Page 244 of Cowboy Daddies

“Such a good girl for me, aren’t you?” He brushed her teeth and then let her spit before brushing them again. “There you are. All nice and clean.”

“Are you really gonna take my candy, Daddy?” she asked as he picked her back up.

“Yes. You can still have it, but you have to ask me for it.”

“But what if I hurt myself and I need candy to make me feel better? Because that could happen, you know.”

He set her down beside the bed, then drew the covers back. “Climb in. And if you hurt yourself maybe you would be better with a hug.”

“A hug?” she asked.

“Yes. A hug.”

“I like hugs. That might be nice.”

Damn. She was so sweet. He wondered who had hugged her when she’d hurt herself after her mama died.

He needed to find out who her bastard of a father was. And then he had to make him pay.

“Good. I’d like to give you hugs. I think you could use them.” Jeb brushed her hair back off her face. “Now, do you have anything special that you like to sleep with?”

Casey yawned. “Um, yeah.”

“What? Where is it?”

“I have an alligator. Don’t worry, he’s a toy,” she said quickly.

“Whew.” He put his hand on his chest. “I was a bit worried for a moment.”

She giggled. “Did you think that I had a real, live alligator hiding in the closet, Daddy?”

“The thought did cross my mind. So your toy alligator is in the closet?”

“Uh-huh.” She watched as he walked to the closet and found the alligator sitting on a shelf.

Grabbing hold of it, he carried the toy back to her.

“Here you are. Does he or she have a name?” he asked.

“Mr. Pickles. I know it’s a strange name for an alligator. But I got him when I was a kid and I really liked pickles. I still love pickles. A lot.”

“Good to know.”

She drew Mr. Pickles under the covers, holding him tight.

Damn.

Adorable.

He tucked the blankets around them both, then leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Sleep well, baby. Daddy will see you in the morning.”

Jeb waited until she’d fallen asleep then snuck out. He moved down to his office. He opened the email from the private investigator who had run a quick background check on Casey.

Tex had refused to hand over the background check he’d run. He’d just laughed and ended the call. Although, he hadn’t been laughing when Jeb had put in a complaint about Happy and the way he’d treated Casey.

As expected there was nothing in the background check that set off any alarms. But that wasn’t what he was looking for.

There it was. Her father’s name.