Page 20 of Cuddling Carly

Along with the cowboy she saw ahead in the yard was a tall, pretty woman with olive skin and dark hair. She wore a pink babydoll dress. There was another woman with her—a beautiful, curvy lady who wore a similar babydoll dress—with brown hair. The other person with them was a strong, handsome man with mostly silver hair.

“So, that’s Bradley,” Harrison said, noting that guy first. “He’s Mountainville’s fire chief. His Little—and wife—right there is Katie. And then that’s Dax, marshal of Mountainville in the cowboy hat. That tall women with him is his wife and Little, Stella.”

They all looked to be in their mid to late thirties and maybe even early forties for the men.

Harrison brought the van to a halt and they got out.

“Guys, meet Carly Thedford, our newest visitor to Mountainville.”

The other Littles rushed to her, eager to meet her. The guys came closer, too, hanging back to evidently let the women get their excitement out.

It was a wonderful feeling but also a tad overwhelming, Carly thought. She’d spent so much of her life hiding her Little nature that it felt weird to be so open about it now.

But she admired how Stella and Katie were wearing those frilly dresses—and the diapers beneath them—out in public like that.

Such must just be life in Mountainville, she figured.

At the curb, Stryker called out, “Hey, is it okay if I take your car back to my place? I’ll look it over and see what we can do.”

“Excuse me,” Carly told the others as she jogged quickly to her vehicle. It sounded awful! Smelled bad, too. It was obvious it was idling rough.

“Do y’all have a mechanic here?”

Stryker shook his head. “Not in Mountainville. I think I know what’s wrong with it. A few hoses, some new seals, rings, and spark plugs, probably a new thermostat, and she should be good as new.”

“Thank you. Please just tell me how much and—”

Stryker shook his head. “How about one of these cupcakes in the floorboard?” he said, jerking his head toward where the sweet treats were. “I noticed them down there. They sure look good!”

Smiling, Carly nodded. “Take as many as you want.”

“I’ll collect one later. Right now, though, do you want to get them, so they don’t melt?”

“Good thinking.” Carly hurried around to the passenger side, opened the door, and pulled the cupcake carrying container out. She then grabbed her suitcase from the backseat. “Thank you again for doing this.”

“You kidding? The way those cupcakes look, I’m coming out a winner here! Plus, I’m a gearhead. Fixing cars is kind of my thing. I’ll get it over to my shop.”

With that he gave a little wave and drove off.

Carly hoped the car would actually make it to the shop. It seemed as if it was on its last leg.

She also hoped Stryker was being honest about how easy a fix it would be. He struck her as the type who would be nice and just take care of it, no matter how bad it was.

She’d worry about that later. Right now, she didn’t want to ignore everyone she’d just met.

Approaching the others again, she said, “Hey, do y’all want a cupcake?”

The Littles were eager to say yes. Dax and Bradley seemed ready for one, too.

“Look, Daddy,” Katie said. “They’re decorated for Halloween! These are the cutest.”

Carly dipped her head bashfully. “Thanks. I baked them this morning before I left home and didn’t want to waste them, so I just brought ‘em along. I love Halloween. It’s my favorite.”

Katie had orange icing on her lips as she lowered the cupcake with a chunk missing and said, “Then you’re going to love this town.”

Carly smiled at her new friends.

Something told her Katie was right. She was going to love that town.