Page 23 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

“No. No, I wasn’t. Once I left home, I tried to leave all of that behind me.” Talking to Angel wasn’t the same as talking to Master Derek. Things felt more formal in the office, and Angel was… easier. It felt comfortable to spill out all the problems she’d been having and with it, quite a lot of her history.

She even ended up talking about her family and what it had been like growing up. That was something she rarely did. The more she tried to cut off the flow of words, the faster they seemed to pour out, until, between this conversation and the earlier picnic, it felt like she’d dumped her whole life story in his lap.

Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to trauma dump on you,” she blurted, with her hands still hiding half her face.

He patted her knee. “You didn’t. You answered my questions. Some I hadn’t asked yet but was going to.”

“I don’t usually talk much about all of that. It feels like a different lifetime from now, honestly.” That was some other girl’s life. And that girl had never been happy.

“Seems like it still affects you though, in some ways.” He tilted his head and she nodded. “Is this connected to why you don’t like Halloween?”

Heaven grimaced. “You could tell, huh?”

“It was fairly obvious.” He laughed. “Is it for religious reasons?”

“No. Or… at least, not for my religion. I don’t really have one. I left that with my parents too. I really don’t know why I still…” She did know though and that came too close to a lie so she corrected it. “I remember wanting so badly to participate when I was a kid, but even hinting at it was bound to get me in big trouble.”

Angel made a sympathetic sound. “You know, Rawhide is a safe place to try new things. Not just kinky things either. If you did want to be involved with Halloween, you’d be welcome, but if it really upsets you, you don’t even need to help me work on the centerpiece.”

She shook her head quickly. “I’m enjoying it. I’ve just been trying to separate the work from what it’s for.”

“Well, it’s true that’s what’s taking most of my time at the moment, but we could find something non-Halloween for you to do instead. You’d still get to work in the kitchen with me,” he promised.

She straightened, thinking about that. It didn’t sound like she would lose much if she accepted the offer. On the other hand, she really had been enjoying the challenge of the chocolate diorama he’d been working on in pieces.

“I think it’s okay. I mean I want to keep helping with it.” Something occurred to her, maybe it should have come to her sooner, but it hadn’t. “I think in some ways… my reaction to anything Halloween related is almost a reflex.”

“A reflex? Hmm. You know, sometimes the best way to get over trauma is to be exposed to it, until it stops bothering you. You might consider taking part in the festivities. Maybe just dip your toes in to see how you feel. But—” he hastened to add, “no one is going to make you do something that’s bad for you.”

Again her first reaction was to wrinkle her nose and shake her head, but she stopped herself. Maybe he was right. She’d walked away from her bio family years ago, why was she still letting them control her actions? Wasn’t that why she’d left in the first place? So she could live her life on her own terms.

There really was absolutely no reason to keep avoiding Halloween aside from those memories. “Maybe you’re right. I—might do that.” The words were whispered, almost as if the idea was so daring, she couldn’t say it loud enough to be heard by anyone else.

His smile of approval was dazzling, and she felt a warm wave of happiness filling her up.

“But now, I’m afraid, we need to discuss the broken rules and deal with the consequences.”

The happiness deflated and was replaced with an “uh-oh” feeling that had her insides churning.

Chapter 9

“C-consequences?” she stammered, her flush letting him know she understood full well what he meant.

“Afraid so, chiquita. The only question is who is going to deal with them. I could tell Master Derek, of course.”

“Oh, please don’t, Angel. He’s seen me in his office enough this month and he might change his mind about the kitchen.”

Angel seriously doubted that. It had been clear that Derek had multiple reasons for sending Heaven to the kitchen, and it wasn’t just to keep her busy. “I could hand you over to Nanny J instead. Or…”

Heaven straightened, looking hopeful. “Or?”

“Or I could deal with it here and now. You are partly under my authority.” Not that he needed any special authority to deal with a Little he caught breaking the rules. Unless she had an issue with it, of course.

She gasped, mouth rounding into an “o” shape, as if it hadn’t occurred to her that Angel might spank her. “Oh, but… can’t you just let me off with a warning? I won’t—”

He snorted. “Were you about to promise not to break any more rules?” One eyebrow went up as he gave her an amused look.

“No.” She gulped, squirming a little. “It would be lying to promise that because I know it’s not true. I was going to promise not to come into the dungeon again though. I was only curious and now I’ve seen it, I don’t have any reason to come back.”

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