Page 83 of Cowboy Daddies

She frowned. “Wait. I thought we had two weeks left?”

He shrugged and offered her a grin. “We do, but I booked the third week separate. It’s not part of their couple’s program. No work, just fun and rest. I figured you’d need it before going back to work.”

“Oh.” Actually, that sounded really great. They could ride and swim and enjoy the food, without having to rake stalls and shovel horse crap. Definitely a win. “You could have led with that when you were trying to convince me to do this.”

Allegra shook her head and forced herself back to the point. “Anyway, about the going back to work thing … I, um, may have quit this morning.” Of course that meant explaining about the emails and then getting out the laptop to show him.

In the end he gave her a tight hug. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You handled it perfectly and I … maybe I should have let you handle it in the first place.”

She nibbled her bottom lip and then finally shook her head. “Honestly … I probably would have just kept going along with his bullshit. It wasn’t until we got here that I was able to get my head right. So, thank you for helping me.”

“I just couldn’t stand to see you sinking. And, I’d say I won’t step in again, but if you hadn’t already quit, I’d probably be on the phone with my lawyers right now. Not just for you either, Ally, but for all the other people he’s going to lure into the same trap. You have to stop people like that when you can.”

“Is it weird that I love you being protective, but I’m also glad that I handled the final decision on my own?” It felt like there was a conflict there.

“No, not weird. But in the future, maybe you can tell me the problem, but also ask for time to handle it yourself? If I know that you’re able to actively work on an issue I think it’s going to be easier for me to sit back and wait.”

“Yes, Daddy. I can do that.” Well, she’d try.

“We really are getting better at the communication thing.” He kissed her forehead.

She laughed and tipped her head back so his next kiss could find her lips instead. After some silent communication, and a lot of squirming, they found a way to fill the rest of their free morning.

Chapter Thirteen

The next week went by slowly, and with lots of aches and pains. There were still new things to learn, new bonding activities to succeed—or fail—at. There was a never-ending list of chores to be done, but mixed in with all the work was also a lot of fun.

He made friends, a couple among the other guests, but mostly among the men who worked the ranch. He understood their lives, but working with them reminded him of the best times of his past. He couldn’t help feeling a little envy.

Ally had made friends too, mostly among the women who’d shared her bunkhouse. As the week wound down, she started collecting contact information. “We’re talking about doing a girls’ trip. Like a reunion in Vegas or something,” she explained.

She seemed so happy about it that all he could do was smile, though he knew that once people were back home most of them would probably vanish. It was just the way of vacation friendships. But if a few stuck around, that would probably be enough for her. The world was smaller these days, and it was easy to keep in touch from a distance, if you wanted to.

Carter talked her into skinny dipping at the lake one night. He succeeded in getting her in the water by the simple expedient of picking her up and carrying her while she squealed and clung to his neck laughing.

She begged him not to drop her in, so instead he dunked them both, while keeping her in his arms. “It’s cold!” she shrieked, clinging even tighter to his warm body.

He laughed. “Spring fed. It never gets that warm, but it’s really nice after a long afternoon of work, especially in the summer.”

She grumbled but eventually adjusted enough to swim around him. She never let herself get too far away, and the first time a fish brushed against her leg, she practically levitated as she hurtled toward the shore.

Carter laughed the entire time, watching with his hands on his hips as she splashed away. “Surprised there’s any water left in the lake after all that flapping,” he called to her.

She said something that probably would have gotten her in trouble, if he’d heard it, but she was far enough away that all he caught was the rudeness of the tone.

He stayed in the water a little longer, leisurely paddling around as he tried to coax her to give it another try. But Allegra could be stubborn when she had her mind made up. She never got back into the water, and eventually he gave up and joined her on the shore.

“You know nothing in there is going to bite you, sweetheart. It’s just fish,” he said as he pulled his shirt on.

“So you say.” She shuddered and shook her head. “I prefer clear water with a blue bottom, just to be sure.”

With a laugh he pulled her to her feet and hugged her. “Fine, next time we’ll skinny dip in the pool, but don’t blame me if we end up with an audience.”

“I—that’s not where I was going with this,” she said, huffing a little as she snuggled against him. “But I have to admit the moon on the lake is really beautiful. I’m going to miss seeing all this sky.”

He would too. The city sky just couldn’t compare.

There was other beauty to be found on the ranch, and he enjoyed showing her all his favorite spots when they had time, between the planned activities. The week sped by and before they knew it was the final night.