Junie shrank where she stood, feeling about two inches tall as Sam’s disappointed gaze moved slowly across the group. Her stomach twisted when it paused on her just a tad longer than everyone else.
Mitch rubbed the back of his neck, still fighting to keep a straight face. “I haven’t seen anything like this since Iraq.”
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re not helping, Mitch.”
The sheriff eyed the ten of them—all covered head to toe in frosting, sprinkles, and guilt—and shook his head. “I’ve known most of you girls since you were in pigtails. Andthisis what you’re doing with your time? Throwing food like a bunch of toddlers?”
As lectures went, it was a good start. Junie shrank behind Kenzie,cheeks burning. She clutched the edge of her apron, feeling every bit the naughty little girl who’d just been caught red-handed.
Sam pointed toward the door. “Go on now. All of you.”
Cherry chose that moment to speak up. “We won’t all fit in that one squad car.”
Sam’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “My squad car is reserved for prisoners who aren’t wearing the pastry of the day. We’re not a mile from the sheriff’s office. Probably. You girls can hoof it. Mitch and I will follow in the squad car to make sure you arrive at the assigned destination.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Cherry said. “Do you see the heels that I am wearing?”
“Yeah, I do. They’re pretty. Now get going.”
“What are we gonna do with them at the sheriff’s office?” Mitch asked as he walked out the door. “Should we hose them down before we let them inside?”
“Shut up, Mitch. We have enough trouble on our hands without having to deal with a bunch of ornery Daniels boys mad that we’re running some kind of wet t-shirt contest at the sheriff's office. Get in the car.”
“Oh, we don’t have to get the Daddies involved,” Tildi said. “I brought my SUV, and it’s big enough to get us all home.”
Sam snorted, which was just rude. “Good try, but it can stay exactly where it’s parked. And don’t even think about trying to sweet-talk your way out of this. Your Daddies are gonna hear about this one as soon as we get to the office.”
Junie’s stomach dropped to her toes as their little group trudged down the sidewalk. She could already picture Tanner’s face when he found out. That stern look. Could hear the disappointed tone in his voice. There was a very real possibility that she was about to spend a long, sore evening over his knee.
The long walk of shame from the bakery to the sheriff’s office felt like it would never end. Every step made a horrible squishy sound inher left sneaker where frosting had somehow oozed inside. Her cheeks burned hotter than the ovens back at work.
“Kill me now,” Junie muttered, trying to wipe a glob of pink frosting off her arm. It only smeared worse. “I have frosting in places frosting should never be.”
Kenzie snorted beside her, though she looked just as ridiculous with sprinkles stuck in her hair. “You? At least you didn’t get the entire tray of lemon bars dumped down your shirt. I’m pretty sure I’ve got zest in my bra.”
Tildi giggled, then immediately winced as her own shoe made an even louder squelch. “Mine are worse. I think buttercream just seeped between my toes. This is so gross. Why did we think a frosting fight was a good idea again?”
“Because we’re clearly very smart Littles,” Joy deadpanned, scraping crumbs from her cheek. She kept glancing around at the people staring from cars and storefronts. “Junie, is that your Nanabelle over there taking pictures and laughing?”
Sure enough, Nanabelle waved when she caught Junie’s eye. In one hand she held the leash that she’d bought for Pup, the other she used to hold up her phone. After she pointed to a picture, her thumbs flew over the buttons on her screen. She made a big show of pushing one of them, then laughed so hard Junie feared she might topple over. Even Pup seemed to find the situation highly amusing as he was now bouncing about and yipping as if laughing.
“Little traitor,” Junie said with a groan. “That’s just great. I’m pretty sure Nanabelle is texting pictures to Tanner right now. Fair warning, the Daniels boys are going to hear about this long before the sheriff even calls them.”
Kip groaned dramatically, dragging her feet. “I saw three people pull out their phones already. We’ll be trending in Wilder by dinnertime.Bread and Batter Frosting Riot—I can see the group chat notifications now. Trace is gonna lose his mind.”
Junie’s stomach twisted tighter. “Tanner’s going to be disappointed.You should have seen how serious he got when he told me to behave while he was gone. And now look at us. Covered in sugar and being marched to the sheriff’s office like a bunch of naughty kindergarteners.”
The holding cells at the sheriff’s office smelled like industrial cleaner, regret, and consequences. Especially consequences, though Junie might be projecting future events into the current situation. She sat with her friends on a cold metal bench, still covered head to toe in frosting, sprinkles, and crumbs.
Kenzie leaned back against the wall and sighed. “At least we made some really pretty colors on the bakery wall before Sam broke it up. That part was artistic.”
“Tell that to my Daddy when he sees the pictures,” Tildi grumbled, picking at a chunk of dried frosting in her hair. “I’m never going to sit comfortably again.”
Junie hugged her knees to her chest, the squishy shoe still making her cringe with every shift. “I just keep thinking about Tanner’s face. He’s going to give me that look… the one that says, ‘you’re in so much trouble, little girl’, and then I’ll be over his knee before I can even say I’m sorry.”
Joy nudged her gently with a sticky elbow. “We’re all going down together, babe. Strength in numbers. Maybe the boys will be too busy laughing at us first to spank us right away.”
Kip let out a hopeless laugh. “Yeah… somehow I don’t think that’s how this is going to go.”
