Page 46 of Face Off

“Let’s clean these up.” Holly stood up, then bent over to pick up Sadie.

“I’ve got her,” I offered, then looked at Sadie. “Do you want up on my shoulders?”

Her chin wobbled, then she gave me a single nod, and I picked her up as I straightened and lifted her over my head.

We walked into the main tent and immediately gained the attention of every woman from the Pride.

They drew in around us, all fussing over Sadie’s sad face.

“Is there a first aid kit?” I asked over the noise.

Chloe nodded and hurried to a back corner before returning. “Bring her over here.”

Holly followed me to the empty table that was out of the way from the majority of the activity. I brought Sadie down, and she sat with her legs straight out in front of her.

“You’re doing so good. I’m so proud of you,” Holly told her. “No more tears.”

Sadie looked on the verge of a new round of waterworks but sucked in a shaky breath. She really was trying hard to keep it under control. I wanted to tell her it was okay, she could let it out if she needed to, but that would undermine all of Holly’s efforts.

“Let’s clean it first.” Holly lightly dabbed at Sadie’s knees, then her palms. I expected her to start crying again, but she stayed as calm as her mom. She watched each step with rapt attention, and I realized Holly was doing that on purpose. She went slowly and explained what she was going to do, why it had to be done, and what was coming next.

Sadie looked up at me once there were bandages on her knees. She still looked too sad for my liking. “My hands hurt.”

The crack in my heart splintered in every direction, then the whole thing shattered. I’d do anything to make her smile again. It had only been maybe twenty minutes since she fell, but that was far too long without her laughter.

I looked around and spotted a vegetable platter. I went to it, selected two carrot sticks, shoved them under my lips, and then spun around.

Her whole face lit up before she burst into giggles, pointing at me, unable to get her words out. Holly gathered all the trash and turned toward me. Her eyes traveled up to my face. She pursed her lips.

“You’re silly!” Sadie squealed.

“No, I’m a walrus!” I clapped my hands together in front of me and barked. Okay, maybe I was a seal. Did they have big tusks too?

She didn’t seem to care about the details, instead laughing and forgetting about her pains. It was all I wanted.

The twins appeared at the table and joined in the laughter, which drew in more of a crowd. Soon even the guys were chuckling at my horrible imitation of sea life.

“Wow, Mr. Walrus. I didn’t know this was a skill you had,” Lance said with his arm around Jess’s shoulders.

I ignored him and looked to Sadie. “Do you think it’s time to eat now?”

She nodded and held out her hand for me. I carefully avoided the scraped areas and helped her down from the table. Holly walked with us to the front of the line while some of the guys made jokes as I passed.

Once we got to the plates, I stuck the carrots in my mouth and quickly chewed and swallowed them.

“Thanks for that,” Holly said. She was standing so close to me, almost touching my arm.

I looked down at her little girl, all pain and suffering forgotten. “I couldn’t stand seeing her like that.”

Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she smiled. “Yeah, it’s pretty tough, but you were great at pulling her out of it.”

“You were impressive too.”

She bit her bottom lip, something I’d seen Sadie do a dozen times, then she helped her daughter put ketchup on her hot dog. By the time we got through the line, Sadie was ready to return to her friends. The kids claimed a table and saved her a spot, and Madi and Addi assured Holly they would watch her, so we found an empty table close by to eat at.

“Do you have any nieces or nephews?” she asked after opening her bag of chips.

“Nope. I’m an only child.” I took a bite of my hot dog.