Cade’s feet barely touched the floor as he shot out of bed and sprinted toward his daughter’s room. Was she having another nightmare?
“Dad!” she cried again as he charged through her door. She was in a tangle of sheets and blankets in the center of her bed, but she wasn’t asleep. The bedside lamp was on, and she was clearly in distress as she cradled the small dog in her arms. Her hair was damp, and her face was wet from tears as she thrust the puppy toward him. “Take her back. You have to take her back.”
What the hell was happening?
“Okay, take it easy.” Cade took a cautious step toward her and eased down on the side of the bed. “What’s going on?”
Allie forced the puppy into his arms. “She won’t stop whining. She’s been crying for an hour.” From the looks of her tearstained face, so had she, the despair and anguish evidenced in her swollen eyes and red cheeks. She must have felt desperate to call out for him like she had.
“That’s normal. She’s in a new place, so she’s probably gonna do that the first few nights.”
“No, you don’t get it,” Allie said between wracking sobs. “She’s crying…” Her breath hitched on another sob. “She’s crying because she misses her mom. I can’t take her away from her mother. I just can’t.”
“Oh, honey” was all he could manage around the lump in his throat. He reached out an arm and pulled her to him, surprised and thankful she let him.
Then his heart ripped in half as she leaned into him, her fingers clutching his T-shirt as she let out another grief-stricken sob. “I miss Mom,” she whispered against his chest.
Her shoulders shook, and he held her tighter, trying to hang on while being careful not to jostle her injured shoulder. “I got you, baby. Just let it out,” he whispered into the top of her head.
“How can I keep her when she misses her mom so much?”
“Honey, this isn’t the same as losing her mom. She can go see Grace tomorrow if you want. But this is the process she has to go through so you can become her new mom.”
“I don’t want to replace her mom.”
“Okay, don’t think about it like that then. How about she keeps her mom and instead you become her best friend. But the kind of best friend she can always depend on. One who will take care of her and won’t let her down.”
“Her best friend?”
“Yeah, let’s see if we can get her to settle down between us. Dogs can sense if you’re upset, and they want to comfort you. Let’s see if we can’t comfort her.” He patted Allie’s pillow, and she gingerly rested her head on it. He laid down across from her, leaving a space between them, and settled the puppy into it. They took turns stroking her small back, soothing her to sleep.
Allie’s eyes fluttered as sleep tempted them. “Will you stay until I fall asleep?” she quietly asked.
“Sure, kiddo.” He watched as sleep overtook her. The puppy had curled against her stomach and was softly snoring.
He’d hoped giving Allie the puppy would bring her joy and laughter. Instead, the first few hours had brought misery and terrible reminders of the loss of her own mother.
As usual, another one of his grand plans had blown up in his face.
***
Nora’s heart broke the next morning when Cade told her what had happened the night before. “Poor thing,” she said.
They were standing outside the fence watching Allie as she led Daisy around the corral. It had been Nora’s idea to get the horse involved to get her walking more. Cade had shown Allie how to put the lead bridle on the horse and instructed her to simply walk the horse in a big circle around the corral. It was slow going since Allie was pushing through the soft dirt on the knee scooter, but the horse was patiently plodding along next to her as if trying to match her speed.
Beauty and Prince ignored them, but Shamus and Mack, the colt, occasionally fell in line as if they were participating in a horsey parade. Cade had hooked a sturdy basket he’d found in the barn to the front of the scooter for Allie to carry things in and so the puppy would have a place to ride. She stood up in the basket now, her paws on the front edge as if she were the captain of her own basket-boat as she occasionally yipped out an order. Which might also account for the mini-horse and the colt following along, curious about this strange, small yapping creature.
“I don’t know if I did the right thing giving her the pup or not,” Cade said, knocking the dust off his boot by kicking it against the fencepost. “I thought it would make her happy.”
“It does,” Nora told him, resting a hand on his arm and trying not to focus on the corded muscles under her fingers. She couldn’t believe that she could so easily touch this cowboy. And that he seemed to welcome her touch. “Look at her. She’s doing so much better than the first day I met her. All these animals are bringing her joy.” She gestured toward the girl who was laughing as Shamus nudged her from behind, his way of asking her if she had any treats.
“I thought I was doing the right thing by bringing her here, but you heard her—she said her aunt is planning to come to get her. I’m not ready to give her up.”
“Then don’t. You’re her father. You do have rights.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
The idea of Allie leaving and cutting her therapy sessions—and Nora’s time on the ranch—short had panic rising in her chest. Both because she wanted to help her patient and because she was becoming attached to Allie and her father. She wasn’t ready for their time together to end. “Do you want her to stay with you?”
He smiled as Allie let out a burst of giggles. The colt had his head in the basket and the puppy was licking his ears. “Yeah, I do,” Cade said. “I know I still have a lot to learn about this dad stuff, but dammit, I’m trying. Allie didn’t come back to me under the best of circumstances, but I’m glad she’s here. And I don’t want to lose her again.”
“Well, there’s your answer. What does her grandpa think? Did he give you any updates when you called him?”
Cade blew out his breath and scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “No. But that’s because I haven’t called him yet.”
“Oh?”
“I know,” he said, even though she hadn’t admonished him. “I will call him. But I’m sure as heck not looking forward to it. The man never liked me to begin with, and I can’t imagine his opinion has changed in the last ten years.”
Nora’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it from the pocket of her jeans. She had on the boots Cade had bought for her and a pale yellow shirt that, thanks to her mom’s macaroni and cheese, fit her a little snugger than she’d remembered. Cade hadn’t seemed to mind when he’d given her an appraising once-over when she’d shown up after breakfast. She’d wanted to hunch forward and cross her arms, then he’d leaned in and whispered that he liked her shirt and the boots and that both showed off some of her best assets. His warm breath against her neck had given her a shiver, and she’d found herself grinning like a fool and walking a little taller as they’d left the bunkhouse.
She heard Cade’s phone buzz a moment after hers, and she peered down at a message from Bryn inviting her to supper at the farmhouse that evening. She turned her screen toward Cade. “Bryn just invited me to supper.”
“Me too.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she said, grinning at the idea that her host was playing matchmaker.
He nodded. “Yep. No cooking for either of us tonight. Nice.”
“Uh, yeah,” she said, her grin falling. “That’s exactly what I was thinking too.”
“And knowing Bryn, she’s probably invited half of Creedence to supper as well, since so many people are dying to meet you.”
“Me?”
“Course. I’m sure you’re quite the hot topic. People pay attention when there’s a new gorgeous woman around town.”
Heat flushed her cheeks, and she nudged his side with her elbow.
The color must have been noticeable because he offered her one of his wolfish grins as he tipped his hat and leaned closer. “Just so you know, you’ve got my attention too.”
***
“The house isn’t as full as I was expecting,” Cade said later that night as he, Nora, and Allie stepped through the door of the farmhouse. He paused to hang his Stetson on one of the free hooks inside the door. Neither of the girls had time to reply before they were engulfed in hugs by Bryn.
“You all are just in time,” Bryn told them. “The guys are out back taking the burgers off the grill. And Aunt Sassy is putting the finishing touches on her famous apple pie. We’re having a pretty simple meal tonight.”
“I’ll bet,” Cade said, passing her a tray of assorted cookies. He could already see the dining room table stacked with delicious-looking, and -smelling, food. “We wanted to contribute something. Well, Nora did. This is mostly from her. She went into town and got them from some bakery. I didn’t even know Creedence had a bakery.”
“Thank you,” Bryn told Nora. “You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you’re supporting a local business, and I’ve yet to see a cookie go to waste around this bunch. They look delicious.”
“They are,” Cade said with a grin.
Nora offered him a side-eye. “You ate one already?”
“I had to make sure they were good before we brought them over.”
Her lips tugged up in a grin. “I thought the same thing. That’s why I had one too.”
“Me too,” Allie said, smiling as she pushed the knee scooter between them.
Bryn laughed at the three of them, but something in Cade’s chest tightened with emotion. It was that same feeling he’d gotten two days before when they’d sat down to a meal together. Like a family. The kind of feeling that could get a guy in trouble if he hoped too hard for it. He needed to push that back down and lock it up.
Aunt Sassy wiped the back of her arm across her forehead as she bustled out of the kitchen. “I’m so glad to see you again,” she told Nora as she wrapped her in a bear hug.
“Wow, you smell like cinnamon and sugar and apples,” Cade told her as she threw her arms around him next.
“You’d better not go out into the barn then,” Allie said. “Daisy and Shamus might attack you. They love apples.”
“Maybe you’ll have to take that horse of yours a piece of pie after dinner then,” Sassy told her, gingerly giving the girl a hug too. “Who’s this?” she asked, giving a quick pet to the puppy sleeping soundly in Allie’s front basket.
“This is Scout,” Allie told her.
“I didn’t realize you’d come up with a name for her,” Cade said.
“Yeah, I was thinking about it this afternoon and one of my favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird, and Scout is one of my favorite characters. It doesn’t matter that she’s little or a girl. She’s smart and confident and curious about everything, and she always seemed so brave. Just like this pup.”
Cade smiled down at her. “It’s a good name.”
“I like it too,” Aunt Sassy said. “You know, I’ve got her brother. He’s curious too. But I wouldn’t go so far as to call him smart. He fell in the toilet the other day because he was trying to catch a moth. He must have thought it was a flying toy.”
Allie laughed but something about the way she held her shoulders had Cade sensing something was going on.
Aunt Sassy must have sensed it too. “Is everything okay?” she asked the teenager.
Allie crinkled her nose, then lifted one shoulder. “I was just wondering why you didn’t ask me any of those questions like you did Nora the other day. It seemed like some kind of test, to see if she belonged or something. And I was just wondering why you didn’t ask me anything. Was it because you already knew I didn’t belong?”
“Oh, no. Quite the opposite,” Sassy told her, lifting a hand to Allie’s good shoulder. “It was because I already knew that you did. You’re Cade’s daughter, so you’re already like family to me. I didn’t need to ask you anything because you already passed every test just by being you.” She narrowed her eyes as she studied the girl. “Would you like me to ask you the questions?”
Allie nodded. “Yes, ma’am. If you don’t mind, I’d rather earn my way into your good graces than get there through my connection to him.” She tilted her head toward Cade.
For his part, he was both proud and slightly miffed at her comments. Good for her that she wanted to earn her own respect, but did she have to act quite so offended at being related to him?
“Okay then,” Sassy said, straightening her shoulders as if gearing up for a fight. “Do you consider yourself a morning person or a night owl?”
“Night owl, normally.”
“Favorite kind of breakfast cereal?”
“Lucky Charms.”
“Winter or summer?”
“Summer.”
Sassy winked at Cade as she ramped up her rapid-fire questions. “Team Edward or Jacob?”
“Jacob.”
“Favorite Taylor Swift song?”
“‘Shake It Off.’”
“Nick Jonas or Harry Styles?”
“Harry.”
“What house would the sorting hat put you into?”
“Gryffindor, no question.”
Aunt Sassy aimed a grin at her. “You’ll do.”
Allie offered Cade a smug grin, but he didn’t even care about the saltiness; he loved the look of pride on her face and the way she held her chin higher as she pushed the knee scooter into the living room.
“Do you want to let the pup see her mom now?” Cade asked as he gestured to the back door. “I can let her in.”
Allie’s face paled a little as she picked the puppy up and cuddled her to her chin. Then she gave him a small nod.
He helped her settle on the floor and then set up a throw pillow barricade around her booted leg to protect it before letting the mama dog inside.
Grace came barreling through the door and ran straight toward Allie. The puppy tumbled over its own legs in her frantic attempt to get to her mother. Scout whined and wiggled as Grace licked her head and ears.
Cade’s heart broke as he watched his daughter’s face crumble.
“I have to give her back, don’t I?” she whispered, her eyes full of desperate longing and misery.
Cade lowered himself to the floor next to her. He wanted to put his arm around her, to offer her comfort, but he wasn’t sure she’d let him. “Just give her a few minutes. Of course she’s gonna be excited to see Grace. That’s natural.”
They watched as the puppy crawled over her mother, and Allie even let out a small laugh as Scout chewed on Grace’s ears. But then, after several minutes of play, Scout waddled back over to Allie and crawled into her lap. Settling into the folds of her hoodie, the puppy let out a baby yawn before resting her head on Allie’s belly and closing her eyes.
Allie stared at the puppy, then peered up at him. Her eyes shone with tears as she softly spoke. “She came back to me. She saw her mom, then still came back to me.”
He cleared his throat, searching for his voice. “You’re her home now.”
She smiled, then looked back down at the pup as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
Bryn had gone outside to check on Zane, and Cade could hear Nora and Aunt Sassy chatting as they finished preparations for the meal, but he didn’t care if they ever ate. He was content to sit here, with his daughter’s head on his shoulder and her small body leaning against him for the rest of the night.
Unfortunately, Bryn blew in from the back door and her voice woke up the puppy and had Grace racing across the room to prance around her legs. “Brody and Elle are almost here. I saw their truck coming down the road.”
Cade was surprised, and happy, that Allie let him take the puppy and put her back in the scooter basket, then help Allie to her feet.
Brody Tate’s pickup pulled into the driveway and had barely pulled to a stop when the side doors opened and Elle jumped out and dashed up the porch steps. Juggling two gift bags and a nine-by-thirteen pan in her hands, she still managed to get the screen door open and squeal at getting to see Nora.
Cade had to chuckle at the two women who seemed to shuffle the gift bags and maneuver around the dish to throw their arms around each other, all while talking in a nonstop stream of questions and greetings.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so glad to see you,” Nora said.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Elle told her. “You look amazing.”
“I love your outfit.”
“I love your boots.”
“Your hair is so cute.”
“How are you settling in?”
“The bunkhouse is great. I love it here.”
“I knew you would.”
“You and Bryn did so much to make me feel welcome.”
“I didn’t even know you owned a pair of cowboy boots.”
“They’re new. Cade bought them for me.”
At this, Elle paused and turned to offer Cade a questionable side-eye before letting go of Nora and giving him a quick hug too.
“I got Allie a pair too,” he told her by way of greeting. “I had to. I’ve been trying to teach these two city girls how to cowboy, so I had to start with getting some boots on their feet.”
“If you really want to teach them how to cowboy, why don’t you take them out to run fence tomorrow? That’s where the real glamour in the job is,” Zane said coming in the back door with a tray laden with steaming hamburger patties.
The scent of grilled beef wafted through the door, and Cade’s stomach growled. “Maybe I will if I can figure out how to get Allie on a horse or a four-wheeler.”
“I’m not sure she’s ready for a horse yet,” Nora said, following the group as they filed toward the table.
“She could borrow our Gator,” ten-year-old Mandy Tate said as she leaned down to pet the puppy in Allie’s basket. She’d followed Elle in and had been inching her way toward Allie. “Hi, I’m Mandy. I live about five minutes away, but I come over all the time to help volunteer with the horses. That’s my dad,” she said, pointing to the tall veterinarian who was stomping the dust from his boots as he removed his hat and hung it on the hook next to Cade’s. “His name is Brody. He’s a vet, and he’s pretty cool sometimes. For a dad.”
“Huh,” Allie said, her trademark sneer back as she stared pointedly at Cade, their time with the puppy only moments before now obviously dismissed. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Is this little cutie yours?” Mandy asked, oblivious to the deeper message Allie had just sent Cade.
Allie’s sneer changed to a look of pride as she peered down at the puppy. “Yeah, isn’t she adorable? I named her Scout.”
“I gave her the pup,” Cade said, ruffling Mandy’s hair while trying to nonchalantly remind his temperamental daughter that he wasn’t so bad. “So I’d vote that I’m pretty cool sometimes too.” Allie’s comment shouldn’t have rankled him, but it did. He had been trying. And it seemed that every so often, they had a moment of genuine affection, like the time they’d just spent with the puppy. But apparently a puppy and a few days of staying with him wasn’t going to erase the years he’d been absent.
Bryn called them all to eat, and they finished the introductions as they took their places at the table. She’d put Allie at one end so she could maneuver easier with the knee scooter, and Cade helped her get settled in the chair. He was glad to have Nora take the seat on his other side. She didn’t need to say anything, but something about her quiet presence next to him settled him. And he liked that she wanted to be near him.
At least someone did.
Allie’s puppy was squirming out of her lap, either trying to get into his, or onto the floor. “You want me to take her for a bit?” he asked his daughter.
“No, I can handle her.” She soothed the puppy with a few gentle strokes, and it let out a quiet sigh and nuzzled its head against her stomach. Within a few seconds, it had closed its eyes and fallen asleep.
“You’re really good with her,” Cade said.
“You’re good with that horse too,” Zane told her. “Her coat looks good, and I saw you working her on the lead this morning. She really responds well to you.”
“Thanks,” Allie said, ducking her head at the compliment. “She’s a good horse. I mean, she’s the only horse I’ve ever been around, but she seems like a good one.” She jerked a thumb at Cade. “SD helped me give her a bath yesterday. I think she liked it.”
Elle leaned toward Nora. “SD?”
Nora shrugged. “It’s some kind of nickname.”
“She is a good horse,” Zane said. “From what I gather, she used to be used for trail rides, so at some point, when you’re feeling up to it, we can toss a saddle on her and you can see how she rides.”
“I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Allie said.
Aunt Sassy gasped. “Are you kidding? How can you be Cade’s daughter and not have ever ridden a horse?”
“I’ve never ridden a horse either,” Nora chimed in as if she knew the question would open another can of absent-dad worms and wanted to save both him and Allie from having to answer. “But I’d love to learn.” She smiled at Allie, but Cade felt like it was aimed at him. “Maybe your dad can teach both of us.”
Bryn surprised them by letting out a heavy sigh. “Daisy is such a good horse. They all were. There were three of them there, and it kills me that I couldn’t take the other two.”
“Why didn’t you then?” Mandy asked.
“Because I can’t afford to feed them all. Every horse I take in can run me another hundred dollars a month in hay and feed alone.”
“Don’t you have donors?” Nora asked.
“Sure. And we get donations through the website Elle set up. But it’s not a consistent amount that we can count on. Although Elle does a great job of budgeting out the donations to make sure we have what we need for each horse. And when we’ve had an added expense, the money somehow always seems to come in.” She looked pointedly at Elle, who suddenly seemed very interested in the seam on the tablecloth.
Cade knew all about Elle’s generosity with the life insurance money her husband had left her.
“Why don’t you have a fundraiser?” Mandy asked, reaching for another stalk of celery from the relish tray. “That’s what we do at my school when we need money for something.” She wrinkled her brow in concentration as she bit down on the crunchy stalk. “We usually sell chocolate bars or cookie dough or do some kind of raffle thing. You got anything good to raffle off?”
“They’re going to have a ten-year-old to give away if you don’t stop talking with your mouth full,” Brody told her.
“She does make a good point though,” Nora said. “Could you do some kind of fundraiser? If not a raffle, maybe an event of some kind, like a craft show or a benefit run?”
Bryn laughed. “Folks around here don’t do a lot of running, unless it’s after a cow who got loose. But I like the idea of a craft show.”
“That sounds like a lot of work,” Zane told her. “And harvest season is starting soon, so folks aren’t gonna have a lot of time or energy to put into crafting.”
“First of all, you’re sorely underestimating crafters, but I get your point. What could we do that wouldn’t take too much effort to put together, that would make real income, and wouldn’t put people out too much?”
“Didn’t Aunt Sassy say that she used to come to dances out here when she was younger? What about having a dance?” Allie asked offhandedly, her focus more on getting the tall cheeseburger she’d built to her mouth than on the discussion.
The conversation stopped as they all turned to look at her.
Allie froze, the cheeseburger half in her mouth as ketchup dripped onto her lip and a ring of onion tried to escape out the backside of her bun. “What?” she asked around a mouthful of meat.
“Aren’t you a clever girl?” Aunt Sassy with an approving nod.
“That’s a great idea,” Bryn told her. “And something we could easily put together. All we’d need is a good band.”
Zane frowned. “And some people who want to show up.”
“That’s easy,” Elle said. “We can do a pop-up event on social media to get the word out and put up a couple of flyers in town at the post office and the grocery store. We’ll have to charge an entry fee, but if folks know it’s for a good cause to help with the horse rescue, I’ll bet we could charge twenty dollars a person and get away with it.”
“Then all you’d need is a hundred people to show up and you’d have two thousand dollars,” Mandy said, bouncing in her chair as she got into the excitement of the idea. “That would practically cover two more horses for a whole year.”
“We could also sell food and drinks,” Elle suggested.
“Or we could get Amy Curtis to bring out her new food truck.”
“Amy Curtis has a food truck?” Zane asked. “I thought she managed the coffee shop.”
“Yes, she does. But apparently she’s branching out on her own. She just started it this summer and Mayor Hardy has let her park it at the courthouse a few times a week. Her pulled pork sandwiches are to die for. Plus she serves mac and cheese.”
“Pulled pork sandwiches?” Brody asked. “She should park down by the sale barn on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those fellas would clean her out.”
“Great idea,” Bryn said. “I’ll tell her. In fact, I’ll text her right now to see if she’s interested.”
Brody pulled out his phone. “I know a couple of guys who play in bands. I can see if we can get one to come out and play. What night are you thinking?”
“How about this Saturday? That gives us four days to pull it together.”
“So are we really doing this?” Zane asked. “Putting together a last-minute barn dance? In four days?”
“I say if we can get the food and the music, heck yeah. We’re really doing this.”
Excitement bubbled around the table. Nora seemed to always get behind a fun idea, but Cade was surprised to see even Allie was joining in on tossing around ideas.
“We could rent a popcorn machine.”
“How about dragging out some hay bales to sit on?”
“Too bad we can’t serve beer.” That last comment was Brody’s, and Cade nodded in agreement.
“I think we might have to have a liquor license for that since it’s sponsored by a nonprofit,” Elle said. “But I’ll check to see if that excludes if guests bring their own booze.” She had her phone open and was taking notes. “I have to run to Denver tomorrow to pick something up, so I can stop at the party store and get some decorations.”
“I have tomorrow off so I can come with you,” Bryn told her.
“I’m in too,” Aunt Sassy said. “I could use a day trip.”
“Can I come?” Mandy asked.
“Why don’t we all go?” Elle said, looking toward the end of the table. “We’ll make it a girls’ day. We can shop for party supplies in the morning, grab lunch somewhere fun, then shop for new outfits in the afternoon. Allie, would you like to come with us?”
Allie had her head bent as she pet the puppy in her lap, but she snapped her chin up at Elle’s invitation, her eyes wide. “Me? Yeah, I guess I could go. Except I would probably be a hassle with this dumb knee scooter.”
“Oh no, we’d manage that. No big deal,” Elle said, waving away her concern. “If it’s okay with your dad, we’d love to have you.”
Cade’s emotions warred with the idea of wanting Allie to have a good time with these women who were so obviously trying to include her and his fear of letting her out of his sight and worrying about her getting hurt. But she’d been doing shopping trips with her mom for her whole life and he hadn’t gotten involved then, why start now?
Because now she’s my responsibility. He pushed the thought away. Spending time with these women and a girl close to her own age will be good for her. “Yeah, sure. You should go. It sounds fun. For you all, I mean. To me, spending any time shopping for an outfit sounds like the ultimate torture.”
“That’s why you’re not invited,” Bryn said, needling his shoulder with her arm as she leaned in between him and Nora to clear the plates. “How about you, Nora? Could you use a little shopping therapy?” She paused in reaching for a bowl of potato salad and turned to Nora. “Oh, therapy. Ha-ha. That’s funny. Oh wait, are you okay with therapy jokes or do you they totally annoy you?”
“I usually think physical therapy jokes are a pain in the neck,” Nora deadpanned with a shrug.
Bryn’s smile fell, then she laughed as she got the joke. “You’re funny. I like that.”
“You should totally come with us tomorrow,” Elle told Nora. “It’ll be so fun.”
Cade watched the indecision on Nora’s face as she looked from Elle to Allie to him, then she shook her head. “No, I wish I could, but I’ve got tons of paperwork to catch up on, and I have a few things I’d like to do around here tomorrow. You all go on and have fun without me. And it will be good for Allie to do the extra walking. Just don’t wear her out too much.”
“We’ll take great care of her,” Bryn said, wrapping an arm around Allie’s shoulder. “I’m so excited, this is going to be so much fun.”
Allie beamed up at his cousin, but Cade was having trouble concentrating on anything other than the fact that Nora had just nudged his knee with her leg when she’d said she had “a few things to do around here.”