He was thinking about what, or if he was honest with himselfwho, might still be his to love.
Chapter Ten
The plan began somewhere between nap mats and glitter glue, the way most Little mischief did, with an idea so ridiculous it made perfect sense.
Sadie dangled upside down off the beanbag chair, her curls dusting the playroom floor like a mop. “Okay, hear me out,” she said, legs wiggling for balance. “What if we make stickers?”
Danny paused mid-scribble and chewed his bottom lip. “Like... sticker stickers?”
“Revolutionary stickers,” Blake added, leaning over the coloring table with eyes wide. “Ones that say things like ‘Littles Rule, Bigs Drool’.”
Danny gasped. “Yes! Or ‘Adulting Not Recommended’. Or”—he crinkled his forehead thinking really hard—“oh, oh, got one: ‘Property of Daddy’.”
Sadie twisted upright so fast she rolled right off the beanbag and flopped onto the mat with a thud. Danny was half on his feet to check on her, as she added, “We could stick that one on Kevin’s back!”
“He’d never notice,” Blake giggled. “Until dinner.”
Kevin. Danny’s mood darkened. He didn’t like the guy. He was way too much interested in Easton.
With an effort, he pushed thoughts about the other Little from his mind and focused on the task. “Let’s make one for Sam, it’ll say ‘Certified Cranky-pants’.”
“Nah.” Sadie sat up and crossed her legs primly. “Let’s put broccoli on his door.”
Blake blinked. “Broccoli?”
“Don’t you know he hates it?”
Blake cocked his head. “I didn’t but it’s good to know. I think…” A think line appeared between his eyebrows.
Danny snorted. “You’re gonna get us all sent to corner time.”
“Worth it.”
Danny didn’t mean to start a sticker rebellion.
Not really.
He just wanted to make something fun. Something cheeky. Something that said we’re Littles and we’re here to play without getting kicked out of the Butterfly Program.
The idea had taken hold in Sadie’s corner of the arts-and-crafts room. They weren’t allowed to eat in the playroom, but that didn’t stop her from sneaking in a candy bracelet and chomping through it one pastel ring at a time while Blake fussed over the Cricut software on a clunky laptop.
“We need one that says ‘Certified Snugglebug’,” Danny suggested, as he leaned on the table, watching Blake wrestle with the machine. “With a teddy bear. Obviously.”
“Pfft,” Blake snorted. “Too tame. What about ‘This Butt Is Spank-Proof (Test Me)’?”
Sadie choked on her bracelet.
“Danny can wear that one,” Blake added with a wicked grin.
Danny pressed both hands to his cheeks. “I am not putting that on my jammies.”
“Who said it goes on your jammies?” Sadie asked, brows wiggling.
“Well, I’m certainly not going to wear it,” Blake muttered.
They all laughed. They knew Nurse MacIntosh who was Blake’s Mommy.
“Focus,” muttered the fourth in their mischief-making crew, Georgie. “We still haven’t decided on fonts.”
