Page 4 of Lilly's Little Labor Day

Edward knew the truth. He just hated to admit it.

He knew that little cutie was the sweet girl of his dreams. The one he longed for. The one who needed her Daddy.

He stopped, pressed his forehead to the cold glass, and looked down as the city bustled with life below.

His heart raced. His brain wouldn’t stop spinning scenarios. And every one had slight variations but the same core ingredients.

In each one, sweet Lilly was his precious babygirl.

Chapter 2

“These cookies are going to be the best, Ms. Duckworth!” Lilly said with a gleeful giggle. “Edward is going to love them!”

She looked at her stuffie and giggled some more. The yellow duck was plump, had a bow on her head, and wore a diaper. Lilly had added the diaper herself since Ms. Duckworth was known to have trouble in that department and sometimes wet the bed.

Lilly had her pink pajama shorts on, a matching shirt, and more than a little flour in her brown hair. Before her, on the kitchen island, were the cookies’ ingredients spread out in a rather disorderly fashion.

Having had a sufficient break, Lilly picked up the bowl once more and began stirring the batter with the large wooden spoon. Her mind wasn’t really on the cookies, though.

She was thinking of her date that evening.

And about Edward.

And about what the next few days would hold.

The date had potential. She’d met the guy on an app for Bigs and Littles. So, going into it, he knew what she was, and she knew how he identified. Good. No awkward conversations and “coming out” to the other person if the date blossomed into a relationship. Of course, that was a big if, Lilly knew. It was her first time putting herself out there in that context.

It was the first time putting herself out there, period. She hadn’t exactly had a robust, varied dating experience. Being a Little had always held her back. She feared guys would run away as quickly as they could if they knew her secret. That’s why she decided to go for the gold and look for a Daddy right out of the gate.

If Blake doesn’t work out, I can always go to the Ranch, she thought.

She giggled as she thought of that magical place.

Rawhide Ranch.

She’d talked with some Littles online who had been there. They’d told her all about it and it sounded wonderful! That’s why she’d applied, made it through the vetting process, and had been accepted.

Could she go through with it, though? She was too afraid to even spend a few days by herself! How could she drive to Montana and just live at a place where she didn’t even know anyone?

No. That would take too much courage. Courage she didn’t have.

Not yet.

Perhaps one day.

Until then, she needed to focus on tonight’s date. She might meet her Daddy without having to visit Rawhide.

But as excited as she was for that date with Blake, she was equally as excited about seeing Edward.

She was giggling before she even realized it.

Stop it, Lilly! He’s my older stepbrother. I shouldn’t have feelings for him.

Her mind drifted back a few years, and she saw it flicker across her imagination as if she were really there…

“Absolutely not. You’re too young,” Edward said.

“I’m eighteen!” Lilly yelled.

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