Page 36 of Perfectly Petite Shorts
Ruthie frowned as her brown eyes drifted toward the window. “But itisimportant. Phil is… Phil’s everything.”
“He’s also the alpha mate.” Dillon puffed up. “Alpha mates are very important.” Eyes lighting, Dillon slammed his small fist into his opposite, open palm. “We’re going to surprise him and get Phil the best present ever. Then he’ll know just how important he is.”
Ruthie’s eyes sparkled. “What will we get him?”
Dillon’s confidence momentarily shuttered before regaining its balance. “We’ll ask around. Phil has a lot offriends. We’ll figure it out, and then our present will be the best one he’s ever had.”
“Dillon! Ruthie! Where are—oh, there you two are.” Phil’s feet left the ground as he flew toward them. Pink pixie dust scattered behind him, shimmering in the bright sun. “I made some snickerdoodles. They just came out of the oven. Do you want to come with me to the mine? I think your uncle would like the surprise.”
Dillon rolled his eyes but kept his words to himself. Phil took food to his uncle nearly every day. It really wasn’t so much of asurpriseanymore. “Yeah, Ruthie and I will come.” Ruthie had been speaking again for nearly a year, but Dillon still answered for her a lot of the time. “Give us a minute to get cleaned up.”
Phil waved them off. “It’ll take me a few minutes to get the food packed.”
This time, when Dillon and Ruthie headed for the door, it remained open and welcoming. Dillon gave it the side-eye. Their home loved Phil and by extension, the rest of the family. With Phil around, not even a fairy could walk through the barrier surrounding the house without Phil’s personal invitation.
Patting the wood doorjamb, Dillon quietly said, “Thanks for the heads-up. We’ve got it from here.” Dillon could have sworn he felt the house give a sigh of relief as he and Ruthie were welcomed inside.
Questionable Dwarf Ideas
“Damn, Phil makes the best cookies,” Ollie said before stuffing the last of his fourth cookie in his mouth. Crumbs littered his beard, peppering it with sugary goodness.
“Don’t tell the misses that or you’ll be walking with aneven worse limp,” Burt helpfully answered as he swiped another cookie out of Ruthie’s hand.
Ollie groaned. “Do I look that stupid?” When Burt stopped and stared, cookie halfway to his mouth, Ollie gave his cousin the finger and said, “Don’t answer that.”
Burt chuckled before biting off half his cookie. Still chewing, he said, “Thanks for this.” Swallowing, Burt brushed some of the crumbs out of his beard. “You two are the best.” He threw Dillon and Ruthie a wink before eating the remainder of his last cookie.
“That hit the spot,” Ollie said with satisfaction before belching loudly. “I needed a sugary pick-me-up.” Throwing a thumb over his shoulder, he added, “That palladium’s not gonna mine itself.” Ollie cracked up, and Burt was quick to follow. They were both wiping mirthful tears from their eyes by the time they were finished.
“Back to the grind.” Burt slapped Ollie on the shoulder. “You two hanging around? I’d invite you in with us, but you know how Phil worries.”
Dillon stared at the empty bowl, all the cookies gone. He regretted not setting a couple aside. He should have known better. Dwarves had healthy appetites and didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word restraint when it came to eating or drinking.
One glance at Ruthie and he knew she was thinking the same thing. Setting the empty bowl aside, Dillon checked the area around him, making certain Phil was still in the office with his uncle
Ollie’s bushy eyebrows shot toward his hairline. “Now, that weren’t suspicious at all. Who are you lookin’ for?” Ollie shared a questioning look with Burt.
“We need to ask you something,” Ruthie said. “It’s a secret though.”
Ollie smacked his hands together,sending dust flying as he rubbed them together. “Ooh, I like the sound of this.” Shuffling closer, both dwarves diminished the distance. Dillon had grown enough over the past year that Ollie and Burt now had to tilt their heads up to look at him. Soon enough they’d be craning their necks to look him in the eye. “I like a good conspiracy.”
Ruthie’s eyes scrunched in confusion. “What does that mean?”
Burt pushed his cousin aside. “Don’t worry about what that word means. Ollie’s just bein’ a smartass. Now, what’s this about?”
“I ain’t bein’ a smartass. I’m just tryin’ to—”
“Shut it,” Burt cut Ollie off. “I wanna hear what this is about, and the way the two of them are actin’, we don’t got much time. Now, out with it.”
Dillon leaned forward, voice hushed. “Phil’s birthday is coming up soon.”
Both dwarves appeared surprised. “First I’ve heard about it.” Ollie ran his stubby fingers through his dirty, snickerdoodle-laden beard. “You sure about that? Sed would have said something.”
Dillon shook his head. “We don’t think he knows. Not yet anyway.”
“Oh.” Ollie and Burt’s eyes widened as they quickly glanced at each other. “Now there’s a pickle. When is Phil’s birthday?”
“I—” Dillon stared at his sister, but she only frowned and shook her head. “We aren’t sure. We just heard about a few minutes before coming here.”
