Chapter 29
VANESSA
The sound of tires crunching over gravel wakes me and I blink my eyes open to stare at the giant wood cabin looming before me.
Home.
As hard as I’ve tried to fight it, there's no doubt this place has become my home, and I can’t wait to see my family. It feels like it’s been weeks since I saw my cousins and my uncles and Auntie Gray. But when I reach for the door, a heavy hand comes to rest on my thigh.
“Little girls wait for a grownup to let them out of the car,” Daddy lectures solemnly. “You sit right there and Daddy will come get you.”
“I can open a door on my own.”
“That’s three marks for when you’re feeling better. Would you like to make it four before we even get into the house?”
Flopping back against my seat, I cross my arms and wait.
Seemingly satisfied I’ll stay where I’ve been put, Daddy climbs out of the truck and makes his way around to the passenger side, where he scoops me out of the seat so I can wrap myself around him.
And okay, maybe it’s kind of nice to have someone do all the literal heavy lifting when I’m so tired already, but that doesn’t make me a helpless little baby.
It doesn’t.
“Nessie!”
The sharp cry greets me the second we walk through the door, and I twist my head around to find Lanie, Josie, and Tabby all gathered in the hallway, staring up at me with worried expressions. All at once, they begin firing questions at me.
“Are you okay?”
“How’s your head? Did you break any bones?”
“Was the hospital scary?”
“Do you need anything?”
“Did you meet a hot doctor?”
The last question has Daddy growling low in his throat and they all fall silent as they stare up at him with wide eyes.
“All right, little ones.” Auntie Gray steps into the foyer and shoos the other Littles toward the living room.
“Nessie needs her rest. If she’s feeling better tomorrow, she can play with you and you can ask her as many questions as she feels like answering.
Until then, you leave her and Uncle Dane alone, or I will personally take my hairbrush to all your bottoms.”
“Yes, Auntie Gray,” they all answer in somber unison as they drag themselves into the living room.
When they’re out of sight, Auntie Gray turns, her expression full of sympathy as she reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Sleepy,” I confess with a wide yawn. “Wanna nap.”
“I’m sure you do. Well, we’re all very happy to have you home again. No more trips to the hospital for a while. Deal?”
“Deal. Oh!” I pop my head up from Daddy’s shoulder, ignoring the stab of pain in my temple as I do so. “I met your friend, Reese. She was really nice.”
Everything about Auntie Gray changes in an instant. A hint of pink colors her cheeks and her whole body gets so stiff it’s like someone replaced her spine with a steel rod. “Reese Donnelly and I are not friends.”
“I don’t think she knows that. She asked about you a lot.”
“Really?” Confusion and suspicion flicker across Auntie Gray’s face. “Well, we still aren’t friends. She’s just a nosy bi—”
“Language, Auntie Gray,” Daddy says mildly, earning him a glare from his sister.
Interesting. Very interesting.
“What did she want, anyway?” Auntie Gray asks, the suspicion on her face echoing in her tone. “Was she there to interrogate Nessie?”
“Just doing her job, Gray.” Daddy’s tone is dry, with a hint of amusement at the edges. “She was at the bookstore when the call came through about Nessie, so she and Poppy—”
“Wait. Poppy was there too? They came together?”
“Yes. Reese got pretty defensive when I asked about it.”
Auntie Gray snorts. “Of course she did. Because Reese Donnelly is the only one in this town allowed to have any secrets.”
As much as I’m enjoying watching Auntie Gray get all flustered over the sheriff, I really am very tired, so I drop my head back onto Daddy’s shoulder. “Daddy, I'm sleepy.”
“All right, baby. Let’s go get you down for a nap.”
“Sorry, little one.” As if someone has flipped a switch, Auntie Gray’s voice changes. Becomes softer, gentler as she runs a comforting hand down my back. “I’ll let you go. I just wanted to tell you how happy we all are to have you home.”
“Thank you, Auntie Gray.”
“You’re very welcome, sweet girl.”
Daddy turns to carry me up the stairs, but we’re stopped again by a low psst sort of sound. Turning, we find Lanie hiding beside the stairs, a mischievous look on her face.
“What is it, Melanie?” Daddy asks.
Unbothered by Daddy’s use of her full name, Lanie grins. “Nessie didn’t answer my question. Was your doctor hot?”
Daddy lets out another of those low, sexy growls. “As soon as I get Nessie settled, I’m tracking down Axel to tell him he doesn’t spank you enough,” he grumbles as we move past her to the stairs.
“Daddy, that’s mean.” I try to sound stern, but a giggle slips free. “Lanie was just being a good friend.”
“She’s being a goddamned nuisance and she knows it.”
“Who said she can’t be both?”
That earns me a loud laugh as we make our way upstairs. The sound stabs at my head, and when I wince, Daddy pauses and presses a kiss to my temple. “I’m sorry, little fox. We’ll make sure it’s nice and quiet in your nursery so you can get some sleep.”
But as soon as we open the door to my room, Daddy freezes and we both simply stare at what greets us. Two blankets block the door, creating a curtain of sorts. And when Daddy pulls the curtain aside, a shocked gasp is pulled from my lips.
The entire space has been transformed into a giant blanket fort.
From floor to ceiling and wall to wall, my nursery is nothing but blankets and pillows and other comfort items—including Tabby’s favorite giant T-Rex stuffie.
From the “ceiling” of the fort hangs the same twinkling lights we used for the blanket fort in Auntie Gray’s room.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, tears blurring my vision as I try to take everything in. “They didn’t have to do this.”
“You’re a very loved Little girl, Vanessa Dawn. Not just by me, but by our whole family.”
Love wells in my chest as I smile at the cozy space surrounding us. “Yeah. I’m starting to see that.”
Nessie
The next forty-eight hours are both the most magical and the most boring of my life. Because of the concussion, I’m not allowed to do anything that might strain my eyes. Which means no tv, no screens of any kind, no reading. Basically all the things that make life worth living are off-limits.
Including my family. Daddy allows the other Littles to come visit me for exactly five minutes at a time, but we all have to be very quiet which is not really something anyone but Tabby excels at.
But Daddy is there the whole time, doting on me and taking care of my every need.
Uncle Eli brings me plenty of snacks and bottles of milk—no frozen hot chocolate for me until Uncle Ford clears me, which feels a bit like overkill but when I tried to argue, Daddy just made a note in the little notebook he’s been carrying around to keep track of all my naughties for when I’m feeling better.
Still, it’s not all bad. It really is kind of nice to have Daddy all to myself for a little while. And even if I can’t read, he can, and we spend most of our days snuggled up in my personal blanket fort, surrounded by pillows and stuffies while he reads my favorite Marjorie Thorne books to me.
I might actually miss some things about my confinement once Uncle Ford releases me after my exam today.
“All right, little one. Everything seems to be looking good.” Leaning back against the cabinet behind him, Uncle Ford pierces me with a stern look.
“You still need plenty of rest. TV time needs to be limited to an hour or so at a time, and if you’re going to play with your cousins you still need to be taking it easy .
That also means no spankings and no chases through the woods, Dane. ”
The restriction of no spankings makes me want to dance, but the second half gives me pause. I hadn’t even realized until right this second how much I actually enjoyed our games in the woods.
When did I start thinking of my escape attempts as games? And when did I start liking it?
“Aw man, there goes my plans for the afternoon.” Daddy rolls his eyes and I have to smother a giggle. “Seriously, Ford, I’m not a complete dumbass.”
“Just mostly a dumbass.”
“Exactly. Thank you.”
Now it’s Uncle Ford’s turn to roll his eyes toward the ceiling, and when Daddy catches my eye I lose the battle with my laughter, dissolving into giggles right there on the exam table.
“Keep laughing and I’ll tell Uncle Eli no frozen hot chocolates for another week,” Uncle Ford warns in a dire tone.
Pressing my hand against my heart, I gasp loudly and maybe a tad overdramatically. “You wouldn’t!”
“Test me, little girl.” But there’s a twinkle in his eye that tells me he’s joking.
Probably still in my best interests not to push my luck too much.
“If you’re done being an asshole, my babygirl could use a nap.” Hooking his hands beneath my armpits, Daddy lifts me off the exam table and settles me on his hip. “Say goodbye to Uncle Ford, little fox.”
“Bye, Uncle Ford!”
“What do you want to do today, little one?” Daddy asks as he carries me back up the stairs. “We could read some more books or maybe go sit outside for a few minutes. But you heard your Uncle Ford, no running and playing for a little while still.”
“This is the worst.” Like any proper Little girl, my voice pitches up to a needling whine. “I never wanna have a concussion ever again.”
“I know, baby. It’s only for a few more days, and then you can get back to being your crazy, rambunctious self.”
His words roll around in my mind as we make our way to our rooms. “Daddy?”
“Yes, little fox?”
“When I’m better, will you still chase me in the woods?”
Pausing just outside my nursery, he looks over at me, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Do you want me to chase you?”
“I think so. I… I kind of like it when you catch me and tie me up and…” Embarrassed heat floods my cheeks as I trail off, unable to verbally detail all the things I enjoy about our chases through the woods.
“Well that’s a lucky thing, because I also enjoy what happens when I catch you. And I have a very special game in mind, so the sooner you rest up and get the all-clear from Uncle Ford, the sooner we can play.”
“Really? What kind of game?”
“You’ll have to wait and see. For now…”
With a dramatic flick of his arm, he sweeps aside the curtain leading in my nursery-fort and I squeal with excitement at the sight that greets me. “A TV! Can we watch it, please, Daddy?”
“We absolutely can. In fact…” Bending down to set me on the pile of pillows in front of the television, he snags a remote and turns it on. There, on the screen, is one of my favorite classic horror movies.
“Really? You’re really gonna let me watch a scary movie?”
“I did promise you our very own movie night, didn’t I?”
With everything that’s happened over the past few days, I’d actually forgotten all about that. “You did, you did promise.”
“And a good Daddy always keeps his promises. But we have to take a break after this one for a couple hours, and then we can watch another one this afternoon if you want. No movie marathons until Uncle Ford says so.”
That’s disappointing, but also not unexpected, so I don’t bother to argue. “Okay, Daddy.”
My agreeable nature earns me a suspicious look. “That's it? No begging? No bargaining? Just… ‘Okay, Daddy’?”
“Yup.”
Eyes narrowing slightly, he stares me down, but I just smile sweetly in response. “You’re up to something, I know it.”
I’m not, actually. But making him wonder is more fun than anything I could plan, so I just brighten my smile. “Nope. No secret plans for mischief here.”
“Uh-huh.” Clearly unconvinced, he settles on the pillows beside me, pulling me in to snuggle with him.
Just remember, even if I can’t spank you right now, I have my handy-dandy little notebook to keep track of all your misbehavior.
And you already have a doozy of a spanking coming your way when Uncle Ford gives me the all-clear. ”
“I know, Daddy. I’ll be good, I promise.”
Judging by the sideways look he gives me, he doesn't believe that promise for a single second, and I have to fight the urge to giggle as I snuggle under his arm to watch the movie. After all, it’s not my fault he doesn’t believe me, though I probably could try harder to seem more sincere.
But a girl needs to find some way to keep herself entertained when she’s not allowed to do anything fun. Right?