While Lanie directs them in the building of yet another snowman, I edge toward the house, sneaking little furtive glances their way to make sure nobody is watching me.
I’m almost to the corner of the cabin where I’m convinced the driveway is hidden when I hear my name.
“Where’s Josie?”
Panic infuses Daddy’s tone, and I know from past experience that making him worry is a surefire path to a red-hot bottom. Better to get “caught” than to sneak away only to have him track me down and blister my ass later.
“Over here,” I call, waving my arms so he can see me better. “I was just exploring a bit.”
Frowning, he stalks toward me, hoisting me up into his arms. “Don’t wander away like that again, little girl. You stay within five feet of Daddy at all times. Am I understood?”
Double dammit. “But Daddy?—”
His expression hardens. “You can either stay close or you can spend the day inside with a sore bottom.”
Well, that’s an easy choice. “I’ll stay close.”
“Good girl,” he says with a nod. “Why don’t you help Lanie with her snowman?”
“Why does it have to be a snowman?” When he puts me down, I run a critical eye over the giant ball of snow in front of me. “Why can’t we make, I dunno, a snow rabbit or something?”
Twirling around, Lanie gasps, her dark eyes bright with excitement. “That’s afantasticidea! We can make a whole snow zoo!”
Axel groans and pins me with a glare. “You really had to make this more complicated, didn’t you, Josie?”
“Don’t you want us to have fun, Uncle Axel?” I shoot back, keeping my tone syrupy-sweet.
Laughter erupts behind me, and Gray trudges forward through the snow to clap Axel on the shoulder. “Yeah, Uncle Axel. Don’t you want our Little ones to have fun?”
“You know I want them to have fun, Grayson. I just want them to also have reasonable expectations for what we can accomplish with nothing but snow and some buckets.”
“So what you’re saying is, you don’t want to have toworkto make your Little girl happy,” I tease.
It feels good, falling back into this familiar rhythm with Axel, even if that’s not how I knew him before. And when he glowers at me, I can’t help but dissolve into laughter alongside Grayson. Even Daddy joins in, telling his brother not to be such a stick in the mud.
And for a couple surprisingly fun hours, I’m a Little girl again, playing in the snow with my chosen family as we figure out how to turn our snow person into an animal. Lanie decrees early on it’s far too large to be a rabbit and suggests an elephant instead, an idea her Daddy quickly replaces with a bear. I’m not sure the bear is really that much simpler, but Axel and Lanie both seem satisfied as we shape the body, then paws, and finally the head with its way-too-long snout.
“All right, little ones. Time to head inside so we can warm up with some hot cocoa,” Axel declares when the alarm on his phone chimes.
“No!” Glaring up at her Daddy, Lanie does an admirable job of trying to stomp her foot. “We still have to give him eyes and ears and claws!”
Hands fisted on his hips, Axel returns her glare. “You can come out again this afternoon to finish, but right now you need to go back inside and warm up. And I suggest you don’t stomp your foot at me again unless you want to be drinking your hot chocolate with a hot bottom.”
To my utter surprise and admiration, Lanie does exactly that, crossing her arms and stomping her foot as best she can given the height of the snow and her own short stature. “I wanna stay and finish my bear!”
Sighing heavily, Axel bends down and scoops her up, tossing her over his shoulder and landing a heavy swat to her upturned ass. Lanie squeals, and her pleas for her Daddy to let her go fill the air as Axel carries her into the house.
“You too, Josie-Posie,” Daddy says with a chuckle. “Or do you also need help getting in the house?”
“No, Daddy. I can walk.” I am much more interested in hot chocolate than a hot bottom, thank you very much.
“Good girl.”
Taking me by the hand, he leads me inside, pausing just over the threshold to peel the snow gear from my body and hang it up alongside everyone else’s.
Lanie is standing in one corner of the living room, shifting from one foot to another, her pants and diaper both missing, leaving her bare bottom on display while Axel sits on the couch, watching his naughty babygirl dance in the corner. He glances up when Daddy and I enter, a wide grin stretching across his face. “You gonna go make us some hot chocolate?”
“Eli probably already has it warmed up,” Daddy says. “But we’ll get it dished out so it’s ready for you and Lanie when you’re finished here.”
