That’s what she needed. Not because he was irritated with her or angry. But because she needed to learn. One of these days, she was going to get herself into a jam she couldn’t get out of. Then, she might be seriously hurt. Or worse. She needed to stop before that happened.
A good spanking might get that point across.
But she wasn’t his Little. No matter how badly he might want her to be.
He was having a hard time not taking her into his arms. Damn. She was as cute as could be standing there in the sideyard, away from the others, her big brown eyes shining in the fading light of evening.
“Thank you for rescuing me again, sir. My name is?—”
“Trixie.”
“How’d you know?”
“You told me the other day on that cliff.”
“You remembered?”
John opened his mouth but stopped himself before admitting he remembered because she was the cutest, most beautiful woman he’d seen in his whole life.
Instead, he simply said, “Yeah. My name is John, by the way. I don’t think I properly introduced myself before. There wasn’t really time.”
She laughed. “Nice to meet you, Sir.”
Damn. She was growing cuter by the second.
“The two times I’ve met you have been when you’re doing something dangerous. That makes me think you get yourself into some sticky situations.”
Trixie bowed her head slightly in sheepish apology. “I’m sorry, Sir. I don’t mean to! It’s just… I want to help people.” She looked up at him. “Like the other day. That car was driving in front of me and I could see it swerving and stuff. I was so scared it was going to go right off the side! And when it did, well, I just had to help! I didn’t mean to put myself or you or anyone else in danger.”
Still resisting the urge to take her into his arms, John said, “That’s admirable. Helping people is a good thing. And it shows you have a big heart. But you need to always do it in a safe way. Professionals were already on the scene. The best thing to do would have been to wait and let us handle it.”
She hung her head once again. “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“And what were you doing on the roof tonight?"
Shifting on her feet, it took Trixie a few seconds before she looked back up at him.
He knew he was pushing it. She wasn’t his Little to lecture or chastise. But someone needed to get through to this cutie before she got seriously hurt. Or worse…
“We were all playing a game, sir. One we made up. Sort of like volleyball. Only there wasn’t a net. And it’s on a trampoline. I had a really good shot, too! Right before the ball went on theroof. But then when it was Iris’s turn, she accidentally hit the ball too hard and it floated right up to the top of the house.” She shrugged and gave him a little smile. “I’m a very good climber, Sir. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble up there, even though my friends told me I should go get Auntie Athena or Trevon.
“Anyway, I didn’t listen to them. Obviously. And when I got up there, I slipped a little. Everyone probably thought I was going to fall. I thought I was too! Those tiles are slippery!” She deflated a bit. “I just wanted to help my friends, Sir.”
John considered her words. It would be easy to let her off the hook without any more lecturing. But he just couldn’t do that. This was for her own good.
“And would it have helped your friends if you would have fallen off the roof?”
Trixie shook her head. “No, Sir. Not at all.”
“And would it have helped you?”
“No. I could have really hurt myself.”
“You could havekilledyourself, honey. That’s a long way up. It might only be two floors, but that’s enough to break your neck.” John knew what he was about to say was really pushing things, even beyond how much he already had, but he couldn’t stop now. Little Miss Cute Stuff needed to hear this. So, he stepped closer, reached out, put his hand beneath her chin, and gently tilted her head up until their eyes were locked. “You’re such a kind person, Trixie. So caring. You obviously want to help people. This world needs more people like you in it. And you deserve to have the best life possible. To accomplish those things—you thriving and this world keeping you for as long as possible—I need you to promise me something. Deal?”
“Yes, Sir?”
John took a moment to stare into those big brown eyes before answering. “I need you to promise me you’ll be a good girl. From here on out, stop and assess a situation before youjust rush in. You know, that’s the first thing firefighters do. We don’t just charge in. Even when seconds count. We always stop and assess first. That way, we’re more effective when we actually jump into action. You need to have a game plan before you just rush into something. Because if we get ourselves killed, we can’t help anyone else. So, from this point forward, I need you to think like a firefighter. Do you think you can do that for me?” He let go of her chin and stepped back again, fearing he was crowding her.
