Page 33 of Harmonizing with Little Heaven Leigh

He stopped and turned around but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. When he pulled a crumpled order form out of his pocket and handed it to her, it all became clear. It was one of the ones she’d done in crayon, and she winced.

“Oh.”

Angel let one eyebrow slowly rise and he folded his arms across his chest. “I had an interesting phone call from Master Derek today. Want to guess what it was about?”

“Um, just catching up? Is he missing you?” She put as much innocence into her tone as she could manage.

“Yes, that’s exactly it,” he agreed, nodding. “He was missing me so much he needed to call me to catch up. Oh, and he also wanted to let me know that my Little girl was running a prank delivery service that had caused him to end up with a mouthful of soap. And not just him either…”

This was the worst-case scenario she’d tried not to think about. “He… he did?”

“He did. You know, for someone who used to think pranks were dumb, you certainly have managed to get yourself in deep.”

“Technically, I didn’t prank anyone, Daddy. I just made fun stuff. I told them that it was at their own risk if they pranked people. Stores aren’t really responsible for how people use the stuff they buy.” She didn’t really think that excuse was going to work, but she had to try.

“You know that’s…” He stopped and shook his head. “I think we both know that isn’t going to save your tail, Heaven Leigh. Now, I suggest you move your little butt straight home. I have something to do first, but when I get there, I want to find you waiting in the corner with a bare backside. Am I clear, young lady?”

He was using his upset Daddy voice, which was a rare thing. Angel was so even-tempered that he hardly ever got mad at her, but she thought he might be now. She was in big trouble, and this wasn’t going to be good. Still… it had been fun while it lasted.

She sighed. “Yes, sir.”

CHAPTER11

Angel watched her walk away, feet dragging, in no hurry to get home. He waited until she was out of sight before he let himself relax. A ghost of a grin tilted his mouth up at the corners as he shook his head.

It wasn’t like he was thrilled to be hit with multiple complaints about his Little girl all on the same day, but when he’d seen the order form, he couldn’t help but laugh. Derek hadn’t looked as amused, but then Derek had found one of the trick treats in his office, and apparently had taken a bite. He probably still had a bitter taste in his mouth.

Angel would dearly love to know who had left one of the chocolate bars on his desk. A few names sprang to mind immediately, but he knew it hadn’t been Heaven Leigh. For her, the fun had been in just providing the items. She hadn’t needed to take part in the distribution.

And there was Derek now, stalking his way. Angel wiped any hint of amusement off his face before the annoyed Ranch owner reached his side. “I sent Heaven home. I’ll have a discussion with her about all of this when we’re done.”

Derek nodded. His blue eyes were flinty with irritation. “Good. Ready?”

“Yes.” He tilted his head. “Get the taste of soap out of your mouth yet?”

His boss narrowed his eyes. “Funny. Wait until it happens to you.”

Angel laughed. “You think she’s never gotten me? Let me tell you about the time she replaced all my implements with realistic cake and then got in trouble on purpose, so I’d need one. I grabbed a paddle and itsquished.” He shuddered. “Unsettling doesn’t quite describe the feeling of reaching for a perfectly normal item and finding out it’s… cake.”

Derek snorted. “At least you didn’t try to eat it.”

The chocolatier shrugged. “That will teach you to eat strange candy you find laying around.”

“I didn’t find it on theground, Angel. It was on my desk!” Derek’s voice was outraged.

“Let’s be honest. At this point, you’re lucky she didn’t replace your desk with cake. Now that we have all the workspace and equipment… she could.”

The Ranch owner gave him a horrified stare and then shook his head, as if trying to shake away the image. “Replacing my phone was bad enough,” he grumbled. “Let’s just get this over with. I want to find as much of the contraband as we can before anyone else gets tricked.”

Derek had assembled a group of Caregivers, teachers, and staff to sweep through the Littles’ Wing and any common areas where the Littles frequented to do a quick search for the prank foods. The order form gave them an idea of what they were looking for.

By the time they were done, they had amassed an impressive pile of items. Including what looked to be every bar of soap in the whole building. It turned out that Heaven’s foaming chocolate was so realistic that no one could tell the real from the fakes.

“I certainly wasn’t going to taste them,” Nanny J said with a sniff. “It will all have to go.”

“Do you think we found it all?” Miss Price wondered.

Derek snorted. “Not likely, but at least we’ve diminished it some. And hopefully Angel will do something about the supply train from his end?” His voice rose in question, as he directed a look at the chocolatier.

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