Carri nodded as he used gentle fingers to wipe her cheeks free of the tears that had escaped. “I’d like that, Daddy.”
Rooker looked around her booth. “What are you going to do with the rest of your critters?”
Carri shrugged, too tired to think about the fate of her crocheted friends. “I guess I’ll let Lottie donate them to the hospital.”
“Or you could let me sell them at my store,” he offered as he handed her the elephant.
She hugged the light purple pachyderm before setting it in the box with the others. “Do you think you could sell them?”
Rooker smiled as he stood up. “I think my customers will buy anything you want to let me put in my store. You have a unique product that speaks to people. They’re too cute for words and I think people can feel all the love you put into each animal.”
“She’ll need to think about it.” Lottie broke into their conversation. “We’ll also need to see a contract that spells out the details, like sales price, your commission, and so forth.”
Carri looked at her sister then back at Rooker. “I’m sorry. She’s the business mind of the family. I’m just the critter maker.”
Rooker gave her a frown which she took to mean they would be having a discussion about her self-view. But it was the truth. She did not have a business mind, she just wanted to play with yarn.
“I’ll get back to you next week, Miss Business Mind. For now though, I’m taking Carri home with me. Will you need help tomorrow afternoon getting everything packed up and out?”
By then Tilly had joined them. She looked at Carri as she answered for her sister. “Give me a call tomorrow afternoon, Carri. We should know by then if we’ll need help or not.”
Carri nodded and looked from one sister to the other. “I’m sorry I won’t be here tomorrow.”
Tilly stepped closed and gave her an awkward hug. “I totally understand. Take it easy and if we don’t see you here, we’ll see you at home tomorrow night?”
That was a question Carri could not answer at the moment. Though she and Rooker had been together for less than three days, she already knew she did not want to leave him behind and return to her lonely life filled with yarn, critters, and her tablet full of stories about being Little.
Swallowing hard, she glanced at Rooker before answering. “I’ll let you know tomorrow what’s happening.”
“All right,” Tilly said before turning to Rooker. “Hurt her and you’ll answer to me. Understand?”
“Yes, Ma’am. But I have no plans on hurting her. I want to take care and make sure she’s healthy and happy.”
Before Tilly could respond, a security guard joined them. “Sorry folks, but you need to take this conversation outside. I gotta close up now.”
Looking around, Carri was surprised to see they were again the last ones in the hall. She gasped when Rooker bent down and picked her up. Grabbing her bags with one hand, she wrapped the other arm around his neck to hold on as he carried her out of the room. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed into him. She was in pain, exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but knew there was a lot to discuss when they returned to Rooker’s home.
She only hoped she had enough energy left to be a part of that conversation.
Rooker looked over and found Carri was nearly asleep as they left the parking lot. She did not rouse even when he stopped at his favorite restaurant to pick up the order he’d called in just before joining Carri and her sisters at their booth. He hoped she liked it.
As they waited for the food, he called Laura.
“Yes, Boss?” she said after answering on the third ring.
“Call Sam and ask him to join you in the booth tomorrow. When you pack up, just get everything in boxes and we’ll worry about inventory and putting everything away next week.”
“Sure thing. You okay? Or is it that sweet Little critter crafter that’s got you actually taking a day off?”
“If you need me before tomorrow afternoon, text me,” he said, purposefully not answering her question. “Otherwise I’ll see you about four.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” she said with a giggle before he cut the connection.
“Smartass,” he muttered as he laid his phone in the cupholder.
“Bad words, Daddy,” Carri said as her head swiveled lazily so she could look at him.
“Sorry, little artist,” he apologized. “Close your eyes and go to sleep. We’ll head home as soon as they bring our food out.”
