The Sheriff's Little Girl Page 9

  Julie felt fireworks go off in her chest. She knew that this was what she had been waiting to hear.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered into his ear.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After dinner that night, Peter and Julie had cuddled on the couch and watched an animated movie that Julie wanted to watch. Peter wasn’t particularly interested in the plot, although he had to admit that the cartoon cat family was very cute. He was mostly interested in watching Julie’s face react to everything that happened. Her eyes scrunched up whenever something cute was happening in the movie and she kicked her feet a little, like the cuteness was too much for her to take. Peter knew how she felt. Julie often made him feel like that, although he didn’t express it the same way.

  When the movie was over, Julie seemed tired. He was sure that she had to be worn out. The day had started with her punishment spanking and belting, and then Julie had worked diligently to clean up his office while Peter had gotten filled in on an unrelated burglary case over the phone. He was sure that the spanking had taken a lot of her energy, because she seemed very subdued throughout the cleaning process.

  He had taken her words about wanting to feel like it was her place as well to heart. It was Peter’s house, but now he couldn’t imagine it without Julie there, too. He wanted her to feel like she was at home here. As much as Julie needed love and discipline in her life, she needed the safety and stability of a home, too. So together, they had picked out some prints and home accessories that Julie liked online, and Peter had ordered them for her. He secretly hoped that this was a sign that Julie would be remaining in the house after she was released from protective custody, but he didn’t bring it up.

  All day, Julie had seemed younger than usual. She had a sweet, carefree feeling about her, although she squirmed in her chair when they sat at the dinner table. Even though punishing his little girl had made him hard as a rock, he hadn’t made any moves toward sex. He didn’t think Julie needed that right then. She needed to be able to just enjoy being a little girl, with no other concerns besides what picture of a panda best suited her bedroom.

  When he put her to bed that night, he tucked her into his own bed. It wasn’t long before he was ready to join her. It felt wonderful to slip between the blankets and snuggle up against her sleeping body. Wrapping her in his arms, Peter quickly drifted to sleep.

  * * *

  A few hours later, Peter woke up with a start. Something had roused him from sleep suddenly, but he wasn’t sure what. Julie was still sound asleep next to him, her position fairly normal for once.

  Peter realized that the light coming through the shades was too bright. Raising his body up to peek through them, he saw that two of the motion sensor lights in the yard were on.

  Peter hopped out of bed and quickly pulled his pants on. He didn’t bother with shoes or a shirt, just opened his bedside table and pulled out the pistol that he carried when he was on patrol.

  His movements stirred Julie, who turned to him sleepily.

  “Okay, daddy?” she muttered, half awake.

  “No,” Peter said in a serious whisper. “I think someone’s in the yard. Get under the bed and stay there until I get back.”

  Julie’s eyes went wide, and she scampered under the bed as Peter loaded the gun.

  “I am not kidding when I say don’t move,” he ordered.

  Peeking out from under the bed skirt, Julie nodded with her eyes filled with fear.

  Peter walked quietly, going first to the back door, then the side door off the kitchen and then finally to the front to make sure that none of them were compromised. Everything was still locked, so he quickly checked the windows to make sure that none were broken, and peeked into each room, checking the corners and closets before pulling the doors shut. He needed to be sure that Julie was safe inside the house before he headed outside.

  Once he felt certain that the indoors were secure, Peter headed out through the side door. He began to check the perimeter of the property, looking for signs of Crank or one of his friends. Keeping his gun drawn and leading with it, he was ready to respond at a half second’s notice.

  Peter didn’t see anyone, but he noticed that one of the pots holding cactus next to the fence had been knocked over.

  He continued to follow the edge of the house, then headed back to the garage. Peter checked everywhere that a person could be hiding, but found no one. If someone had been there, they had obviously not stuck around. He felt as safe as he was going to as he returned to the house. Opening the door, Peter heard a coyote howling in the distance and shook his head.

  He came back into the house and, as he walked, called out, “It’s just me, kitten,” hoping that the sound of his approaching footsteps wouldn’t scare Julie.

  Entering the bedroom slowly, he immediately called out “Julie?”

  Julie didn’t stir under the bed.

  Peter’s heart began to race as he called out again, “Julie! I’m back! Come out!”

  Once he said that, she peeked her head out from under the bed skirt again, looking up at him with enormous eyes. “It’s safe?” she whispered, fear obvious in her voice.

  Peter squatted down next to her. “I checked everything. There’s no one there. It could have been a damn coyote for all I know, I heard one howling as I was coming back in. But I wasn’t going to take any chances with your safety, baby.”

  Julie shimmied out from under the bed, carrying her bear with her. Her bright eyes looked enormous and her rosy hair was tousled on her head from hiding. She immediately threw her arms around Peter’s waist.

  “Shhhh, you’re okay, kitten,” he cooed to her. “Daddy keeps you safe.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Peter picked her up and put her back down on the bed.

  “It’s time for my little girl to go back to bed. I’m going to stay up for the rest of the night, just to be sure. Can’t sleep after I get all worked up over something like that, anyway,” he told her.

  “Can you stay here with me a little bit?” Julie asked. She was shivering slightly.

  “Of course, baby,” he told her, stroking her hair. He propped himself up next to her on the bed and she wrapped herself around him, resting her face on his bare chest. He gently rubbed her back as she tried to relax back into sleep.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he reminded her.

  As Julie tried to sleep, Peter stared off into the distance, thinking about what had just happened. He was used to meeting a criminal in the night. In his years as sheriff, Peter had gone through the same routine many times, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to find someone lurking in the dark shadows, with nefarious intent.

  But Peter had never fired upon a man. He’d always been able to bring them in without needing to. Whether he talked them down or intimidated them with backup, he’d never needed to shoot his gun at another person. He was always ready when he went into a situation like that, though. He knew that he needed to be.

  Now, when he had Julie to protect, his feelings were different. Instead of the ideas that he had to do his job, that he had a town to keep safe and that this was the duty that he had sworn to fulfill, he had only one thought on his mind. No one was going to do harm to his little girl. He would do anything to stop that from happening.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Julie woke up the next morning feeling very glad that her daddy now stayed home with her. The idea of being alone in the house after what had happened the night before gave her the chills. She wasn’t sure if Peter had been lying to her when he said it was just a coyote. It seemed like the kind of thing he would say to make her stop worrying. She twirled her hair around her finger anxiously as she walked down the hallway toward the bathroom.

  After she finished getting ready for the day, she saw that Peter was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hand. He glanced at his watch when he saw her.

  “I’m impressed with how early my little girl is up,” he said
with a smile.

  Julie looked at the clock on the stove. It was only nine a.m.: a personal record for her since she’d been staying here.

  “Did you really stay up all night?” she asked Peter. His face didn’t look too tired, but his thick hair was wet. He was obviously fresh out of the shower himself.

  “I did. I work overnight plenty of the time. I’m no stranger to long nights like that,” he told her. “Besides, I couldn’t sleep if I was worrying about you.”

  Julie smiled.

  “The boys at the station say that Crank showed back up for work this morning like nothing was wrong.”

  Julie felt herself shake a little when Peter mentioned Crank’s name. It bothered her that he still had so much power over her that even his name scared her, but she couldn’t help it. It seemed wrong to even be talking about him in this safe space. “Is he going to get fired for just heading out?” she wanted to know.

  “No, because of the operation. But he is going to get told off by his boss, to make it not look like there’s anything going on.”

  Julie smiled a little bit as she imagined him being reprimanded. “Good,” she said. “I hope they’re nasty to him.”

  “I figured that you’ve been cooped up in this house for a while, so today might be a good day for us to go do something out of town, if you’d like,” Peter suggested.

  “Is that safe?” Julie wanted to know.

  “Yes. As long as you don’t tell anyone where we’re going, we’ll be fine. And you had better stay by my side all day, with no wandering off. Is that clear?”

  Julie nodded. It would be nice to do something besides stay at home, and the idea of having something to take her mind off the day was very appealing.

  “Okay, go get dressed. No big grownup clothes, though. Something for sweet little girls. And comfy shoes for walking around in,” Peter instructed.

  Julie skipped down the hallway to her room. She stripped naked quickly and then rummaged in her drawer for a pair of panties. Finding a pair of cat printed ones, she slipped them on. Then she pulled a lavender sundress over her head and added a pair of white knee socks. She slipped her sneakers on without untying them, then stomped around until her feet smooshed into them. She decided to wear a bow on her head, since she had been instructed to be a little girl today. It wasn’t a hard command to follow.

  She flounced back into the kitchen to present herself.

  “That was fast,” Peter said with a laugh. “I didn’t even get to finish my coffee!”

  Julie went to his side, gently nuzzling him with her face.

  Peter slipped his arm around her to pull her close.

  “You’re a very cuddly little girl, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Julie chirped, soaking up the attention.

  “Alright,” Peter said as he downed the last of his coffee, “let me see what you’re wearing.”

  Julie took a step back so that Peter could look at her. She could hardly remember that just a little while ago she had felt so anxious.

  Peter nodded. “You look adorable, as always,” he told her. “Now lift your skirt so that I can make sure you’re wearing appropriate panties,” he ordered.

  Julie blushed a little as she did what he had asked. She held her skirt out from her body at a distance so that Peter could see.

  “Oh, those are very appropriate for today,” he told her. He reached between her legs and gently stroked the gusset of her panties.

  The feeling of the soft cotton against her sensitive areas felt lovely, and she immediately felt wetness growing.

  “If you’re a good girl today, I’ll give you a special treat when you get home.”

  Julie stood on tiptoes so that she could almost whisper into Peter’s ear. She was still far from it, but she did her best.

  “Will it be your cock?” she asked teasingly.

  Peter turned her around and landed a hard swat on her bottom. “That’s not appropriate language for a little girl! You have a filthy mind!” he said with feigned shock.

  Julie giggled and danced in place. It only made her wetter when he scolded her playfully like that.

  “But yes, yes it is,” he told her.

  * * *

  Peter insisted that Julie hunch down in her seat until they were outside the limits of the town. She didn’t complain. She knew when Peter was being strict because of her safety and when he was being strict because he wanted her to follow rules, and she knew where she did and didn’t have room to complain. She liked being taken care of, and she was glad to have her strong, brave daddy keeping her safe. She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she thought about it.

  When they were on the freeway, Peter called out to her, “You can come back into your seat now.”

  Julie popped up from where she was hiding on the floor and climbed into the seat.

  “Seatbelt,” Peter told her immediately.

  “I was about to put it on!” she said. “Geeze.”

  Peter shook his head. “Be good,” he told her.

  Julie fastened her seatbelt and then turned to Peter. “Where are we even going?” she asked.

  “A place where you obviously belong,” he said.

  “The zoo?” Julie guessed.

  Peter laughed at that, chuckling loudly.

  “No, baby, although that’s a very good guess. The zoo is a very cute place, but we’re going to The Cutest Place in the World,” he told her.

  Julie’s heart skipped a beat when he said that. “Are we going to Cuddleville?!” she practically yelled. She couldn’t help but bounce up and down in the seat at the prospect.

  “Is Cuddleville the cutest place ever?” he asked, his whole face smiling.

  Julie nodded vigorously. “I’ve always wanted to go to Cuddleville for my entire life! I love the Cuddle Cats movies more than any other movie ever!”

  “Wait,” Peter said, “you’ve never gone before?”

  Julie shook her head no. She’d always dreamed of visiting Cuddleville, a giant amusement park themed around a series of cute animal cartoons that she adored. Even though it was not that far away, it was pretty expensive, and Crank said that Cuddleville was stupid.

  “You never even went as a kid?”

  Julie shook her head, no.

  “I never did anything like that when I was a kid,” she reminded him. “I mostly just stayed at home and entertained myself.” She remembered times when kids in her class had gone on family vacations to places like Cuddleville, and how jealous she had felt. Now, it was finally her chance. She could barely contain her excitement.

  “I went when I was little,” Peter told her. “That was the last time, though. Many, many years ago.”

  Julie giggled. “I didn’t know that Cuddleville was around when you were little!”

  Peter gave her a stern look out of the corner of his eye. “It was built in the fifties. It’s not like I walked the earth along with dinosaurs, you know.”

  Julie giggled to herself even more. It was hard for her to imagine her stern daddy as a little kid. She was pretty sure that he must have been the most serious child ever.

  “Cuddleville, Cuddleville, Cuddleville!” she sang to no one as they drove. She was just too happy to be still and quiet.

  “You’re going to be a good girl while we’re there. No whining if the lines are long, and absolutely no running off from me. If you can’t stay by my side, we’re going to have to go home,” Peter lectured.

  “Ugh, way to kill the mood,” Julie teased. “But I promise to be good and stay with you! As long as we can see all the things!”

  “We’ll see however much we can in the day,” he assured her, “and we’ll stay until the fireworks, okay?”

  Julie reached over in the car and hugged Peter tightly.

  “Hey, hey, I’m driving, kitten!” he told her.

  She loosened her grip, but kept leaning on his shoulder.

  “I just want to be close to you all the time,” she told him.
<
br />   “Well,” Peter said with a happy tone in his voice, “that’s alright then.”

  * * *

  As they pulled into the parking lot for Cuddleville, Peter knew that he had made the right choice. Even though he was tired, he wanted to be out of the house with Julie. He had guessed that both of them would be pretty tense and on edge after the incident the night before if they just sat around at home, and the chance of Julie running into someone she knew in a place like this was very slim. Besides, he was holding her hand for the entire day.

  But beyond being practical, it made Peter feel so satisfied to see Julie’s face light up. Her eyes had been wide since the first minute he had told her where they were going. Every tiny detail of the park made her more and more excited. She never complained about waiting in line for the rides; she simply studied every detail of the waiting area, commenting on each animatronic bird or light-up diorama that they passed. She knew every song that played while they were in the park, and she sang along without a care in the world.

  When Peter bought her an ice cream bar shaped like a cat’s face, he thought she was about to burst into tears. That was something special about her. No matter how small a thing he did for her, she always seemed to appreciate it so much. It reminded him that people hadn’t always been as kind to her as she deserved, and it made him want to wrap her up close to him.

  Peter had to stop for coffee whenever they passed a snack shop, it seemed, but it didn’t slow either of them down. And even though he often felt like a very old man, he discovered that he still got just as much enjoyment from driving the mini cars in Cat Car City as he did when he was a small child.

  The fireworks had been magical. As was becoming usual for him, he was more focused on Julie’s face than the show itself. He watched her eyes sparkle as glitter danced across the sky, and he couldn’t help but grab her into a tight hug. It was hard to believe that Julie’s behavior had once irritated him. Now, there was no one more special in the world, as far as he was concerned.