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“Okay, then. That’s all I needed to hear.” Lifting her, he held her close, breathing in the baby shampoo scent of her curly dark hair. “I love you, punkin.”
“I love you more.” She clung to his neck. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me, too. I’m leaving again tomorrow morning, but I’ll be right back after my meeting.” When he set her down, he noticed the massive brown stain on her white nightgown. “I see someone found the chocolate milk I hid at the back of the refrigerator.”This girl.“Why don’t you go change?”
“I have to tell you something.”
“Oh, so you didn’t wake me up just to ask about my hairy toes?”
“No, I woke you up because Joseph’s knocking on the door.”
“What? Is he still there?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you let him in?”
“You said not to open the door to strangers.”
“Kinsley. Joseph isn’t a stranger.” He shoved his feet into his gym shoes and took off. Right away, he could hear a banging. “I’m coming.” He hurried down the stairs and across the living room. When he flung the door open, he found his ranch manager staring at him with an arched brow. “Sorry about that. Is everything all right?” Dawn turned the sky a watercolor of pinks, purples, and oranges. In the distance, he could see truck lights heading up the driveway and hear the distant lowing of cows in the pasture.
Joseph’s gaze shifted behind him and lowered. “So, I’m a stranger now, huh?”
Kinsley’s innocent expression cracked as one corner of her mouth started to curl into a mischievous grin. “You could’ve been pretending to be Joseph. I can’t see the porch from the window.”
“And you didn’t recognize my voice?” The lines around the big, burly guy’s eyes creased in amusement.
“It could’ve been someone faking.”
“Bet if I’d offered you candy, you’d have opened it.”
“You got candy?” Kinsley stepped forward and held out her palm. “Please, can I have some?”
Jaime clamped a hand on his daughter’s shoulder and pulled her back. “Joseph doesn’t have candy.” He tipped his chin to her stained nightgown. “And you’ve had your share of sugar already. Now, go and change like I asked.”
“Will you have breakfast with me?” she asked.
“Of course. Don’t I always?”
“Okay, Daddy.” She dashed off.
“And put your nightgown in the laundry room and not on the kitchen floor.” He turned back to the ranch manager. “So, what’s up?”
“There’s someone in Cabin A, and she’s raising a ruckus.”
“You mean Grace? What’s she doing?”
“Don’t know her name, but she’s got her own rock concert going on. Got the windows open and music blasting.” He shook his head. “Since no one told me about any visitors, I should’ve gone in and busted her, but I figured I’d tell you first in case it’s one of your…friends.”
“Since when do I do sleepovers?” His daughter’s heart was pure and wide open. No way would he let her get attached to someone who wouldn’t stay in her life. “Grace isn’t a hookup. She just needed a place to crash for a few nights.”
“Is that right?” Joseph chuckled. “Because it sure looks like you went to your friend’s wedding and brought back a bride.”
He closed the door behind him so Kinsley didn’t hear. “How do you know she’s a bride? You said you didn’t go over there.”
“No, I said I didn’t bust her. Of course, I went over there. Peeked through the window and saw a wedding gown on a hanger. You steal yourself a bride?”
“Nah. But she pulled a runner, wanted to get away for a few days, so I told her she could stay here.”
