Danny looked up.
Wilbert was leaning against the doorframe with his good shoulder. His arms were folded, but his smile was soft. “You know what I’m proud of?”
Danny squinted one eye. “That I didn’t cry when we left?”
“That too. But mostly, how good you were with the other Littles. Sharing your stuff. Using your manners. Even when you didn’t feel like it.”
Danny’s cheeks warmed. He ducked his head and sipped his juice.
“You earned your fifth star, sugar-pea.” Wilbert stepped in and peeled one from his shirt pocket. “Want to do the honors?”
Danny nodded, took the sticker, and placed it beside the last one. A full row.
Wilbert bent to kiss the crown of his head. “You know what that means.”
“Story time?”
“Nope. Sandwich first. You skipped lunch, remember?”
Danny wrinkled his nose, but his tummy grumbled right on cue.
In the kitchen, Wilbert had already laid out the white bread, crustless, and cut into six perfect squares. There was a little dish of carrot sticks too, and his favorite blue plate shaped like a fish.
“I missed this,” Danny mumbled around a bite.
Wilbert’s smile held steady, quiet and content. “Rawhide was good for you. But I missed our home and it just being the two of us.”
Danny chewed and swallowed. “Can I have your phone after lunch?”
Wilbert raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I promised Sadie I’d message when I got home safe.” He fiddled with a corner of the plate. “She made me pinky promise, and she said if I forgot she’d mail me a glitter bomb.”
Wilbert gave a deep chuckle. “That does sound like her. But how about we call instead? I bet she’d love to hear your voice.”
Danny’s eyes lit up. “Can I? Can I really?”
Wilbert handed over his phone and leaned against the counter, watching as Danny pressed Sadie’s name and waited.
The screen lit up. “Rawhide Ranch! This is Sadie speaking—how can I help your day be extra sparkly?”
“Hi, honeybunches, it’s me.”
A squeal burst through the speaker. “Danny!”
Danny grinned so wide his cheeks ached. “Hey!! I’m home! I didn’t get eaten by coyotes or fall in the horse poop or nuthin’!”
“You’re safe and sound!” Sadie gasped. “I’m drawing a big, fat heart with my four-color pen!”
Danny bounced on the stool. “I brought Rainbow back with me! And I got new coloring pencils! And I missed youso much!”
“Not as much as I missedyou, Dandan,” Sadie sing-songed. “Me and Blake were playing fairy bakery, and we saved you a donut with unicorn frosting and a jellybean heart center. But you have to come back before it gets stale!”
Danny giggled. “We’re gonna come back! Daddy said maybe for fall! And I’ll bring my stickers, and we can go out with the horsies and we’ll have ourselves a picnic!”
“Yesss! Cupcakes and juice boxes and hugs! Big squeezy hugs!”
Daddy mouthed five more minutes and held up a hand with his fingers splayed. Danny pushed out his bottom lip but nodded. “Okay, Sadie, Daddy says I gotta go, but air kissies first!”
