Chapter 3

"She's really very,very sweet, Amelia, but absolutely scared of her own shadow, and with good reason, if what she's told us is anything to go by."

Amelia Grayson raised her eyebrows. "What did she tell you?"

Derek leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I'm not going to break her confidence, but she had a faux-Daddy before. The kind who didn't look after her right and has left her hurt and scared and"—he leaned forward to meet her eyes—"she's lost her Little, Amelia, and it's tearing her apart."

Amelia took a sip from the glass Erika had placed on Derek's desk and tried to tamp down the anger that had bubbled to the surface. As a librarian, she'd seen all too often the damaged Littles—and children—who escaped from the pain of their daily lives through reading. "What can I do?"

"I've spoken to her cousin on the phone—he referred her—and to be honest I think what she needs more than anything else is security. Someone who's not going to be changeable at a moment's notice; who's not going to turn up drunk and berate her verbally. Someone who won't mind reading her stories; it seems like she's never really had someone to read her stories."

That was a crime. All Littles deserved to be read to, if they wanted it.

"But, Amelia, she's not looking for a Mommy."

Amelia snorted. "I've told you many a time, Derek, I'm not looking for a Little of my own. I'm quite satisfied with my job and also lending a helping hand where necessary."

"Of course."

He didn't say anything further on the subject, but Amelia couldn't quite shift the feeling that Master Derek Hawkins was up to his old matchmaking ways.

"And one final thing, I'll give you her file to read, but she's on no corporal punishment, and if she is naughty, she should be referred to yourself, or me if you're not available."

That was a surprise. It was pretty standard practice at the Ranch for Littles to be subjected to punishments by any of the Bigs. This Mandi must have left a big impression on Derek Hawkins.

"No corporal punishments?"

"You'll see when you meet her, Amelia; she's so anxious that getting her to open up to even one or two of us is going to be a mission. I don't want her petrified of every Big she walks past. I want her to be able to trust people, and to be able to lean on you—if you're open to it."

"I'm open." She was curious, she had to admit. It had been a long time since she'd seen Derek look this concerned about a guest. "If she's that anxious, maybe we should encourage her to see one of the counselors?"

"It's one of the conditions of her stay," he explained, and she nodded.

She did like how he took his role so seriously, looking after all the souls who came into his life. It sounded like Mandi had found exactly who she needed to find.

"You'll take me to see her?"

"Yes, she's up in the Guest Wing with Sadie. Sadie's taken quite the shine to her; more protective over her than I've seen her be over anyone in quite some time."

The entrance to the Guest Wing was just across the foyer from Derek's office, and Amelia had forgotten how luxurious the suites were.

"We upgraded her," said Derek quietly as they entered. "She doesn't know and I'd rather not tell her."

The room was light and airy and they followed the sound of laughter round the corner to where Amelia could see Sadie sitting on a couch watching Fraggle Rock on the television.

"Where's Mandi, angel?" asked Derek.

"She's over here, Daddy," replied Sadie brightly, and as Amelia walked round, she caught sight of dark red hair, spilling over one of the seat cushions of the couch.

"Hello," said a quiet voice.

Amelia paused, arrested by big gray eyes blinking up at her. "Well, hello there, Miss Mandi," she said, and slipped down to sit by the couch. "I hear you're interested in coming to work in my Littles' Library?"

An enthusiastic pair of nods came from both women on the couch. From the way Mandi was clutching a teddy bear so tightly in her arms, it appeared he was adding his agreement with his own nod. "I've worked in a bookshop before, and I'm really good at organizing stock. What kinds of books do you have in the library?" Mandi asked.

"Most of our books are children's books, from board books and picture books, all the way up to YA for the Middles among us."

More nodding.

"But we don't just have books; we also have lots of boardgames, and a whole section for art supplies, and people can order them to be delivered to their rooms as well. We've got a library catalogue, which people can log into from their phones, and it's very peaceful."

"It sounds like heaven," breathed Mandi.

Amelia found herself transfixed by the way her soft plumpness moved when she exhaled in a long drawn out sigh. The woman was adorable; short and round and more than a little heavenly herself. Amelia wasn't one for instant attraction, but she couldn't help but think about how all that softness would feel in her arms.

"I do run a tight ship though; returns reshelved as quickly as possible, and I like to rotate the book displays."

Mandi nodded, all serious earnestness. "Of course! And do you often order in new stock? There are lots of amazing books that I'd love to recommend."

The Little Library had just had a delivery of new books the previous week; Amelia had ordered them in herself. They definitely didn't need more new books any time soon.

"I'm working on a new order now; what books would you recommend?"

"I've got some amazing picture books that I just know the Littles will love."

"How did you know that they're what I'm planning to order in?" Amelia steadfastly avoided meeting Derek's eye. He knew exactly how big the order of picture books she'd just received was, and she didn't need any of his knowing glances. Books clearly made Mandi happy, and suddenly she realized that there wasn't much she wouldn't do to make the other woman happy. If that included allowing the young woman to participate by recommending they order even more picture books, so be it. Amelia knew that while Derek had just paid for the most recent order of picture books, he wouldn't make so much as a fuss if ordering even more helped one of his guests feel happy and secure at Rawhide Ranch. It wouldn't stop him from noticing how taken she might or might not be with the other woman. "It sounds like you would be the perfect person to come and help me in the library. And you're staying for a week?"

Another nod, this one more vigorous than the last. She was just too cute!

"That's lovely. Now, Mandi, Master Derek told me you've agreed to two conditions while you're staying with us: that you'll have a counseling session with Dr. Denton; and that you'll allow one person to be in charge of your wellbeing. How would you feel about allowing me to take on that role?"

All of a sudden, Mandi slipped off the couch and onto the floor so she could meet Amelia's eyes straight on. She didn't say anything at first, gray eyes searching, searching, searching.

"I have some conditions of my own," she said, her voice quiet in the vastness of the suite.

"Go ahead."

"No shouting at me, please. It makes me jump and my autism makes me very sensitive to sound." She turned her head and lifted her hair from her neck to show where a cute rose-gold-colored earplug was nestled in her ear. "I often wear these in my day to day life; they're designed so I can hear people close to me, but they shut out background chat and noise."

"That seems very sensible. Good girl for looking after yourself like that. And that's fine by me; no shouting it is."

A pink flush rose up Mandi's neck until even the tip of her nose turned pink. So, she liked "good girl". Amelia made an internal note.

"I don't want to spend time around people who are drinking. It's okay if people drink, I'm not judging anyone, but I just?—"

"I don't really drink," said Amelia. "It's forbidden in the Littles' Wing and that's where I spend a lot of my time. I've been known to have a glass of wine with dinner, but if that makes you uncomfortable I simply won't."

"Oh." Mandi's eyes widened in surprise. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Mandi ducked her head, and Amelia fought the urge to put her finger beneath that chin and make her princess hold her head up high.

"Okay, and then lastly, I don't think I want corporal punishments."

"Yes, Master Derek has expressed that to me already." That was fine with Amelia. She could think of far more creative ways to punish naughty Littles than spanking.

"It's not that"—and here Mandi lowered her voice, as if Sadie and Derek weren't right there and could hear every word—"I don't like impact play, I just don't want it to be associated with badness."

Amelia couldn't help her smile. Damn, Mandi was adorable. "I understand."

And then Mandi realized exactly what she'd said and started panicking. "I mean, I'm not saying that we would, or even that… I, oh goodness, I just?—"

Amelia placed a finger on Mandi's lips and the redhead quieted. "I assume nothing. Thank you for sharing your boundaries with me, and that's totally okay. I don't need to resort to impact play to come up with totally wicked punishments anyway." Amelia then smiled, to show she was half joking, and that there really was nothing to be scared of whatsoever.

But it was when Mandi smiled back at her, that Amelia knew she was totally lost.