Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
She knew she was going to love it here. Quickly, she took a picture to remember this feeling before asking, “Can we go in, Daddy?”
Just like magic, the door swung open. Kole navigated inside and paused at the top of the hill inside as the gate closed behind them. The solid clunk seemed to reverberate through the quiet fields.
Gabriela had just spotted the house closest to the gate when a cute blonde dashed out onto the deck, jumping and waving at the car. Two well-built men followed her outside. “That’s Shelby, right?”
“You got it. Let’s stop there before we head to the house,” Kole suggested.
In a few seconds, he parked the car in their driveway. “Let me,” he reminded her.
“Kole!” Jeremy greeted him. “Let your Little out of the car before Shelby explodes.”
The men chuckled at that accurate description as the petite blonde practically danced with excitement. Kole rounded the hood and pulled the door open to help Gabriela out.
Suddenly shy, she backed up to stand against Kole’s immense form. He simply wrapped an arm around her torso to reassure her as Shelby skipped forward. Gabriela watched her face and knew the minute Shelby recognized her.
Stopping in her tracks, Shelby stuttered, “Y-You’re her. I mean, you’re the person—the actress—who’s the Little in that book. You’re actually Little?”
“Hi, Shelby. I’m Gabriela. If it’s okay, I’d like to be just a regular person in here. Out there, I have to be an actor, but I hoped here, you’d just let me be myself.”
“Of course, you can be yourself,” Shelby agreed, rushing forward to wrap her arms around Gabriela.
Of course, to do that, she had to wrap her arms around Kole as well. Shelby stepped back to meet Gabriela’s eyes. “You chose a good Daddy.”
“Thank you, Shelby. I appreciate you helping Gabby meet everyone,” Kole said.
“We have a party planned. It’s going to be epic. Daddy Beau thinks it’s going to rain, so we’re having the party at the house closest to yours. That’s Deke and Hannah. Do you like dogs?” Shelby asked.
“I love dogs and cats, well, about any animal except turkeys. They’re mean. One chased me around the yard when I was young,” Gabriela shared without meaning to tell an entire story.
“That’s awful. We don’t have any turkeys around here now. We’ll put them on the unwelcome list,” Shelby declared, seeming automatically on Gabriela’s side.
Gabriela stepped away from Kole’s support to whisper, “Could I use your bathroom?”
“Come on!” She grabbed Gabriela’s hand and rushed her into the house. A dog and a cat welcomed her, but Shelby shooed them out of the way. “She’ll talk to you later, guys. The guest bathroom is at the end of the hall.”
“Thank you.” Gabriela practically ran down the hallway. Her Daddy had offered to stop several times, but Gabriela just wanted to get here. She hadn’t realized how much she had to go until she stood up.
As she came back down the hall, she heard someone singing softly. Peeking in the door, she saw Shelby sitting at a table. “Thank you,” Gabriela said.
“Oh, you’re welcome. Want to see my nursery? Come on in. I bet you want to see yours,” Shelby suggested.
“Oh, wow!” Gabriela walked in and turned in a slow circle. “It’s like what I’ve dreamed about—only more beautiful.”
“Thank you. My Daddies made it for me.”
When Gabriela turned back to look at Shelby, the other woman asked, “Do you want everyone to call you Gabby or Gabriela?”
“Only D… Kole calls me Gabby,” Gabriela said, just catching herself from saying Daddy.
“You can call him Daddy. I have two, so I call them Daddy Beau and Daddy Jeremy if there’s a possibility I’ll confuse someone, or myself!” Shelby told her with a laugh.
“I’m just getting used to calling him Daddy.”
“Soon you won’t think of him as any other name,” Shelby assured her. “You can come play with me here any time you want. I can’t wait to see your nursery.”
“Do you think I have one?”
“Oh, yeah. There’s no doubt about it,” Shelby assured her. “Where else will they check your temperature or give you vitamins?”
“In the kitchen or the bathroom?” Gabriela suggested, confused.
“You can tell me later. My money’s on your nursery,” Shelby said confidently.
“Little girls?” a deep male voice called.
“We’re coming. I stopped to show Gabriela my nursery,” Shelby explained as they met the large man in the hallway. “This is my Daddy Jeremy.”
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Gabriela. Your Daddy is worried about you.”
“Oh. I left without getting permission,” Gabriela said as she rushed back to Kole.
Once outside, she flew to his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Sorry. I had to use the restroom,” she whispered in his ear.
“You’re very safe here, Gabby, but I still want to know where you are.”
“Where’s our car?” she asked, looking at the empty driveway.