None of the powdered stuff in the Thorne household. All of our hot chocolate is made from scratch with fresh milk and melted chocolate. And, much to my eldest brother Axel’s consternation, enough marshmallows to choke a horse.
“Uncle Bram! You’re back!”
Turning from the stove, I fix Axel’s Little girl with a stern glare as she comes racing into the kitchen. “Melanie Brynne, what have you been told about running in the house? Especially the kitchen?”
At the sound of her name, Melanie skids to a stop in front of me, her big blue eyes round with hurt and her bottom lip poking out in an impressive pout. “But I was just excited to see you.”
“Uh-huh. And I’m sure your excitement has nothing to do with the fact that I said I’d bring you home a treat?”
She doesn’t look the least bit chagrined. A wide smile stretches across her pretty face as she lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “Well, youdidpromise me.”
“I did. But your Daddy will have both our hides if I give you candy this close to dinner. You’re going to have to settle for hot chocolate.”
“But youpromised,” she whines, her lip somehow pushing out even further.
Fuck me, she’s adorable. When Axel first rescued her from that snowstorm, I wasn't sure about keeping her. But now I can’timagine our lives without our sweet Little Lanie—even when she’s being a complete and utter brat.
“I promised to bring you a treat. I didnotpromise to let you ruin your dinner, little girl.”
“What’s this about ruining dinner?” Axel steps into the kitchen, pinning his Little girl with a look that has some of the color leaching from her cheeks.
“Umm…” Looking every bit like a naughty Little girl, Lanie drops her gaze to the floor, her sock-covered foot twisting against the tile.
“She knows I brought her a treat from town and I told her it’s too close to dinner for candy, especially when we’re going to be having hot chocolate soon. But a certain Little girl isn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Uncle Bram is right, Melanie Brynne. And you know better than to keep whining like that to try and get your way.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she responds with a dramatic sigh.
Pulling a chair out from the kitchen table, Axel sits and pulls her to him to unbuckle the straps of her overalls. With the efficiency of a Daddy well-practiced in giving his Little girl the discipline she so often needs, he strips her overalls and diaper from her before pulling her over his knee.
“When an adult tells you no, that meansno, little girl.”
The sound of his palm cracking against her bare bottom fills the kitchen, along with my niece’s howls of pain. “Owie, owie, Daddy, I’m sorry!”
Grinning at the familiar sight playing out in front of me, I snag one of Eli’s many wooden spoons from the crock on the counter and hold it out to my brother. “While you’ve got her there, she was also running in the kitchen.”
“Thanks,” Axel grunts as he takes the spoon, snapping it against his babygirl’s bottom, leaving behind a perfect roundcircle as she kicks and cries over his knee. “You’ve been very naughty, Melanie Brynne.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy!”
By the time Axel finishes, Lanie’s bottom is a bright pink all over and she’s crying loudly. Lifting her into his arms, Axel cradles her against his chest while she sobs.
“Apologize to Uncle Bram for not listening when he told you no, and then we’ll go get a fresh diaper on you, little runaway.”
Sniffling, Lanie sits up and rubs at her streaming eyes. “I’m s-sorry, Uncle Bram.”
My heart twists in my chest at how fucking cute she looks all red-faced and teary-eyed. And for a moment, it’s not her but my Josie staring up at me through tearful eyes and it feels as though my heart may actually leap out of my chest.
But then I blink and it’s Lanie again, and I have to force myself to smile for her sake. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I know you didn’t mean to be naughty.”
Rising from the chair with his babygirl in his arms, Axel meets my gaze, his expression serious. “I’m going to get her a new diaper and then we’ll be down for the family meeting. Colt said you have something to tell us.”
“I do.”
Axel holds my gaze for several long seconds before giving a single decisive nod. “All right. We’ll be back down in a bit.”
He disappears from the kitchen, his sniffling Little girl cradled against him, and all I can think isI hope he can forgive me for ruining both their lives.
