Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The day Angel found out Heaven was about to enter his life, everything changed. It had been a normal workday, and he was busy in the kitchen with no idea that everything was about to shift.

"Angel, can I talk to you a minute?"

He turned to see Derek, a man he considered a friend, despite also being his employer. "Sure, sure. What can I do for you?"

Derek moved around to look at the table and then let out a low whistle. "Your work is amazing, as always. Is this for the party?"

Angel stepped out of the way, grabbing a towel to blot his forehead as he looked over the complicated chocolate creation he’d been working on. It was just one part of a massive sculpture that would be a centerpiece for the Halloween party. Once all the little pieces were finished, they’d be melded together in, he hoped, a breathtaking holiday display.

The witch had been giving him some trouble though. He was struggling to get the shape right, without making her too heavy. Since she was meant to look like she was flying high above a chocolate Halloween landscape, there would only be one slender rod keeping her up. It was the kind of puzzle he loved to solve.

Angel grinned and a deep dimple appeared on one side of his mouth. "Thank you. And yes, more for display than eating, but it will all be edible. It’s the centerpiece of the dessert table—part of it anyway."

Derek shook his head. “You’re definitely a Master of chocolate.”

“I could do more if I had the space…” Angel had already brought up the cramped conditions more than once, but he liked to keep the issue on Derek’s radar. As busy as the owner was, it was easy for problems to get sidelined.

The truth was, the kitchen was constantly busy preparing meals for the many people who lived, worked, and visited the Ranch. It was nonstop chaos—and no place for the delicate work of a chocolatier. Having to share facilities made everything harder, and he was sure Chef Connor agreed.

Derek laughed. “I’m working on it. I promise.”

“Ah well, I’ll manage until you figure something out, but I’m guessing you didn’t drop in just to see what I was working on…” Angel trailed off and left the question unasked.

“Ah, right. I had a favor to ask actually. I have a Little who is really struggling.” Derek paused, as if collecting his words. “I feel like living in the Littles’ Wing is not going to work out in the long run. She feels penned in and keeps sneaking out. She’s been caught twice this week already.”

The relaxed grin on Angel’s face stiffened. He had a feeling he knew where Derek was going with this. “Sounds difficult for you,” he said, keeping his tone neutral.

“It is. As busy as it is around here right before a holiday, I could use one less distraction, but I’m more worried about her. I don’t like seeing our Littles flounder like this. The obvious solution is to find her a Daddy who can cater to her individual needs better.”

Angel’s eyebrows rose. “And how can I help?”

The slight grin that tipped Master Derek’s mouth up at one corner showed he hadn’t missed the cautious tone. “Well, you did say you weren’t opposed to settling down if the right person came along.”

“I also said I didn’t expect to find the right person any time soon. A troublesome Little doesn’t sound like my perfect match, Derek.”

He enjoyed the Littles. They were, for the most part, entertaining and fun. He was happy to hand out treats with one hand and swat a naughty butt with the other hand as needed, but when he thought about a life partner, he had a very specific ideal in mind. Maybe there was no one out there who would ever fit that ideal.

Littles were cute, but he didn’t want a woman who was in a childish headspace twenty hours a day. Policing someone’s behavior all day every day sounded exhausting. As much as he adored Sadie and Hayleigh, he couldn’t imagine how their Daddies managed their shenanigans.

While he did like the idea of being a Daddy Dom, he also wanted a more balanced experience.

He needed a Little girl to spank, coddle, and guide. He also needed a submissive who catered to his needs sometimes, someone he could drag down to the dungeon for some heavier play when he needed to work off frustrations.

And when he was intently focused on a project, she would need to be able to entertain herself like a mature adult for a few days without constantly acting up for attention. It was a lot to ask from one woman and he wasn’t polyamorous. There would be only one for him, but finding someone who could fill all those roles wasn’t going to be easy.

“You did. I was just reminding you to keep an open mind. Sometimes the right person pops up and you miss out because you didn’t notice them in front of you.” He paused, clearing his throat. “But that’s not actually the favor though. As you know, we’re not really set up for part-time Littles in the dorms. Most of our charges are happy to stay in a younger headspace most of the time—Heaven Leigh is not, and that’s the problem. That’s why I think having her own Daddy will be the best situation, but for right now I’ve got a temporary solution in mind.”

That did perk Angel’s curiosity. “And that is?”

“I’d like to have her work with you in the mornings. Keeping her busy will help with her frustration.”

“Ah, Derek. I don’t think… chocolate requires a fine hand and there’s barely room for me in here. Why don’t you just put her to work washing dishes or something? There must be other busy work you can give her.”

“She doesn’t need busywork, Angel. She’s a baker with real creative skills and I think they might be compatible with yours.”

Cautious, but now definitely interested, Angel urged Derek to continue and by the end of the conversation, he was ready to give it a shot. Baking was very different from being a chocolatier, but from what he’d seen, her realistic cakes did have some things in common.

It was handy that Derek had her file, which included a stack of photos of her work to share. Angel couldn’t help being impressed. Candy and chocolate were often used for the fine details, and he was interested in seeing what she could do. He might even learn a few things.

Still… “Are you sure a Little in the kitchen is a good idea? The last thing I need is to have something I spent days on getting ruined because of playing.”

Derek sighed. “I understand your hesitation, and I admit there is a bigger chance for catastrophic mischief in the kitchen than in most places, but I don’t think it will be an issue with her. That being said, she does fairly well with clear ground rules. So give her some.”

“Hmm.” Angel still wasn’t convinced but curiosity won out. “I’ll give it a try and we’ll see how it goes. But if she makes my job harder…” He let the warning trail off.

Derek nodded. “Understood. The next time I see her in my office I’m going to present this situation to her. I suspect she’ll be pleased to be put to work.”

Angel nodded as he reached for the chocolate tempering spatula. “I’ll give her a fair try.” Derek turned to go, but not before Angel saw the sly smile curving his lips. The boss was definitely trying to work his matchmaking magic, but Angel still had doubts.

He couldn’t remember a Heaven Leigh among the Littles. In truth, he didn’t know all of their names though. Hayleigh he knew because she came to the kitchen often. And of course everyone knew Sadie since she helped run the Ranch. Like most of the Bigs on the Ranch, he kept his eye on any Littles passing by, but that didn’t necessarily mean he knew who they were.

When Heaven arriveda few days later, he recognized her. He’d seen her in passing, though they’d never actually spoken. She was one of the quieter Littles, usually towards the back of any group.

Her dark blue eyes were shadowed. There was a fragile hurt look to them, and he instantly had the urge to sweep her into a big hug. The way she stood slightly at a distance from him, made him think she wouldn’t welcome the affection, so he kept things professional.

With Littles praise was just as important as punishment, and he made sure to let her know she was doing a good job frequently. It was true anyway. She tackled every task with determination and no whining, which was all he could ask from a helper.

By the end of the morning, he’d decided that they would work well together. He’d taken Derek’s advice and set down a few ground rules, but there hadn’t been any issues. He gave her simple chores and she worked hard, without complaining, so he rewarded her with an extra dessert before she had to go.

There hadn’t been much time to get to know each other, not with so much work to do, but he found her intriguing. His thoughts turned back to her throughout the day, wondering about the way she’d flinched every time he’d praised her, and her unusual reaction to conversation about the upcoming holiday.

The second day went just as well, and the third. He found that when she left for lunch, he was sad to see her go and looked forward to seeing her again. It really was working out.

On the fourth day, when she arrived in the morning, she went right to work without being told. It was a habit he approved of.

She collected the used things, blonde pigtails bouncing as she moved to dump them in the sink. She wiped down all the surfaces and then came over to watch the careful molding he was fiddling with. “Is that for dessert tonight?”

He looked up, flashed her a smile. “No, chiquita. This is part of the Halloween decoration. I’ve planned a landscape centerpiece featuring some favorite creatures. I have to work on it in pieces because we don’t really have the room to spread out in here.” He turned the piece so she could see the detailed side. “Werewolf.”

There was a frown on her face, but it smoothed out as she looked. “He looks amazing. The fur has some nice texture on it.” There was approval in her voice, and it was a type he wasn’t used to hearing from a Little. It felt more professional, like the acknowledgement of skills from a co-worker.

It amused him. “Mhm. It will be an edible display, but at the end of the party I thought I’d let the Littles break it up and take the pieces they wanted.”

“Eating things like this is always the hardest part… or it was for me. You put so much work into the art and then it’s gone.” She laughed.

That was one way to look at it, but he had a different view. “That’s what I like about it. In a way it makes it more special if it’s temporary. And imagine how cluttered it would get if my creations weren’t eaten.” He picked up a metal sculpting tool and went back to carving the fur on the small werewolf.

“I guess that’s true.” She watched him in silence for a few moments, and when he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, he saw an intense look on her face, as if she were memorizing what he was doing.

“Would you like to try?” He straightened and held the tool out to her. He wasn’t sure what he expected. Any other Little would have hesitated, been afraid of messing up.

Heaven took it from him and moved right in to replicate the same tiny scooping movements he’d been using. As he watched, he noticed that her work blended in with his perfectly. “Very nice. So, your baking… you did detailed work like this?”

Of course, he already knew from the pictures, but he wanted her to talk.

“Mhm.” She didn’t look up and it was clear he had only a small bit of her attention. “I got into doing realistic cakes. You know the kind where you can’t tell that it’s food? I loved fooling people. We’d set up an item and a cake next to it, and have people guess which was which.”

She tilted her head, eying the monster critically, before setting the tool aside. “I think any more would start to ruin the effect,” she said.

He agreed. “Did you work with chocolate much?”

“Sometimes. I prefer it to fondant. You can get the same effect, but most people like the taste better, so whenever possible I went with modeling chocolate, but I’ll admit that I find fondant or gum paste easier to work with. I…”

She trailed off and looked up. “I can’t do anything like you can. I used molds to make things with it or used it to wrap a cake layer. This kind of detailed sculpting—” She shook her head. “I could never make chocolate behave like fondant.”

“Would you like to learn?” The offer came out before he’d even thought about it.

Heaven’s eyes widened. “Really?”

He shrugged. “Really. Why not? You’re clearly a professional.”

“It’s just… um, people don’t usually think of Littles as being capable of doing anything difficult.” There was a clear note of frustration in the statement.

“I’m not so sure about that, chica. Look at Sadie. She’s very qualified at what she does and incredibly professional about it, when she wants to be. And you know we have Wren over in the stables who’s a great hand with the horses too.”

Heaven frowned. “I guess. Neither of them live in the Littles’ Wing though. It’s different over there. So many rules you have to follow all the time.”

“It would have to be. Dealing with a group requires a certain kind of structure.” He hesitated and then picked up a stabilizing rod. “You use these in cakes, yes?”

She nodded. “Yeah with multi-tiers or complicated ones you need them to hold everything together.”

“So this one thing provides the structure to keep all the pieces in place. The rules in the Littles’ Wing are like that. They are in there to keep everything together. Otherwise it would be chaos.”

“I guess.” She let out a long sigh and offered him a half smile. “I just don’t think I fit in there very well. Master Derek thinks I need a Daddy of my own.”

Angel suspected Derek was right, but he was a long way from being convinced that should be him. Heaven was smart, and judging by the photos of her work, she was talented too. That didn’t mean they were a match.

“And what do you think?”

There was a long hesitation and then she shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter what I think. I doubt there’s anyone out there who wants me.”

His eyebrows flew up. As far as he could see there was nothing that would put any prospective Daddy off. “Why do you think that?”

“I just… don’t fit.” There was a second when it seemed like she was going to go on but instead she shook her head. “What would you like me to do next?”

Angel was torn between letting her change the subject and trying to get her to talk. In the end, it didn’t seem right to push when they barely knew each other. “Check the temp on the warming plate and set it to one-oh-four.” He pointed toward the pantry, where it was set up on the counter. “While you’re in there, you can grab a bag of the Belgium Sweet white melting chocolate, and a box of Smyth’s seventy-percent dark,” he called after her.

She disappeared from sight and a second later he heard a low, “Wowwwww.”

He went to look just in case she needed help and found her staring awestruck into the largest cabinet. He laughed. “Hadn’t had a chance to look in there yet?”

She jumped and turned back to see him leaning in the doorway. With a head shake for his question, she said, “I guess so! I never knew there were so many different kinds of chocolate. We only ever used the basic types,” she explained.

He could understand the surprise. There were thirty or forty different brands and types of chocolate neatly organized in the cabinet. The basic categories of milk, white, and dark, were just the beginning of the spectrum. With dark chocolate alone he had seventeen different couverture types with different levels of cacao and a range of flavor notes.

“I have very specific ideas of how I want something to taste. It often requires a special recipe.” He leaned past her, trying to ignore the warmth of her body as he brushed against her. “Candy making is more chemistry than anything. You need exactness, even the slightest variation can ruin chocolate.”

She turned back to the cabinet and her glance ran along the shelves, reading the labels. “With baking… there’s a little more flexibility and the basic ingredients don’t change much. It’s more about how you decorate after.”

“Come, I’ll show you how to temper the chocolate properly so that it hardens for sculpting.”

The ringing of the bell pulled them both out of a conversation about the best way to mix the white chocolate into the dark for a swirling effect. “Oh… I guess I better go.” She was already taking off her apron.

“Yes, don’t want to miss lunch.” And yet he was hesitant to let her go. They’d had a good morning working together. He’d enjoyed it, but he wasn’t satisfied. “Unless… you’d like to have lunch with me, Heaven Leigh?”

Heaven looked up, startled. “With you?”

Angel shrugged. “Why not? I could use a break.” Of course, the last thing he wanted to do was show up in the dining room with her, or worse in the cafeteria where all her friends would be. The rumors would start flying before they’d taken a bite.

He had a better idea. “I bet if I asked nicely, I could get someone to box us up a lunch. We can go sit outside to eat. An impromptu picnic. What do you think?’

Her expression brightened. “That sounds like fun!”