Page 64 of Finding Little Fiera

Fiera’s mind blanked. The only reason her friends would be telling her this is if what Laura and her new friends were saying was about Fiera. It must have been really, really horrible if Santa was dealing out coal and switches.

“Well, somebody tell me. What did they say?”

“I’ll tell you,” Wren said. “Laura was telling everyone how mean you were and how you knocked her down on the first day. And how you cheated at the races yesterday. She’s trying her best to make everyone mad at you. We heard everything, and we didn’t like it.”

“So, guess what we did?” Sadie jumped back in. “We?—”

Bouncing on her seat, Daisy broke in again. “We told them how nice you were and that you wouldn’t cheat or hurt anyone on purpose.”

“Daisy!” Sadie said. “You did it again!”

“Sorry,” Daisy answered. “I’m sorry. I just get so worked up. I won’t say anything else.”

Daisy acted out zipping an imaginary zipper across her mouth.

“I’ll fix this,” Wren told Sadie. “Daisy, I dare you not to say anything else at breakfast.”

Daisy opened her mouth, but then snapped it back shut, glaring at Wren.

“Anyway,” Sadie said. “We thought you should know. I don’t think those girls believe what we told them about you. You should probably tell your Daddy.”

Ooh, that Laura was such a witch! So much for her accepting Fiera’s apology. If Laura was going to talk about Fiera and spread rumors, then there was only one thing to do. And it had nothing to do with telling Fiera’s Daddy.

“I… um, thanks for letting me know. And thanks for standing up for me.”

“Standing up for you about what?” Mace asked.

Holy mackeroly! How could such a ginormous cowboy sneak up on people? Even more important, how long had he been standing there? It couldn’t have been long, or the girls would have told her. That meant he didn’t know.

Hopefully.

Panic welled up inside her. She wasn’t even sure why. She hadn’t done anything wrong. But whether it was years of fighting her own battles, or fear he’d believe what Laura and her friends said, she didn’t want her Daddy to know.

She had to think of something fast. Something believable. Turning to face him, she smiled as brightly as she could. “For… for breakfast, Daddy. The girls thought about sleeping in until it was time for the art class. But they remembered we were all going to meet here for breakfast, so they came.” She faced the table, widening her eyes so Sadie, Wren, and Daisy would stoplooking at her like she had grown an extra head. “Isn’t that right, you guys. We planned to all eat here. This morning. In the cafeteria. Right?”

Gah! If they didn’t play along, she was toast. She held her breath and waited.

“Absolutely,” Sadie said. Somehow, she made her smile look so much more natural. “We talked about it last night at the bonfire. Didn’t we, Wren?”

Wren scowled at Sadie. Then she frowned at Fiera. Turning to Mace, her face became the perfect blend of innocence and charm. “We sure did. Isn’t that right, Daisy?”

Daisy looked miserable, but with a sigh, she nodded.

Mace studied them all as Fiera held her breath. She appreciated her friends standing up for her, but none of them would be winning Academy Awards for acting any time soon.

When her Daddy turned his gaze to Fiera, she was sure he was on to them. His eyes had that narrowed Daddy-figuring-things-out look. But all he said was, “I see. Well, you girls sure did a good job acting surprised when we got here. And you planned it all last night, huh? I must say, I do love it when a good plan works.”

Fiera scanned his face to look for telltale signs of suspicion, but there weren’t any. She couldn’t believe that had worked. To be honest, she was a bit disappointed, but mostly relieved. Before she made sure she wasn’t in trouble, his phone rang.

He glanced at his phone. “I’ve gotta take this, little one. Can you girls make it to the art tent on time?”

“Yes, Daddy. We’ll be there early.”

“You don’t have to be there early. Just don’t be late. And what had you better be wearing?”

She couldn’t resist teasing him. “A smile and my can-do spirit.”

He gave her that look that made her bottom tingle and her nether parts spasm in wonderful ways. “Those are good, too, but if you aren’t wearing your sunglasses as well, Daddy will show you what he ‘can-do’ to a bratty little bottom.”