The door to her bedroom was open; she must have forgotten to close it when she came in, and when she went to shut it she realized Brock’s bedroom door was open, too. When she stepped into the living area between their rooms she heard his shower running. He also appeared to be singing, which surprised her. Could Brock even sing?
But he could. And he was singing one of her own songs!
She smiled to herself. She didn’t want to think about why that pleased her so much.
“Nope, nope, young lady. March back into your own room and put some clothes on!” she ordered herself.
She got dressed quickly. Being naked was making her think about Brock too much. She decided to put on a cute sundress. It wasn’t necessarily something a Little would wear, but it wasn’t not, either. It was a babydoll dress in light-blue cotton, and she liked the way it looked with her new hair. She slipped into her white cowboy dress boots, and she was ready. She went back into the living area.
“Brock! I’m starving! Are you almost done and dressed? I want to go to one of the restaurants downstairs for dinner.”
“For such a small girl, you sure can put away enough food for an entire football team, Ky,” he called through the now-closed door.
“I’m not small. I’m almost five-foot-eight.”
“And built like a wood nymph. I’ve picked you up; trust me, you weigh nothing. And I’ll be ready in a minute. Calm yourself down.”
“I am calm. I’m just hungry. I’m gonna faint away any second now. How is it taking you longer to get ready than me? Stop combing your beard and let’s eat!”
He stepped from his room, his hands on his hips. “Little girl, I am going to put you over my knee in a minute.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Promises, promises.”
His brows shot up and he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll show you promises if you don’t get that smart mouth under control. Now settle down and let’s go get some dinner.”
“Finally!” she huffed, adding in an eye roll for good measure.
“Hey now. Mind your manners or you’re getting nothing but broccoli for dinner.”
“Hey! That’s not nice!”
“Neither is broccoli. Downstairs. Now.”
They made their way to the Mexican restaurant, and he held the chair out for her, then pushed her in and handed her the neatly folded cloth napkin before taking his own seat across from her.
A server came and poured two glasses of water and handed them menus.
“What are you in the mood for, starving girl? Do you want regular food or a Little meal? They have both here.”
“Oh, um, let me look.” She scanned the menu. “I kind of want the tamales, but they have a quesadilla, too. I can’t decide.”
“I’m getting the steak fajitas,” he said. “And a side of tater tots from the Little’s menu, if they’ll let me have them.”
“Those are Kierra’s favorites! But that’s a pretty odd combination.”
“Yep. But I want what I want.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
The waitress came and they gave her their orders: fajitas and tater tots for Brock, a cheese and chicken quesadilla for her and lemonade for them both.
“I imagine you’re looking forward to your sister getting here,” Brock said once the waitress had left.
“I’m so excited to see her! I can’t wait! And I can’t wait for her to see my hair. I was going to text her a picture, but I want to surprise her. I hope she likes it.” She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “Do you think anyone recognizes me like this?”
He glanced around. “No one’s looking your way, so I guess not.”
She bit her lip for a second before asking, “Rock? Do you like my hair?”