Samantha nearly froze. Oh boy. This was going to turn out bad.
Her mind raced, thinking of any possible excuse she could as to why she couldn’t take part in the devilish plan.
“Well, what I have to say is really important. Maybe we should just talk.”
But it was clear the other women weren’t listening to her.
Damn, they really are brats, she thought to herself.
“Come on!” Monica said. “Get some snow ready. I’m going to go tell them you want to play with them. Then, when they come out, we’ll get them!”
She was running toward the house before Samantha could protest any further. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway. Monica and Marissa were clearly intent on acting snotty to Iris and her pals.
And it looked like Samantha—or rather Tonya—was going to be right in the middle of it.
As always.
Chapter Sixteen
Kendrick arrived at Auntie Athena’s feeling good about the morning’s chore.
The stairs leading to Samantha’s apartment were reinforced now and she wasn’t going to get hurt by falling through any of them. He was pissed at the landlord for not taking care of it. Unfortunately, things like that were common in big cities. Damn slumlords. There needed to be more laws against it, in Kendrick’s opinion.
At least his Little girl was safe now, though.
He smiled at that thought. Was she his Little girl? It sure felt like she was.
Some would say he was getting way too ahead of himself. Yet it felt natural inside his soul. Like Samantha was made for him. He just knew it.
He supposed time would either confirm that or teach him otherwise.
His thoughts shifted when the front door flew open and Annika ran out of Auntie Athena’s place and down the walkway, meeting Kendrick halfway. “Those brats! I can’t stand them!”
“Whoa there, honey. Slow down. Take deep breaths and calm down.” He placed a gentle hand on Annika’s shoulder until herbreathing had returned to normal and some of the red had drained from her cheeks. “Now, tell Uncle Kendrick what’s going on.”
She sighed again before saying, “It’s the brats. Tonya and her two friends. They… said they wanted to play with us and then threw snow at us! We told them to stop but they kept doing it. They even rubbed it in our hair! Then they… made fun of us… because we wear diapers.”
Kendrick had lots of questions, and it took him a moment to process it all.
“Okay, first of all, this is a nursery for Littles. Doesn’t everyone wear diapers around here?”
This actually drew a smile from Annika and it was good to see her not so angry. “Not all Littles wear them, Uncle Kendrick.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. Second question. And this is a big one. Where the heck did y’all get snow?”
This caused Annika to smile even more. “Stryker and Harrison dropped by this morning and lent Auntie Athena a machine from the movie lot. It makes snow! It’s so cool. But it’s really cold and… well… when it melts it’s even worse. Look at this! I have cold water all down my back!”
She turned around to show him the water stain on her pretty pink babydoll dress. That’s when he realized for the first time that she was shivering.
“Honey, your Daddy isn’t here so you need to ask Auntie Athena or Auntie Caroline to help you change if you need it.”
He knew she was a grown woman. Obviously, she was capable of changing clothes herself. But when at the nursery, well, Annika and the other cuties were in Little Space. Sometimes they needed a Big to help them.
“They’re helping Iris and Lana right now. Me and Cami are next.”
He nodded. “Okay, well go on inside and wait for them.”
“What are you going to do?”
