervous I still was, my mind could only think of one thing. That sweet boy. I had to press my heels down in my boots so as not to take the steps to get to him.