Page 52 of Protecting Little Phoebe

“Little girl, no. You could never.” Reaching up, he cupped her face between his hands. “You’re my best girl. Now, how about we get you that onesie back there?”

“Oh, yes, please, Daddy!”

Twenty minutes later, she gaped at the pile of things on the counter. Wow. Daddy had bought her half the store it seemed.

“You have some nice treasures here,” the woman behind the cashier desk told her. “I’m Becky, by the way.”

“I sure do, Becky!” Phoebe said excitedly. Then she pointed at a bright item that was attached to a black piece of leather. It was long and rounded at the bottom. “What’s that, Daddy?”

“It’s something that you can chew on instead of gnawing on your thumbnail,” he explained.

“You can also suck on it like a pacifier,” Becky told her as she packed it away in a bag.

“You put the leather part around your neck and wear it like a necklace,” Barren added.

“Oh. That’s a good idea.” She caught sight of a blue notebook with something written across the top. “Rules for Littles. Daddy!”

“You said you wanted all your rules written down.”

“This book is very helpful,” Becky said as she packed it away. “It even has pages for you to write down any transgressions and punishments if you want. Helpful when a Little is sick and can’t be punished straight away.”

Goodness. Wasn’t that helpful?

Not.

“Come on, little girl. Let’s go put your new things away.”

She sighed. “All right, Daddy! Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 13

Phoebe glanced over as Barren’s phone rang. He’d been getting a lot of phone calls lately. And having to go onto his laptop more and more to get some work done. She was starting to feel bad because she was the one keeping him from his work.

They’d been at Rawhide together for five days now and it had been magical. Every day, he took care of her. He chose her clothes, dressed her, took her to breakfast and fed her. He decided what they were going to do for the day, but it was always something she enjoyed. Like coming to the playroom or going outside to the play area, having a picnic while watching the horses. That last one had been her favorite.

Phoebe never wanted to leave.

But was she being selfish keeping him here when he was obviously busy. Just because she was hiding from the world didn’t mean he could or wanted to do the same.

He ended his call with a sigh, and she stood up from where she’d been trying to talk Snickerdoodle and Mr. Unicorn into a truce. They had been butting heads ever since they met.

Unicorns and horses. They either loved each other or it was war.

“Daddy?” she said quietly.

But he didn’t hear her. She cleared her throat and moved closer. “Um, Daddy?”

He glanced up at her like he’d never seen her before. Then he shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Did you need me? I shouldn’t be working, but I have a very needy client at the moment. Well, he wants something that I can’t give him right this minute. Sorry. What was up? Have Mr. Unicorn and Snickerdoodle been behaving? Or do I need to put them into timeout again?”

“Welll, they’re close to needing timeout, but I’ll give them a bit longer to start behaving themselves.” She gave the two toys a stern look. “But that wasn’t why I wanted to talk to you.”

He set his laptop to the side and held out his hand. She took it eagerly and he drew her onto his lap.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I don’t mean to interrupt your work?—”

“No, you’re not interrupting my work. My work is interrupting our time together.” Frustration filled his face. “Truthfully, I’m thinking about cutting back.”

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