Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
A few of them looked at Axel skeptically. Understandable. Daddies were inherently protective of Littles—not just their own. They wouldn’t be very good Daddies if they didn’t scrutinize a newcomer.
“Axel?”
Axel shifted his gaze to the side at the sound of someone calling his name. He let out a relieved breath when he recognized the man as Callen James. He owned the hardware store in town, and Axel had made so many trips there in the last few weeks to stock his garage and make minor repairs around the house that he knew the owner’s name by now. They were on a friendly basis.
Axel held out a hand to shake Callen’s. “Good to see a friendly face. This is my first visit to Blaze. I don’t know a soul.”
Callen smiled warmly and nodded toward the men he’d been talking to. “Let me introduce you to a few people. You’ll fit right in in no time. Everyone, this is Axel Jennings. He’s the new manager of Bark and Branches Landscaping.”
The first man to lift his hand said, “Tarson Kirkwood. I’m the baker at Little Cakes. If you haven’t been there yet, you’re missing out.” He chuckled.
“I’ve seen it, but I haven’t had a chance to go inside yet.”
“Come in this week. Ellie, the owner, is working on a new flavor.” He rolled his eyes. “What am I talking about? Ellie is always working on a new flavor.”
Axel laughed.
“Garrett Erickson,” said the next man. “I own several of the buildings on the strip in town. I spend a lot of time at Little Cakes. Ellie is my Little girl.”
“Oh, I guess I’ll see both of you if I hone my sweet tooth.”
The next man to introduce himself said, “Trace Barnes. Nice to meet you. Don’t let my job intimidate you. When I’m here, I’m just Daddy to my Little girl. Nothing else. Out there, I’m the police chief.”
Axel tried not to react as he shook the man’s hand. If he was the police chief, he knew Nicoya. In fact, he was probably her Daddy.
How foolish had Axel been thinking so hard about his neighbor without considering the fact that she probably already had a Daddy. Shit.
“Daddy!” shouted a woman who came bounding toward the group, pigtails flying. She ran straight toward Trace and threw her arms around his waist before tipping her head back. “Can we please, please, please go to Little Cakes this weekend? Everyone is going.”
Axel let out a long relieved breath, hoping no one noticed as Trace smoothed his hand over his Little girl’s head and smiled at her indulgently. “We’ll talk about it later, Mae Bug.”
“Is that a yes?”
Trace chuckled. “Avery, that’s a ‘we’ll talk about it later’ unless you want it to be a spanking in front of your friends.”
She sighed dramatically. “If you decide we can go, can we pick up Nicoya so she can come too? She doesn’t like to go by herself.”
Axel’s breath caught in his lungs. She was here. My God.
“We’ll see,” Trace warned.
Avery released him and looked over her shoulder, a huge fake pout plastered on her face. “Daddy says maybe.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Nicoya stepped into view.
Axel couldn’t breathe or blink as he watched her approach. She was wearing the same purple outfit he’d seen her in earlier. Somehow, she appeared younger now though, and he suspected it was due to her headspace being more firmly planted in her preferred age range.
She looked rather young in general, and he suddenly wondered if she would think he was way too old for her. He was forty-five. She didn’t look a day over thirty.
When she reached the group and lifted her face, she froze. Her eyes were wide, mouth hanging open, skin turning pale.
“Hello, Nicoya,” Axel managed to say.
She looked like she wanted to fall through a crack in the floor. He couldn’t blame her.
“You two know each other?” Avery asked.
“We’re neighbors,” Axel informed everyone. “We actually just met this evening. I was planting a cherry blossom tree, and I started digging on her side of the property line. She came out to reprimand me.” He smiled, hoping she would recognize the teasing tone of his voice.
Nicoya continued to stare at him, shell-shocked. He hated this awkward standoff, but there was nothing he could do about it. The fact that he was a Daddy had to come out at some point. Eventually, no matter what, Nicoya would have had to deal with this revelation.
Axel just hoped she would get over her shock soon and give him a chance. Because he’d never been more certain of anything in his life as he was right now. This feisty woman who could no doubt put any grown man in his place in a heartbeat was also a Little. Even her adult had a tender side. After all, she employed a local kid to mow her lawn because she wanted to support the community.