AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But of course, with Rusty there, she wasn’t going to risk going near the mare.
Her stomach fluttered nervously as she continued toward the Nursery. The problem was, if Janice was going to work with the horses, she was going to have to see a lot of Rusty, as he was always with them, too. Maybe she could ask Chuck if there was any way she could work with them out-of-hours, once Rusty had finished for the day.
The moment Janice arrived at the Nursery, a kindly older woman called Nanny Clara greeted her. She had such a sweet, compassionate manner that Janice felt instantly soothed.
“Welcome, my dear,” said Nanny Clara. “You’re just in time! We’re having a painting competition! Come here and I’ll put on an apron for you.”
Janice looked around at the room full of laughing Littles, the colorful toys and games, and the atmosphere of frivolity. Suddenly, she felt very out of place.
“I’m no good at painting,” Janice said quietly. “I’m stupid at it.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, dearie,” said Nanyy Clara. “But if you don’t want to paint, I’m sure we can find you something else fun to do. We have blocks over here, a coloring-in station there, and a cozy books corner with beanbags over there if you’d like some quiet time.”
Janice’s eyes filled with tears. “I, uh, no thank you,” she said, running out of the Nursery.
It was no good. It was just so difficult to be happy these days. In the past, she’d have been right there in the center of it all, causing more mayhem than anyone else. But not anymore. She went to her room and hid under the blanket in her bed for a while, clutching her stuffie.
“Little Miss Giggles,” she said. “Will I ever feel like my old self again?”
She lay curled up with her stuffie for quite some time, until finally, her hunger got the better of her.
“I have to go to dinner, Little Miss Giggles,” she said. “I can’t hide in my room forever.”
Janice left her room and entered the dinner hall, where the lively atmosphere enveloped her like a warm embrace. The room buzzed with conversations and laughter as Daddy Doms and Littles gathered around the long, wooden tables adorned withChef Marco's delicious creations. The scent of roasted chicken, fresh bread, and savory vegetables filled the air, making Janice's mouth water.
As she stood in line to get her food, Janice tried to focus on the array of colorful dishes before her, but her thoughts were in such a jumble, swirling around her head.
Be wary of Rusty.
You’re stupid at painting.
You upset Chuck by breaking in.
You’re worthless.
Janice picked up a tray of food, then turned around with it and instantly bumped into Rusty. Startled, she dropped a scoop of mashed potatoes onto the floor.
"Whoa there," Rusty said gently. He flashed her a reassuring smile that caused her heart to skip a beat. "It's all right, accidents happen."
"Th-thank you," Janice stammered, her cheeks turning pink as she put down a tray and hurried to clean up the mess.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she whispered under her breath.
“Janice?” asked Rusty quietly. “You don’t need to say that about yourself, you know. We all do things like that from time to time. It’s part of being a human being.”
This was the first time that she and Rusty had spoken in public since the meeting with Chuck. She glanced around the room, wondering if Chuck was in here now. If so, he might be quite angry to see the two of them together, and she couldn’t risk getting thrown out of this place.
"Looking for Chuck?" Rusty asked, noticing her searching gaze.
"Uh, yeah," she admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I just thought I’d make sure, since you and I aren’t meant to be . . . you know. Talking."
"Actually," Rusty said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "I spoke with him earlier. He said we have permission to spend some time together." He paused. “Sorry it took me a while to come and tell you that. I wanted to wait until we had Chuck’s permission, and after that, I had some business attend to with one of the horses.”
“Snickers?” asked Janice, blushing as she remembered the steamy novel he was reading to the horse.
“Yes, actually,” said Rusty. “She’s an ongoing project of mine at the moment. Didn’t realize you knew her name.”
Janice nodded. “I asked Trent about her. She’s a beautiful creature.”
