?Gwen?lb?th! Oh, Gwen?lb?th, honey! Where?s daddy?s little girl?? King Gavilean Starfare walked through the halls of the private floor of Arda Castle, looking for his daughter to get her ready for the day. ?Gwen?lb?th! Where are you? Mommy will soon be here and we need to get you dressed.?

?Da da, Da da, horsie, horsie,? he heard from the corner of the nursery. He walked in and saw Gwen?lb?th sitting on the small rocking horse, squealing with delight, making it rock as best she could. He should have known that this is where he would find her. She loved that little shaggy rocking horse with its navy blue leather saddle trimmed with silver bells and matching bridle. The leather and bells both were inlaid with crystals that seemed to pulse in time to the rocking of the cherry wood horse that they had purchased as a Christmas present.

?You like that horsie, don?t you, darling.?

?Horsie, da da,? she said, rocking it just a bit faster.

Gav reached down and lifted her off the rocking horse. ?You can ride it again later, honey. We need to get you dressed and ready. Mommy will be here soon.?

Gwen?lb?th began to cry and reach for the rocking horse as she was carried away. Gav, being a softie to a lady?s tears, kissed Gwen?lb?th?s cheek and set her on the little canopied bed to get her dressed. ?Aw, honey. How about mommy and daddy show you some real horses?? Gav made funny whinny sounds and tickled the sweet princess who was destined to be as gorgeous as her gorgeous mom.

Gav thought about taking her down to the palace stables, but having a princess on a horse was going to attract a lot of attention. Tilly, Des? unicorn, was there and would surely be good with Gwen?lb?th, but again, that would attract a lot of attention and he really desired some special family time without staff and spectators always around. He recalled that before they were married, Des had a ranch that she owned. They were going to visit it at one time, but the kingdom business seemed to always get in the way of their plans. He?d decided that he would bring up the subject again. Besides, it would be a perfect time with their 2nd anniversary coming up in less than two weeks.

Gavilean finished dressing his daughter; something he really didn?t mind doing while Trinalee was on her yearly vacation. ?Come, honey. Let?s go see mommy and see if she approves of the way daddy dressed you.? Gwen?lb?th walked next to her father, holding on to one of his fingers as they exited the nursery.

Gavilean watched Des and Gwen?lb?th together and just had to laugh. He held no misconceptions in his awareness that at this young age dads were only good to be with when the moms weren?t around. Once a mom was present, a dad became a distant second choice. Dads gradually become more and more fun as the child grows older, so he would just have to patiently wait a few years.

He gave Des a kiss and raised his brows at the news of the caf? mochas. He looked to Gwen?lb?th, ?Your mommy is just too good to us. I think you must have the bestest mommy in the universe.? He winked at Des and put his arm around her as they walked to their suite, marveling at the way a woman?s hip was nearly as good as a saddle when it came to transporting little ones.

?So, baby, did I do alright dressing her this morning? She just loves that cowboy hat. I wonder where she got that from?? He gave his wife a playful nudge, for he really didn?t believe anyone could ever look as good in a cowboy hat as his wife did. ?And she really has taken to riding that little rocking horse we bought her for Christmas. It?s hard to get her off of it.? He held the door of the suite open for Des to pass through first.

?You know, babe, I?ve been thinking. Yeah, I know? it?s dangerous. But I?ve been thinking anyway, and I was just wondering . . . you know that ranch you came from.? He paused a moment. ?Of course you know it! What am I saying?! Anyway, I was thinking that perhaps it would be fun to go there for a family vacation and show Gwen?lb?th what a real ranch is like and what it?s like to ride a real horse. What do you think? Do you think that would be a good idea??