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Once Cherry quit laughing, she shrugged. “Okay, I still don’t like you. But if you’ll take down that display, we can at least call it a truce.”
Hallelujah! Junie nodded. “Deal.”
The echoing thud of boots down the hallway drew everyone’s attention. All the girls straightened up, exchanging wide-eyed looks. Junie moved back to her seat, her heartbeat keeping time with the footsteps.
“Looks like your Daddies are here,” Poppy whispered.
Junie swallowed hard and reached for Kenzie’s hand. This was going to be so bad. They were definitely in trouble… but sitting there covered in frosting with her best friends, she smiled at Cherry and got a smile back.
Tildi had been right. It was totally worth it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
With one hand on the wheel and the other resting on his thigh, Tanner drove toward Wilder, doing his damnedest not to laugh out loud at the mental images that kept flashing through his head. It was pretty damn hard, because to hear Sam describe it, it was pretty fucking hilarious.
His sweet, soft-hearted little Cupcake—the same girl who once blushed when he called her “babygirl” in public—had apparently gone full-blown commando at the bakery. Nothing would surprise him anymore.
What astounded him the most was her writing a suggestive message on an ad for a bunch of cream pies before turning the whole thing into a food fight that would have done the frat boys inAnimal Houseproud. He could picture Junie with frosting in her hair and fire in her eyes, standing her ground against Cherry for once.
All in all, he was proud of her for standing up for herself. But pride didn’t mean there wouldn’t be consequences.
His phone rang through the truck’s Bluetooth. Boone’s name flashed on the screen, plus Chance and Trace.
“You headed to the sheriff’s office, too?” Boone asked, voicedry.
“Yep, on my way now. You going after Tildi?”
“Yep. We’re all bringing our own trucks. Figured we’d want private conversations with our girls on the way back home. The guys are right behind me. But I wanted to have this conference call so that we could get a few things out of our system.”
“I can see that,” Trace chuckled. “That’s a good call. We don’t want to have the wrong reaction when we get there. Nothing screams “Daddy” like laughing your ass off at your little girl’s antics when she misbehaves.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Tanner answered. “Gotta have our Daddy hats on when we get to the sheriff’s office. But just between us, this is the most comically epic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Hey, Tanner,” Trace’s voice came over the speaker. “Did you hear that Junie hit Sam with a berry tart. Man, I wish I could’ve been there just to see his face. He said the whole front of the bakery looked like a giant cake had exploded.”
“I was at Wild River Security when he called me. I saw the pastry devastation on the cameras we installed. The man didn’t do it justice,” Boone said. “I think one of our cameras was a casualty of the battle.”
“Okay, after this is dealt with, we’re all gonna meet at Wilder Security and watch those videos. I’ll bring the beer,” Tanner said.
“This isn’t funny,” Chance said, “They destroyed half of her bakery’s inventory at least. Which means Junie’s going to have to bake everything again. That’s a lot of wasted time and a hell of a mess to clean up.”
Trace chuckled. “Come on, Chance. Cherry’s been poking at Junie for years. Our girls finally pushed back. Surely you’re not mad about that part.”
“Yeah, lighten up, brother. I guarantee you she thinks it was worth it,” Tanner said. “But I get it. You don’t start a food fight and attack the sheriff with a pastry without consequences.”
“I’m not mad they stood up for themselves either,” Boone said. “I’m mad they did it in a way that cost Junie money and turned herbakery into a war zone. I don’t know about you guys, but Tildi’s getting her bottom blistered tonight. She needs to understand there are better ways to handle bullies than throwing pies.”
Tanner nodded even though they couldn’t see him. “You have a point. But I’m damn proud of my girl for finally doing something to stand up for herself. That’s what makes this hard. At least for Junie, I’ve got to deliver consequences without taking away her victory.”
They spent the rest of the drive working out the plan. The girls would clean and restock the bakery, and each Daddy would handle his own Little’s punishment in whatever way each of them saw fit.
When Tanner pulled up to the Wilder Sheriff’s Office, the other trucks were already there. His brothers were standing outside waiting for him. He killed the engine and took a slow breath, letting the laughter fade. Time to be Daddy now.
Inside, Sam gave them a more detailed explanation of what had happened before leading them to a large holding cell filled with ten sugar-coated women. Junie watched him approach, wide-eyed with worry. This was going to be harder than he thought. She was so adorable, Tanner had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.
Sam stepped forward and addressed the women. “You are all free to go. Since no one was hurt and the damage was confined to the bakery, I’m letting you off with a verbal warning.”
Cherry stood up with a dramatic huff. “Come on, girls, let’s get out of here.” She and her little pack of friends breezed past Sam without so much as a glance back, noses in the air like they hadn’t started the whole damn mess.
