Page 24 of Protecting Little Phoebe

“Come on, let’s get you to bed. It’s late and Little girls need their sleep, or they have to have a nap during the day.”

“Not a nap,” she grumbled. “Naps suck.”

“They do?”

“Uh-huh,” she said as he led her down the hall to her room. “They’re so boring. So is sleep. Want to watch a movie with me?”

“You just watched a movie.”

“Well, yeah. But I could watch another one.”

“It’s too late for that, little girl.” He called her that so easily now. And she hadn’t protested, so he wasn’t about to stop.

“Do you think Master Derek will be upset at the prank?” she asked.

“I’m guessing Sadie was the instigator?”

Phoebe winced and nodded. “I think so. Do you think she’s in a lot of trouble?”

“I’m sure that she knew there would be consequences when she chose to pull this prank. Derek knows what Sadie needs. You don’t need to worry about her, he’ll always put her first. Besides, from what my friend has told me about this place, pranks are a fairly common occurrence and Sadie is often the one leading the prank brigade.”

He stopped in front of her door, feeling reluctant to leave her. So he took a chance and reached up to brush her hair back off her face.

Phoebe smiled up at him. “Are you sure you don’t want me to wash your clothes for you?”

“I’m sure, little girl. I have it under control.” Although he noticed that he’d left a small trail of glitter behind him. He’d need to tip housekeeping extra tomorrow.

“I probably shouldn’t have tried to remove your shirt outside, huh?” she asked, raising her thumb to her mouth to chew on the nail.

“I’m not complaining.” He drew her hand from her mouth. “No chewing on your nail.”

“I do it when I’m nervous. It’s a habit, I guess.”

He rubbed his finger over her rough nail. “It’s not a good one, little girl. You don’t know what germs might be on here. Not to mention you could chew your nail down too far. I think you might need something else to chew on.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Let me do some research.”

“Why… why do you care, Barren?” she asked, staring up at him with wide eyes.

“Again, that’s probably something to talk about at a later date.”

“Oh. I understand.” She turned away from him and he hated the sadness in her voice. What was he doing?

Why not tell her how you feel?

“Do you know why I came back here?” he asked her.

She turned back, giving him a puzzled look. “Did you want another vacation?”

“I just took one, so no.”

“I don’t know. You missed the Ranch? Being able to be yourself here?”

“I did, but that’s not why I’m here. I got a call from the mechanic in Porter’s Corner.”

“I don’t understand. Why would the mechanic at Porter’s Corner call you?”

---