Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
The following day, Nova was with Trixie, Steph, Kelsey, Katie, and Stella as they stood in the yard of the rental house, talking to Xavier.
The women were wearing swim tops with disposable swim diapers. It felt strange, Nova noted silently, to be dressed in such a way so openly. But then again, she was in Mountainville and it was just the culture.
She had to admit—the swim diapers were pretty cute. They were blue with bubbles and seaweed to make it look like the ocean with adorable cartoon fish and sharks swimming about. It made her feel so Little! She absolutely loved it.
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride to the waterpark?” Xavier asked the Littles.
“You don’t have a car here,” Nova pointed out.
“I know that, silly girl. But Dax will be by in a second and you could all hop in the bed of his truck. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, Daddy wouldn’t mind one bit,” Stella said. “Trust me—I’ve got him wrapped around my finger and he’ll do whatever I ask.”
Xavier’s brows arched. “Is that so?”
Nova watched as Stella gulped. “Well, maybe don’t mention that to him.”
The man chuckled. “Don’t worry. And I’m sure you’re right. Because my sweet Little has me wrapped around her finger too.” It felt wonderful when he reeled Nova in for a hug. “You be careful. Have fun. But don’t do anything dangerous like yesterday!”
“Yes, Daddy,” she said before they kissed.
Dax’s pickup appeared in the distance, heading toward them.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” she asked him.
“I’m meeting Leah, her Daddy, Dax and Bo and the other Guard members at the community center.
We’re going to practice our plan so when we get back to Vegas everything will go smoothly.
No hiccups. That’s the idea, anyway. But how about this: when we’re finished, I’ll find you at the waterpark. Deal?”
“And you’ll even ride the tallest, scariest slide there with me?” she asked hopefully.
“That’s going to be my favorite one. I guarantee it.”
With another giggle, she hugged Xavier tightly again.
“Just remember, honey—no trouble.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said, offering him a crisp salute.
He chuckled, spun her around, playfully popped her bottom, and said, “Go on. Get to the waterpark, little girl.”
The Littles waved to him and Dax as he pulled up before walking away toward the back of the town. They talked as they strolled, enjoying the nice summer day even though it was a tad warm out already.
“Good day to be in the water,” Katie said.
“Yeah,” Trixie replied. “But you know, even this isn’t as hot as Vegas.”
“Las Vegas does get warm,” Stella said. “All that concrete and?—”
Before she could finish the thought, a water balloon came out of nowhere. Letting out a startled squeal, Stella ducked, clearing the path for the projectile to smack Nova square in the face and burst.
“Oh shit!” Stella cried. “Sorry.”
Now, more water balloons were flying. Some hit their marks, but others bounced into the grass near the sidewalk and rolled harmlessly while others spattered on the sidewalk or against nearby trees.
“We’re under attack!” Katie yelled. “Everyone take cover!”
Nova and Trixie ran toward a large oak tree in a patch of nicely manicured grass to the left, ducking behind it just in the nick of time before more balloons hit them.
From that vantage point, Nova watched as Katie and Stephanie took cover behind a nearby park bench. She wasn’t sure where Stella and Kelsey were.
A moment later, a voice rang out, saying, “You know that nobody is safe during the annual Mountainville summer water war! We’ll be back later today!”
Based on the footsteps Nova heard, it was obvious a fairly large group was hurrying away. She waited another few seconds before finally coming out from behind the cover.
The others joined her and when they were back on the sidewalk, she said, “Who was that?”
“Our friend Emery,” Katie explained. “We love her. But the summer water war is serious business! We don’t play around.”
“Uh-huh,” Stella said. “And I heard she’d formed an alliance with Claire, Michael, and Christpher. This is going to be crazy!”
“You think they’ll come for us again?” Nova asked.
“She promised she would,” Katie pointed out.
Nova thought about it for a moment. A water war sounded kind of fun! That was just the sort of mischief she’d dreamed of getting into with Little friends. And it wasn’t dangerous like what she’d done yesterday. Daddy wouldn’t mind!
She didn’t know when she’d be back in Mountainville. So she had to take part in this battle! It would be epic.
“Hey, could we call Stryker and ask him to arm us? With all the stuff he’s made, I’m sure he has some water guns or something around,” she proposed.
“Boy does he!” Katie said, pulling out her cell phone from the swim bag she carried. “That’s a great idea. Maybe he can meet us at the water park.”
Steph laughed gleefully.
The other Littles looked eager to engage, too.
“When this Emery and her friends come back,” Nova said, “you can bet your diapers we’ll be ready for ‘em!”