Disarming Little Danny (Littles of Rawhide Ranch #18)

Prologue

Two Years Ago

The door swung open before Danny Merrick’s bunny slipper could touch the threshold.

Inside smelled like fresh laundry and banana muffins.

Shaking off the last remnants of the hours, Danny inhaled deeply.

This was home, only somehow newer, shinier, and brighter after their vacation at Rawhide Ranch.

Maybe it was just him. Or maybe the last ten days had scrubbed the world clean.

Ten wonderful days of indulging his Little and meeting new friends.

“Go on, sugar-pea.” Wilbert nudged him with a hand beneath his butt, that sent tingles down his spine, as did Daddy’s voice, which was deep and warm like bedtime stories. “Get inside before I carry you over my shoulder.”

Danny might be tempted at that, but Daddy hurt his shoulder during the trip, and he shouldn’t carry him.

“I’m a big boy. I can walk myself.” His unicorn backpack bounced against his back as he darted inside, the jingling zipper-pull shaped like a star thumping with each step. He kicked off one slipper, then the other, sending them spinning in opposite directions across the tiled entryway.

Everything looked just like they’d left it but felt nothing like it.

He twirled once in the living room, arms spread wide, still in his favorite Rawhide Ranch T-shirt with the cartoon cow that said “Moo-dy But Cute” and then flopped belly-first onto the huge plush rug. His fingers sank into the soft strands.

But the moment he stilled, the weight of the road hit him like a sleepy fog.

He’d been Big for too long. Helping Daddy navigate, counting exits, handing Daddy gum, picking the music, even getting them both drive-thru fries when Wilbert had pulled a muscle in his shoulder.

He’d done a very good job being big and helpful.

But now his muscles ached, and his head felt fuzzy. And he was ready to shrink back down into his Little headspace.

“Can we do the unpacking now or are you tired?” He glanced over his shoulder at the gorgeous man he called Daddy.

Wilbert stood over six foot tall and was as lean and sinuous as he’d been in his active years as a professional basketball player.

His dark, unruly hair was almost pitch black except for a bit of silver at the temples.

Wilbert set down both their bags and crossed the room. A teasing kind of grin tugged at his mouth. “Thought you’d never ask, sugar-pea.”

Danny scrambled upright and bounced on his butt, before folding his legs crisscross as Wilbert unzipped the rainbow suitcase and pulled things out one by one like it was Christmas morning.

A new pack of scented coloring pencils. They smelled like bubblegum, cotton candy, and grass and more delicious scents and Danny couldn’t wait to color with them.

A sticker sheet with glittery, golden stars came next, making Danny clap in delight.

Daddy pulled out his three new T-shirts.

They were neatly rolled, and Danny couldn’t see the prints, which was a bit of a bummer.

And last of all, Rainbow, his unicorn stuffy, came out of the suitcase.

“I missed her.” Danny clutched the soft toy to his chest. “She didn’t get squished.”

“Told you Daddy packed her safe.” Wilbert ruffled Danny’s multi-colored hair he liked to style into a mohawk. “That’s why Daddies are in charge of logistics.”

Danny giggled and pressed his face into Rainbow’s fuzzy mane. Her vanilla scent had faded a little, but he could still feel the warmth of the Ranch on her.

“I’m thirsty.”

“Me too. I’ll get us some juice.” Wilbert nodded and strolled to the kitchen. “Sippy or normal cup?”

“Sippy, please.”

Wilbert opened the fridge with one hand, the other still favoring his shoulder. He didn’t make a sound, but Danny noticed the careful way he moved, how he used his hip to nudge the door closed instead of letting it swing.

From the counter, Danny watched him grab the sippy cup. Not a glass. Not even a tumbler. The sippy. Because that’s what Danny had asked for.

He bit his lip. “I can get it if…” The cup was already in his hands, the plastic cool and full, the lid sealed tight just the way he liked it.

“Thanks, Daddy.” He wrapped both hands around it. “How’s your shoulder?”

Wilbert smiled, but just one corner of his mouth lifted. “Better, babyboy. Thanks for asking. Want me to unpack the rest?”

Danny shook his head, already crawling toward the nursery door. “I wanna do it.”

The nursery had been his favorite place before the Ranch. Now it felt like the Ranch had followed him home. Stuffies lined the shelves, the bed was freshly made with his rainbow sheets, and his reward chart—complete with sparkly star stickers—waited on the wall beside his cubby.

He opened his bottom drawer and laid the new T-shirts inside, then unzipped the coloring book from its pouch and slid it into place beside the others.

Wilbert’s footsteps padded closer, then stopped at the doorway.

Danny looked up.

Wilbert was leaning against the doorframe with his good shoulder. His arms were folded, but his smile was soft. “You know what I’m proud of?”

Danny squinted one eye. “That I didn’t cry when we left?”

“That too. But mostly, how good you were with the other Littles. Sharing your stuff. Using your manners. Even when you didn’t feel like it.”

Danny’s cheeks warmed. He ducked his head and sipped his juice.

“You earned your fifth star, sugar-pea.” Wilbert stepped in and peeled one from his shirt pocket. “Want to do the honors?”

Danny nodded, took the sticker, and placed it beside the last one. A full row.

Wilbert bent to kiss the crown of his head. “You know what that means.”

“Story time?”

“Nope. Sandwich first. You skipped lunch, remember?”

Danny wrinkled his nose, but his tummy grumbled right on cue.

In the kitchen, Wilbert had already laid out the white bread, crustless, and cut into six perfect squares. There was a little dish of carrot sticks too, and his favorite blue plate shaped like a fish.

“I missed this,” Danny mumbled around a bite.

Wilbert’s smile held steady, quiet and content. “Rawhide was good for you. But I missed our home and it just being the two of us.”

Danny chewed and swallowed. “Can I have your phone after lunch?”

Wilbert raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I promised Sadie I’d message when I got home safe.” He fiddled with a corner of the plate. “She made me pinky promise, and she said if I forgot she’d mail me a glitter bomb.”

Wilbert gave a deep chuckle. “That does sound like her. But how about we call instead? I bet she’d love to hear your voice.”

Danny’s eyes lit up. “Can I? Can I really?”

Wilbert handed over his phone and leaned against the counter, watching as Danny pressed Sadie’s name and waited.

The screen lit up. “Rawhide Ranch! This is Sadie speaking—how can I help your day be extra sparkly?”

“Hi, honeybunches, it’s me.”

A squeal burst through the speaker. “Danny!”

Danny grinned so wide his cheeks ached. “Hey!! I’m home! I didn’t get eaten by coyotes or fall in the horse poop or nuthin’!”

“You’re safe and sound!” Sadie gasped. “I’m drawing a big, fat heart with my four-color pen!”

Danny bounced on the stool. “I brought Rainbow back with me! And I got new coloring pencils! And I missed you so much!”

“Not as much as I missed you, Dandan,” Sadie sing-songed. “Me and Blake were playing fairy bakery, and we saved you a donut with unicorn frosting and a jellybean heart center. But you have to come back before it gets stale!”

Danny giggled. “We’re gonna come back! Daddy said maybe for fall! And I’ll bring my stickers, and we can go out with the horsies and we’ll have ourselves a picnic!”

“Yesss! Cupcakes and juice boxes and hugs! Big squeezy hugs!”

Daddy mouthed five more minutes and held up a hand with his fingers splayed. Danny pushed out his bottom lip but nodded. “Okay, Sadie, Daddy says I gotta go, but air kissies first!”

“Ready, on one… two… three… Muahh!!” Sadie blew an exaggerated smooch into the phone.

Danny did it back. “Love you lots like jelly tots! Byeee!”

“Byee!”

He handed the phone back with both hands, his face warm from smiling so hard his cheeks ached.

Sadie is the bestest of friends.

Wilbert tousled his curls. “You’re a popular boy.”

Danny just beamed and sipped his grape juice, making a little slurping sound.

After the call came the best part. Wilbert tucked him into the cozy nook beside the window, Rainbow snug under one arm and the sun spilling golden stripes across the floor.

The scent of grass and chlorine drifted in through the open screen.

He hoped they would have some time to swim tomorrow.

His adult mind told him that he should research a shoulder injury and swimming though.

Right now, he snuggled into the nook and enjoyed the backyard smells, summer smells. It was how being home and safe smelled.

Wilbert’s deep voice read from The Amazing Adventures of Captain Starlight, and Danny’s eyes fluttered halfway shut.

He wasn’t at Rawhide Ranch anymore.

But it didn’t matter.

His Daddy was here.

His unicorn was safe.

And they’d already started talking about when they’d go back.