Chapter 11
JOSIE
Lying in Daddy’s bed later that night, I stare up at the ceiling while my mind races, trying to piece together an escape plan.
There has to be some way out of this, some way for me to get the fuck out of here and back to my normal life.
Lanie’s words, her easy acceptance of this new life that was thrust upon her without her consent, have buried deep under my skin, making me increasingly desperate to flee.
Unfortunately, as much as I hate to admit it, Daddy was right about me trying to run off into the woods in the middle of winter.
Even with the right clothing and equipment, I have no idea where I am or which direction to head in to find safety.
People get lost in the woods all the time, even under good conditions, and I’m not exactly an “outdoorsy” type as it is.
Which means sneaking off in the middle of the night is out of the question.
So what are my other options?
Closing my eyes, I let my author brain take over. If this was a story, how would I write it? There’s no romantic hero waiting in the wings to swoop in and rescue me, which is, I’m ashamed to realize, probably how I would have handled my heroine’s escape.
No, while I am absolutely a damsel in distress, I’m going to have to rescue myself.
I could find a weapon and force someone to drive me into town.
But I dismiss that idea as soon as it comes to me.
Even if I could find some kind of weapon threatening enough, I’d have to overpower six lumberjacks and a…
would Gray be a lumberjane? Whatever she is, I’d have to take her out as well for that plan to work.
Or hope that I’m lucky enough to find someone on their own and that they wouldn’t simply wrestle the weapon from me which seems equally unlikely.
Hitch a ride to town, maybe? Eli was talking about going into town for groceries tomorrow. I could simply figure out which vehicle is his, sneak out, and hide in the back.
For that to work, though, I’m going to need Daddy to stop watching me like a fucking hawk. And the best way to do that will be to lower his defenses, make him believe he can trust me not to run.
My stomach rolls at the thought of playing the part of his baby, but it’s my only feasible plan. Closing my eyes, I run the plan over and over in my mind, picking out the obvious hurdles and pitfalls until I finally fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Josie
“Chivaree!”
I’m jolted from my sleep the next morning by a loud cry. Jerking upright in Daddy’s bed, I stare at the procession of people streaming into his bedroom, their arms laden with gifts.
What the fuck?
Beside me, Daddy chuckles and sits up as well, pulling me onto his lap and cradling me close. “You couldn’t give us another hour?” he asks, his voice warm with affection.
Axel grins and juggles a giggling Lanie in his arms. “Someone couldn’t wait. It took a dozen with my belt to convince her not to wake everyone up at the crack of dawn.”
Pink blossoms on Lanie’s cheeks. “Daddy,” she whines. “You didn’t have to tell everyone!”
“Didn’t have to tell everyone what? That you’re a naughty, impatient Little girl and Daddy had to punish your bottom inside and out before the sun even rose this morning?”
Inside and out? Wait… Surely he doesn’t mean…
I decide I don’t want to know, and remind myself that the sooner I get out of here, the less chance there is I’ll have any opportunity to find out.
With a heated glare for her Daddy, Lanie pointedly turns her head to smile at me and my Daddy. “Anyway. I was just excited because we brought presents!”
Presents! I forgot about the presents! Despite my annoyance at being awoken so early and so loudly, I perk up at the mention of gifts. I doubt I’ll be given anything that could help me escape but, well, a girl has to have hope.
Lanie shoves a sheet of paper at me and I take it, blinking down at the carefully colored page. It’s a house, surrounded by bright, happy flowers and above the house are the words “Welcome Home”.
Tears blur my vision as I stare down at the paper. “It’s beautiful. Did you make this for me?”
When I look up at Lanie, she blushes deeper and shrugs. “I thought you might like something bright to decorate your room. Since everyone around here seems to be allergic to color when it comes to decorating the rest of the house.”
“You definitely don’t spank her enough,” Gray mumbles to Axel, her brow furrowing in a scowl, though the slight twitching of her lips gives her away.
“Trust me, I’m aware,” Axel drawls as he passes me a large, awkwardly wrapped gift. It’s heavy, almost too heavy for me to handle, and when I rip off the wrapping paper I find…
Wood.
Sleek, gorgeous wood in the shape of what appears to be a cutting board, though I’m not really sure why we would need our own personal cutting board when Eli apparently does all the cooking.
Our initials are burned into the middle of the board in a surprisingly pretty script.
It’s a stunning gift, confusing as it is.
“It’s, um, beautiful,” I manage to say, forcing a smile.
Lanie rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at her Daddy. “See? I told you nobody wants a paddle for a wedding gift!”
Axel raises a dark brow. “Keep up that attitude and I’ll ask Uncle Bram to let me borrow his new present right now, little girl.”
“Daddy!” Lanie gasps. “You can’t borrow someone’s present right after you give it to them! That’s so rude!”
“Really? I’m being rude?” There’s a note of disbelief in his voice as he stares down his unrepentant Little girl.
Lanie gives a decisive nod. “Yes. I’m glad we agree.”
“She has a point, big brother,” Colt offers up cheerfully, stepping forward with another oddly wrapped package. “Here you go, Josie. Welcome to the family.”
This time, I let out a shocked gasp when I unwrap his present.
It’s a snowglobe, and inside is the Chicago skyline.
Tears blur my vision as I turn the globe over in my hand, giving it a gentle shake.
“Oh my god.” My voice is shaky with a mixture of laughter and tears.
“Is this because of that time we drove all the way to Chicago for a Cubs game?”
“It is.” Colt chuckles and shakes his head. “I thought all four of our parents were going to skin us alive when we got back. But god, it was fun.”
“It was.” Even with everything that’s happened since I arrived in Forbidden Pines, the memory is bright and happy.
Colt—he was Callum back then, but just as bold and irreverent as he appears to be now—came up with the idea to drive halfway across the country, go to a baseball game, and come home all within a single weekend.
We wrote our parents notes and then he and Bram packed me and Gray in the car and we took off for Chicago.
Our parents were furious when we got back, but it was totally worth being grounded for a week.
Rising up on my knees, I throw my arms around his neck. “Thank you. I love it.”
“You’re welcome, Josie-Posie.” Squeezing me back, he drops his voice to a whisper. “I know this is hard. But we’re all so fucking happy to have you back.”
Fuck. He just had to go and say something sweet, didn’t he? Pulling back, I force another smile for his benefit before turning to the next brother in line and holding out my hand. “Gimme.”
The move earns me a round of laughter from my “family”, but a low growl from the man behind me. “Do you need a lesson in manners, Josephine?”
Heat suffuses my entire body as I smile sweetly up at Dane. “Gimme, please.”
More laughter breaks out around us, and to my surprise, Daddy joins in. “Smartass little brat. I can see your Uncle Axel’s present is going to get a lot of use.”
Twisting around, I glare at my smirking Daddy. “You can’t use that thing on me! You’ll break me in half!”
Now it’s Axel who smirks. “Now, what would be the point in giving your Daddy a present he can’t use? Lanie can attest to it being the perfect size for a naughty Little girl’s bottom since I tested it out on hers when I first made it.”
Lanie wrinkles her nose. “It is not. It’s horrible and I hate it and if you ever make me one I’m going to throw it right in the fire.”
Ignoring them all, and the sudden throbbing need between my thighs, I turn back to Dane. “May I please have my present?”
To my surprise, Dane almost looks shy as he pulls a stuffed llama from behind his back. “I hope they’re still your favorite.”
For a moment, I actually am a Little girl, excitement over a new toy pulsing through my veins as I grab the stuffed animal from his hands and clutch it to my chest. “They are! I love her! Thank you, Dane!”
“Uncle Dane,” Daddy corrects me, his voice a low growl once more.
Embarrassment mingles with my excitement, but somehow doesn’t dim it. “Sorry. Thank you, um, Uncle Dane.”
God that’s fucking weird. But seeing the way Dane’s eyes light up when I address him properly almost makes up for it.
Ford steps up next, a neatly wrapped rectangular box in his hands. “Your Uncle Eli’s gift is waiting downstairs in the dining room. A wedding brunch, he calls it, but between you and me I think it’s just an excuse for him to make those chocolate chip muffins he likes.”
Eli grunts and cuffs his brother on the back of the head. “Shut up, Ford.”
While they bicker, I rip the wrapping paper off the box and lift the lid.
And my excitement immediately fades. “You got me a thermometer?”
“I got your Daddy a thermometer, so he doesn’t have to come running to me every time he thinks you might have a fever,” Ford says with a chuckle. “I gave Axel and Lanie the same gift because I know how my brothers get. Remember that time you had the flu in college?”
I do. Despite my parents’ heated protests, Bram parked himself by my bed and refused to leave the entire week I was sick. He fed me, wiped me down with a cool washcloth, even helped me shower, an act I thought might actually kill my mother at the time.
Remembering, I turn to him, and I see the same mix of grief and nostalgia in his eyes that I can feel stirring in my chest. “I remember. You were a bit of a mother hen.”
“You scared me,” he says simply, running a hand over my hair and giving one of my pigtails a gentle tug. “You were so sick, and I was worried you’d never get better.”
“It was just the flu.” But the memory softens something inside me and I lean back against him, snuggling into his side. “Mr. Worrywart.”
“That’s Daddy Worrywart to you, little girl,” he growls, pressing a kiss to my hair.
It would be easy, so fucking easy to give in. To let myself fall back into my role as his girl, even with all the baby stuff. Who knows, maybe I could even talk him into giving up on the diapers and stuff if I pouted and whined enough. And we could live happily ever after the way we always dreamed.
But I can’t. Despite all the happy memories his family’s gifts have drudged up, I’m still furious with him on so many levels. There are too many things I can’t possibly forgive for me to be truly happy here.
So even if there is some small part of me that wants to just forget and move on and spend the rest of my life with the family I thought I’d lost forever, I know I can’t. I have to be strong.
Because I can’t help but feel like my very survival depends on me getting the fuck out of this cabin. For good.