Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
One of the things Junie loved most about the Wild River Ranch house was the living room. It was so bright and inviting. The sunlight poured through the large windows, casting golden patches across the worn hardwood floors and overstuffed couches.
That’s where the girls were waiting for her when Tanner dropped her off before going to meet with Wild River Security. Kenzie met her at the door, pulling her into a tight hug that smelled of strawberry shampoo.
“Are you okay?” Kenzie asked.
“I think so,” Junie lied. Physically, she was fine. Emotionally, not so much.
Kenzie hooked her arm in Junie’s and led her to the sofa in front of the fireplace.
“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but we’re all worried about you,” Kenzie said, holding Junie at arm’s length like a dress she was inspecting for purchase.
“Tanner called Boone and said Preston showed up at the bakery. Tell me he was mistaken!”
Junie’s throat tightened. She wished she could.
Her friends gathered around her as they sat, Tildi on her right, Joy on her left, Kip and Kenzie perched on the coffee table facing her. Warmth filled her chest. They were like a protective little council. Their concern was so genuine, so immediate. So constant.
“He came to the bakery,” she said, voice still shaky. “Just walked in like nothing was wrong.” She tried to hold back the shiver of revulsion but failed. “He was smiling, talking like we were old friends.”
“That man is a psycho, acting like that after all he’s put you through,” Kenzie snarled, shaking her head.
“You’re not wrong. He kept saying all this crazy stuff about how Tanner poisoned me against him and how we were meant to be together.
He got down on one knee and proposed to me.
Bought a ring and everything. When I told him no, he…
he grabbed me. He grabbed my face and forced me to kiss him.
If Tanner hadn’t gotten there when he did, I don’t know what he would have tried to do next. ”
The girls gasped. Tildi’s hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide. Joy reached over and squeezed Junie’s hand tightly, her touch warm and steady.
“Oh, honey,” Joy whispered, voice full of sympathy. “I’m so sorry. That’s terrifying.”
Kip leaned in, eyes fierce with protective anger. “He’s lucky Tanner didn’t catch him. Boone said the guys are all meeting right now to figure out what to do.”
Kip reached over and patted Junie’s knee. “You’re safe here. We’ve got you.”
Tildi reached around and rubbed Junie’s back in slow circles. “That’s right. We’re not going anywhere. Littles stick together.”
Tears filled Junie’s eyes again, but this time it was different. She’d spent so long believing she would always be the one left behind. Even after Nanabelle came to live with her, a small part of her had always waited for the other shoe to drop.
Looking around at these women, she accepted the truth. Tanner had been right all along. Not everyone left. Some people stayed. Some people chose her even when she was scared and messy and too much.
“I was so scared,” she whispered. “But then Tanner was banging on the front door. Preston had locked it. I knew that wouldn’t stop Tanner. He’d find a way to get in. I just had to hold on until then.”
Kenzie took her hand, squeezing it firmly. “You did good, Junie. You stood up to that sack of shit. That took guts.”
For a while, they just sat together, the girls offering hugs and soft words of comfort. The love in the room was so thick Junie could ice a cake with it. It was just what she needed right now.
Kenzie pulled back with a mischievous grin that lit up her whole face. “Okay, enough of this mushy stuff. You got here just in time to help us pay the Daddies back for the spankings we got after the food fight last week.”
“Why are my alarm bells starting to ring?” Junie asked.
Kenzie huffed. “It’s nothing… dangerous.”
The other girls perked up immediately. Tildi’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Yes! I’ve been waiting for this.”
Junie couldn’t help but smile. She should be used to it. After all, anytime she’d gotten sent to the principal’s office at school, it had been because of something Kenzie had talked her into doing. Now she was always up for a good prank. “What are you planning to do?”
Kenzie led them all into the cold pantry off the kitchen.
As soon as Junie stepped inside the room-sized pantry, the cool air raised goosebumps on her arms. Kenzie reached into the corner and dragged out a large burlap sack, then dumped dozens upon dozens of small, clear plastic frog toys onto the island counter with a dramatic flourish.
The girls stared at the pile for a second, eyes wide.
“What are those supposed to do?” Kip asked, poking one cautiously with her finger.
Kenzie gave an evil little grin. “Just watch.” She flipped a tiny switch on the base of one frog. Nothing happened.
Joy tilted her head to the side. “It’s not very exciting, is it?”
As soon as she spoke, the frog let out a string of loud, realistic croaks that echoed off the pantry walls.
Kenzie flipped the switch off.
“It’s noise activated?” Junie asked, “because, if so, it’s hilarious.”
Kenzie nodded.
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Joy said, dissolving into giggles.
“Yep,” Kenzie replied, clearly proud of herself, “that’s the point. We’re going to hide these all over the second floor. The Daddies won’t be able to make a sound without setting one off. If we hide them right, it’ll take them forever to find them all.”
“You are an evil genius,” Junie said immediately, already reaching for a handful. “I’m in!” Once she had her fingers wrapped around a few, the dam burst, and the rest of the girls loaded up.
As they were turning away from the table on their mission, Kip raised a hand to get everyone’s attention. “Isn’t this like… guaranteed to get us all another spanking?”
“Tell her, girls,” Kenzie prompted.
“Yes!” they all shouted.
For the next half hour, they snuck around upstairs like a band of mischievous Little Easter bunnies.
But instead of hiding eggs, they hid tiny frogs.
Their Daddies would find them in all the drawers of every suite, under beds, behind curtains, in the pots of plants, and inside closets.
Every time one of them accidentally triggered a croak, they dissolved into giggles and shushed each other frantically, which triggered all the other frogs.
It seemed like an awful lot of frogs, all gathered on the second floor to Junie. “Why don’t we plant some downstairs?”
“And make Ruby have to listen to them?” Kenzie said, eyes wide. “That would be a hard no. She’d skin us alive.”
“Yeah,” Tildi added with a dramatic shiver. “The Daddies will just spank us. Ruby controls the snacks.”
It wasn’t long before they were creeping back downstairs to the kitchen, still giggling and whispering like the band of mischievous Littles they were.
“I can’t wait to see Boone’s face when he hears the first one,” Tildi said, eyes sparkling with delight. “If we’re lucky, he’ll growl my name so loud it’ll set off every frog in the house.”
Kip grinned, a wicked twinkle in her eyes.
“Trace is going to freeze the second he hears the first croak. I doubt he’ll say a word.
Then he’ll start hunting them like it’s a mission.
I bet he finds at least half before he even sits down.
” She patted her stomach. “Right now, this baby has given me a get-out-of-jail-free card, and I’m going to milk it for all it’s worth. ”
Joy covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Chance will be super stern at first. He’ll try to lecture me with that serious voice, but he’ll be fighting back a smile. But the joke’s on him. The more he lectures me about the frogs, the more frogs he’ll set off. This is going to be a blast.”
Kenzie leaned against the counter, her cheeks pink with excitement. “Maybe they’ll think they’re real frogs. That would be a hoot. Prepare yourself for full-blown Daddy-mode, ladies.”
Junie just listened. Who would’ve thought she’d be so happy after this morning’s events?
She loved the easy teasing and the shared mischief.
For so long, she had stood in self-imposed isolation, watching other people belong while she waited for the moment someone would realize she didn’t.
But here, with these girls, Tanner’s words finally clicked into place.
She really did belong. She always had.
The girls still chattered about their Daddies’ reactions to their prank, but Junie didn’t have to guess. She knew exactly what he’d do. He’d pretend to be stern at first, scolding her in that deep, disappointed Daddy voice that always made her tummy flip.
But that would just be an act. That spark of amusement in his eyes would give him away. He loved her playful side, even when it got her in trouble… maybe even especially when it got her in trouble.
Her heart lifted at the thought. She could be Little with him. She could let herself be silly and carefree, twirling and giggling without a single worry. She’d been happier the past month than she could ever remember.
“I can’t wait to see Tanner’s reaction,” she admitted, cheeks flushing. “He’s going to toss me over his shoulder and carry me off to deal with me. But… I think he’ll secretly love it.”
The girls all dissolved into laughter again, pulling her into another group hug. For the first time in forever, Junie felt completely, wonderfully part of something bigger than herself.
They were still chatting about it when a loud snort came from outside. Tildi’s face lit up like Christmas morning. “Oh, that’s Bullwinkle. That means he’s ready to play.”
Junie had heard stories about Tildi’s pet bison, but she had never actually seen them together. They all followed Tildi outside, where she grabbed a giant kickball from the pole barn in the holding pen.
Bullwinkle was waiting at the fence, the biggest bison Junie had ever seen. “Are you sure he won’t come charging through that fence? With his size, the fence might as well be made from bubbles.”