My stomach rolls at the thought of playing the part of his baby, but it’s my only feasible plan. Closing my eyes, I run the plan over and over in my mind, picking out the obvious hurdles and pitfalls until I finally fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Josie
“Chivaree!”
I’m jolted from my sleep the next morning by a loud cry. Jerking upright in Daddy’s bed, I stare at the procession of people streaming into his bedroom, their arms laden with gifts.
What the fuck?
Beside me, Daddy chuckles and sits up as well, pulling me onto his lap and cradling me close. “You couldn’t give us another hour?” he asks, his voice warm with affection.
Axel grins and juggles a giggling Lanie in his arms. “Someone couldn’t wait. It took a dozen with my belt to convince her not to wake everyone up at the crack of dawn.”
Pink blossoms on Lanie’s cheeks. “Daddy,” she whines. “You didn’t have to tell everyone!”
“Didn’t have to tell everyone what? That you’re a naughty, impatient Little girl and Daddy had to punish your bottom inside and out before the sun even rose this morning?”
Inside and out? Wait… Surely he doesn’t mean…
I decide I don’t want to know, and remind myself that the sooner I get out of here, the less chance there is I’ll have any opportunity to find out.
With a heated glare for her Daddy, Lanie pointedly turns her head to smile at me and my Daddy. “Anyway. I was just excited because we brought presents!”
Presents! I forgot about the presents! Despite my annoyance at being awoken so early and so loudly, I perk up at the mention of gifts. I doubt I’ll be given anything that could help me escape but, well, a girl has to have hope.
Lanie shoves a sheet of paper at me and I take it, blinking down at the carefully colored page. It’s a house, surrounded by bright, happy flowers and above the house are the words “Welcome Home”.
Tears blur my vision as I stare down at the paper. “It’s beautiful. Did you make this for me?”
When I look up at Lanie, she blushes deeper and shrugs. “I thought you might like something bright to decorate your room. Since everyone around here seems to be allergic to color when it comes to decorating the rest of the house.”
“You definitely don’t spank her enough,” Gray mumbles to Axel, her brow furrowing in a scowl, though the slight twitching of her lips gives her away.
“Trust me, I’m aware,” Axel drawls as he passes me a large, awkwardly wrapped gift. It’s heavy, almost too heavy for me to handle, and when I rip off the wrapping paper I find…
Wood.
Sleek, gorgeous wood in the shape of what appears to be a cutting board, though I’m not really sure why we would need our own personal cutting board when Eli apparently does all the cooking. Our initials are burned into the middle of the board in a surprisingly pretty script. It’s a stunning gift, confusing as it is.
“It’s, um, beautiful,” I manage to say, forcing a smile.
Lanie rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at her Daddy. “See? I told you nobody wants a paddle for a wedding gift!”
Axel raises a dark brow. “Keep up that attitude and I’ll ask Uncle Bram to let me borrow his new present right now, little girl.”
“Daddy!” Lanie gasps. “You can’t borrow someone’s present right after you give it to them! That’s so rude!”
“Really?I’mbeing rude?” There’s a note of disbelief in his voice as he stares down his unrepentant Little girl.
Lanie gives a decisive nod. “Yes. I’m glad we agree.”
“She has a point, big brother,” Colt offers up cheerfully, stepping forward with another oddly wrapped package. “Here you go, Josie. Welcome to the family.”
This time, I let out a shocked gasp when I unwrap his present. It’s a snowglobe, and inside is the Chicago skyline. Tears blur my vision as I turn the globe over in my hand, giving ita gentle shake. “Oh my god.” My voice is shaky with a mixture of laughter and tears. “Is this because of that time we drove all the way to Chicago for a Cubs game?”
“It is.” Colt chuckles and shakes his head. “I thought all four of our parents were going to skin us alive when we got back. But god, it was fun.”
“It was.” Even with everything that’s happened since I arrived in Forbidden Pines, the memory is bright and happy. Colt—he was Callum back then, but just as bold and irreverent as he appears to be now—came up with the idea to drive halfway across the country, go to a baseball game, and come home all within a single weekend. We wrote our parents notes and then he and Bram packed me and Gray in the car and we took off for Chicago. Our parents were furious when we got back, but it was totally worth being grounded for a week.
