Page 27 of Their Little Foursome

“Thank me?”

“Yes… for keeping your promise.”

And that’s how her Daddy found them, sitting in a tangle of bushes, leaves and twigs in their hair, their arms around each other, laughing and talking over each other. When Blake gasped, Lori followed his gaze and saw her Daddy looking down at them.

“It’s him,” Blake said in a tone that had Lori looking between the two.

“Don’t be scared, that’s just my Daddy. He saved me too. Daddy, this is my angel. His name is Blake.” Turning her attention back to Blake, she giggled and held out her free hand,waiting until he took it to give it a shake. “Oh, and my name’s not Emerald, it’s Lori.”

“Gordon?”

Both Blake and Lori turned to see her Daddy looking like he’d seen a ghost.

“Barb?”

“Oh my God, Lauren?”

“Auntie B?” Lori said in disbelief.

“Huh? That’s my Mommy, and her name isn’t Barb.” Blake shot a glare in Gordon’s direction before addressing his Mommy. “Mommy, this is Lori, not Lauren and she owes a dollar to the swear jar.”

Lori’s head swung back to look at him in disbelief. “Tattletale!”

“Hey, stop punching me.” Leaning down, he grinned and whispered. “Be grateful I didn’t rat you out for pinching me. Swearing costs you a dollar. Pinching or punching will earn you a spanking.”

“Really?”

At Blake’s emphatic nod, Lori reached up and hugged him, speaking softly. “Then thank you for not telling on me.”

“Figured I owed you.”

“Blake, I think you smacked your head or something. I oweyou.You saved me.”

Blake hugged her tightly. “My head is just fine. You have no idea how you just saved me, Lori with the emerald eyes.”

Gordon stood holding a pink ribbon, Beverly an abandoned backpack as they stared at each other in stunned disbelief as the Littles worked to disentangle themselves. Their fingers remained locked together as they crawled out of the bushes to stand before their Bigs.

When Gordon reached out to pull a twig from Blake’s hair, Lori grabbed his arm before he could toss it away.

“Don’t, Daddy.” When the others looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, she giggled. “Don’t you see? It’s not a real twig. It’s the magic wand from the story.”

“What story is that, sweetheart?” her Auntie B asked.

“The one that brings me a baby sister,” Lori explained.

Blake huffed, “Hey, maybe you smacked your head. I’m not a girl and I’m bigger than you!”

Lori shrugged “Even better. That’s the thing about magic. It knows exactly what you need when you think you want something else. Now I’ve got a big brother to protect me.”

“From what?” Blake asked.

Lori rolled her eyes and giggled. “I dunno, but I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

Blake’s eyes widened as her thumb and pointer finger tapped together making a pinching motion. He grinned and nodded. “I’m sure we will.”

“Could someone please tell me—am I the only one who feels like they’ve fallen down the rabbit hole?” Beverly asked.

“No!”

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