Page 147 of Cowboy Daddies

When her eyes went as round as saucers and her mouth dropped open to say, “You thought I was a pig?” I realized I’d said that out loud.

“Actually, a wild boar,” I corrected with a grin. “How about I tell you the story on the way to town?”

She nodded like a bobblehead doll which reminded me how she’d come to be in my vehicle and not hers. “First, you have to promise to sit still and try not to move your head. Besides your ankle, you could have whiplash and your chin might start to bleed again.”

Her nose scrunched up in distaste at that possibility but her head remained still, her eyes fixed on me. “I’ll be a statue.”

Pretty sure that would be impossible for a girl who’d never seemed to stay still, but satisfied she’d be as immobile as she could, I carefully tucked her legs inside, fastened her seatbelt, and after I’d settled behind the wheel, I began.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl named⁠—”

“No, not a girl! A piggy…”

I glanced at her. “Do you wanna tell it?”

A curl shook before my arched brow had her rolling her eyes.

“That’s one.”

The only thing that moved was her chest as she inhaled. She didn’t even blink as we stared at each other, I knew she not only understood the count, she understood exactly what I was thinking. If for some reason she decided to test me, she’d find out that there were certain things I wasn’t giving in on.

“Good girl,” I said just to confirm what I’d thought I’d seen in those widening eyes. When her pupils grew, I wasn’t concerned as much about a concussion as I was considering what exactly that meant. It was yet another tidbit I tucked away to consider later. Meanwhile, I had a story to tell.

“This is the tale of The Pixie and the Pig.”

The giggle that she issued had my dick twitching and I silently thanked the Universe for bringing my Tornado Livvy home.

Chapter Eight

Livvy

You want to know the only thing that makes it more difficult to stay still than a threat of a spanking?

Try imitating a statue when you feel like an animal whose leg is stuck in an unforgiving metal trap at the same time it’s being stung by a hornet’s stinger the size of a spear.

At the hospital, I’d tried to be as brave as the pixie in the story, but tears were shed and blood was dripped after the cut on my chin reopened when the nurse cleaned it. Knowing Dr. Frankenstein wasn’t attempting to put me back together using someone else’s parts but was actually carefully applying a butterfly bandage to my chin didn’t keep whimpers from being issued.

The only consolation was the fact that I wasn’t alone while undergoing this agony. Lincoln Waters had not only carried me into the ER, but had reached out to offer his hand when the first whimper escaped after the nurse uncovered the syringe and its attached needle on the tray.

So much being honest when asked the date of my last tetanus shot!

When taking his hand required me to bend far forward, the doctor had suggested Lincoln join me on the bed. My cheeks had instantly flushed. Not due to the thought of him being with me on the bed, but because the image that flashed into my head didn’t include either of us sitting. At the twitch of the doctor and nurse’s lips, I was pretty sure they were aware of exactly where my thoughts had gone. Though, to be honest, they’d sorta gotten a head start with Lincoln’s traffic-light scenario. But when Lincoln not only sat, but then lifted me to sit on his lap and tucked a stray curl behind my ear before bending down to whisper, “I’ve got you, pixie,” it wasn’t just my cheeks heating.

To say sitting on his lap with his arms around me and our fingers entwined eliminated any of the pain would be a fib. But it certainly made it hurt less. Well, it did until Dr. Frankenstein’s personal assistant picked up that syringe. Forget the pink scrubs disguise, I knew Igor when I saw her.

“Come to think of it, I might have been delirious when I said I couldn’t remember ever getting a tetanus shot.”

“Come to think of it, did I forget to go over the facts about lockjaw?” Igor asked as she depressed the plunger just a tad and then tapped her fingernail against the glass as my eyes focused on that tiny little drop perfectly balanced on the needle’s tip. “You know, like why they call it lock jaw? You think your jaw is a bit achy now? Imagine that ache increased by, oh, let’s be cautious and say only a thousand percent.”

I couldn’t even look away from that glistening sphere much less do advanced calculations in my head. All I could do was swallow hard… oh, and whimper.

“But it’s up to you, of course, so what’s it going to be, my dear?” Dr. Frankenstein asked as if I were deciding on which flavor of pie I’d like.

“A teensy-tiny little prick now or wasting away in agony with your jock locked so tightly that you won’t be able to speak much less even suck any nourishment from a straw?”

The ease of which Igor tagged in told me these two had performed this little dance a thousand times… nope, let’s not think about that number, okay?

“You can do this,” Lincoln assured me.