Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next day, Jaxon was relieved when Tazzy chose not to bring up the late night call or what had disturbed him on the porch the night before.
He needed more information before he could discuss it with her.
She understood the danger well enough to be careful without the additional stress that note would create.
Apparently, she’d been preoccupied with her own thoughts as they finished up their late breakfast. She asked him about something entirely different.
“Daddy, the Musketiaras are getting together down at the square this morning. As vice-president, they’re counting on me to be there. Can I go?”
“I don’t know, Sprite. I’m concerned about your safety right now. It might be dangerous.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. All their Daddies will be there, too.”
He hadn’t heard about anything special happening today. Maybe they were all so focused on the General that they forgot to mention it.
When he arrived at the town square, he realized that he should have asked more questions.
Half the damn town had squeezed itself into the small town square.
You’d think it was a festival. There were vendors selling t-shirts and buttons.
He even saw Gideon “Bones” Preston and some of the hospital staff handing out bottles of water and small packets of sunscreen.
Now Jaxon was standing nose to nose with his Little Darkling, who was currently waving a ridiculous glittery sign like she was leading a full-scale revolution.
She carried a picket sign that read, “DADDY’S DARKLING DEMANDS CHOCOLATE EGGS BEFORE brOCCOLI!”
The damn thing sparkled so hard in the mid-April sun that it hurt his eyes. Tazzy’s voice rang out bright and bratty as she pumped her fist with the rest of the Musketiaras, crying out, “What do we want? CANDY FIRST! When do we want it? NOW!” Over and over.
He had to admit the sheer size of the event was impressive. These Littles could really put on a show when they put their minds to it.
The rest of the Sabre Daddies were there, just as Tazzy promised.
But not because it was part of their schedule.
They’d shown up in a loose pack about twenty minutes after he and Tazzy had arrived.
The Musketiaras were already there, handing out signs, candy, and pamphlets.
According to Hutch, the Daddies had received a group text from Ezra Harper, a detective for the Darling Police Department, that simply read, “Code Pastel. Town square. Bring patience.”
Jaxon wasn’t used to this kind of thing anymore.
Being in a crowd put him on edge. What he wanted to do was grab Tazzy and leave.
Drawing the line wasn’t as clear cut as he wished, and since his brothers were here, he’d let it play out for a little while.
He couldn’t just lock her in a closet for the rest of her life.
Well, he could, but he probably shouldn’t.
The whole thing was hilarious. Easter was only a week away, and the Littles of Darling had decided the holiday was under siege by the ultimate injustice: the unbreakable Daddy rule that no Easter candy, chocolate eggs, or marshmallow Peeps could be touched until at least one healthy vegetable had been eaten first. Gabi had declared it “a clear violation of Little’s rights” and organized the whole ridiculous protest in under forty-eight hours.
The square was packed with Littles in pastel tutus, bunny-ear headbands, and glittery sneakers, waving handmade signs and chanting like tiny revolutionaries who’d mainlined juice boxes and pure chaos.
Gabi Schwindler, ringleader extraordinaire, stood on an overturned milk crate she’d dragged from the café. He noticed that Raleigh, her Daddy, and Sabre’s lawyer hovered three feet away with his arms crossed, looking equal parts exasperated, exhausted, and amused. But he wasn’t stopping her.
Gabi thrust her glittery sign high — “EASTER CANDY IS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT! GREEN V. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT SAYS SO!” — and launched into her latest speech.
Cheers and claps exploded from the crowd.
Tazzy, jumping and cheering with the best of them, almost nailed him with her sign.
His shirt was already covered in glitter.
If he showed up at the warehouse later, sparkling and sporting a black eye, his brothers would never let him live it down.
Of course, they wouldn’t fare any better.
“Darkling, do you even know what the Zoning Board of Adjustment does?” he asked, having to shout to be heard over the noise.
She grinned back at him. “No idea. But it sounds impressive, doesn’t it? When Gabi’s on a roll, she can make a case for anything. And this is important, Daddy!”
Jaxon rubbed a hand over his jaw, equal parts proud and ready to lose his mind.
These girls had turned a simple Easter rule into a full-blown protest, complete with bunny ears, tutus, and enough glitter to blind half the mountain.
From the look of things, the entire town had turned out to support their cause.
Gabi carried on, misquoting Supreme Court cases like she’d personally argued them. He had no idea who had given the girl a megaphone, but whoever it was should be shot.
“Fellow Littles, people of Darling! The Supreme Court clearly stated in Green versus the Zoning Board of Adjustment that separate is never equal, and forcing veggies before Peeps is basically segregation of the taste buds! We will not be silenced! We do this for all oppressed Littles everywhere. Give me candy or give me death!”
The rest of the Musketiaras and their Little sisters took up the cry, a chaotic chorus echoing off the brick storefronts.
They all chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho — All the veggies have to go!” before breaking into a rousing rendition of “No more greens in Easter scenes (echo)— Bring us all the jellybeans!” sung to the tune of “I Don’t Know, But I’ve Been Told.
” They sounded like a sugar-crazed Little version of an army platoon.
He looked around and saw that his brothers were faring no better with their own Littles. It was some comfort to see he wasn’t the only one doing the balancing act.
Law wasn’t doing any better, that was for sure. Lovie was waving her sign while Law stood a few feet away, shaking his head with a primal grin that barely disguised his intent that consequences would come later.
He scanned the square to see what the other Daddies were doing and to search for threats.
At least one of the Littles was doing something constructive.
Bliss was off to one side, face painting cartoon carrots with sad faces and candy with happy ones on all the Little faces.
Connor was even helping her by holding the paints.
Almost all the Littles had evidently visited her. He couldn’t see one that didn’t have one of her masterpieces on her face. Bliss had moved on to painting fun things on some of the town’s children now. Well, thought Jaxon, that was one way to get the crowd on your side.
Suzi walked up with her camera.
“Jaxon, Tazzy… say cheese, you two.”
Tazzy jumped over and grabbed Jaxon’s arm, grinning like a Cheshire cat. She snuggled up to Jaxon’s shoulder while Suzi snapped the picture.
Deke was with her and let out a laugh.
“Hey Jaxon, you’re both supposed to smile for the photos.”
“I was smiling, Deke.”
Tazzy hit him on the shoulder.
“No, you weren’t.”
Jaxon reached over and took Suzi’s sign from her. “Deke’s Rule is Cruel,” he read aloud.
Suzi reached over and took it back. “Well, it is cruel that we have to eat vegetables on Easter.”
“We’ll have a very firm discussion about that later, babygirl,” said Deke. “Right now, you’d better get back to taking your pictures.”
Jaxon watched as they went to the next couple. From what he could tell, the man had the patience of a saint.
“Oh, look, Daddy, I want a cape too.” Tazzy pointed toward Breezy and Gage.
It appeared that Breezy had somehow convinced Gage to let her borrow his favorite flannel shirt to tie around her shoulders like a cape.
Before he could reply, another Little ran up to them.
“Don’t forget to wear your stickers,” Winnie said. She handed Tazzy a sheet of stickers that read, “I Survived the Veggie Tyranny.”
Jaxon plucked the sheet out of Tazzy’s hand to examine it.
“Hey, that’s mine.” Yelled Tazzy. She cocked her hip to one side and crossed her arms in a pout.
“Just making sure it’s Daddy approved,” Jaxon said.
“You can bet it’s not.”
Jaxon looked up. Reid was standing there huffing and puffing.
“You know what else isn’t Daddy approved?” said Reid, now addressing Winnie.
“Uhhh…. No, Daddy.” Winnie gave Reid her most innocent Bambi eyes.
“Running off without Daddy. I think you know what this means.”
“Everybody knows what this means, don’t they, babygirl?” Jaxon asked Tazzy.
“Oh, look, there’s Georgia. She doesn’t have her stickers either.” With that pronouncement, Winnie took off.
Reid ran his fingers through his hair and growled, “See you two later at the warehouse,” before running after Winnie.
Jaxon shook his head with a sigh. “Okay, Darkling, you can wear the stickers, but just while the protest is going on.”
Tazzy jumped up and down. “Thank you, Daddy.” Then she snatched the stickers back and started putting them all over her shirt.
Jaxon looked toward Georgia and Hutch to make sure Reid had caught up with Winnie. Following his gaze, Tazzy squealed. “Doesn’t Georgia have the greatest sign?”
Jaxon shook his head in disbelief. “Well, it’s certainly the biggest.”
It was true, no one in the square could miss the giant “HUTCH CAN’T STOP THE BUNNY REVOLUTION!” written across a huge placard. No wonder she had to staple it to a couple of sticks just to hold it up.
And, yes, Winnie and Reid were there, handing Hutch the sticker sheet and talking.