Page 37 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

Ellie nodded, rested her head against his shoulder, and relaxed. She hadn’t planned to sleep, but before she knew it, Ridge was waking her up.

“Hey, Sleepyhead. Are you sure you want to go out to the barn with me?”

Ellie sat up and looked around. “Where is the guy at?”

“He left a few minutes ago. Why?” he asked.

“Are you sure he’s gone?”

Ridge’s brows snapped together. “Yes, I heard his truck leave. What’s this about?”

Ellie tried to turn so she could face him. She heard him grunt.

“Oh, Daddy. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No. It was close, though.”

She pressed a kiss to his lips but pulled away before it could get heated. “The kittens are fine. I just didn’t want to talk in front of the guy.”

“Okay.” He set his hand on her thigh.

“I was up in the loft watching the kittens.”

“I thought I’d told you not to go there when it was dark and without me?”

“I know. Can you discipline me later? This is really important.” She was getting frustrated.

“I’m listening.”

“I was up in the loft when two men walked in. They were trying to be quiet and mostly whispered.”

She went on about what they planned to do to his cattle.

“They could have hurt you if they had found you.”

“Oh, no, there’s more. They talked fluent Spanish.”

“And…”

“I can, too.”

“I didn’t know that.”

She shrugged. “I forgot. I haven’t heard anyone speak it in a while.”

He sighed. “Okay. Go on. Did you know the men?”

“Kind of. I mean, I’ve seen them around, but I was always looking for you.”

“You’re my sweet little cowgirl.”

She giggled. “The man at the fence’s name was Ricky. When you told me the neighbor’s name, I wasn’t sure if he had anything to do with it.”

Ridge nodded. “Good thinking. He isn’t the Rick you’re talking about. He’s lost some cattle in the last year, and he has no clue where they are going. It sounds like these two get around, so maybe they’re the ones that took his.”

I could tell Ridge was thinking because he rubbed his thumb over his lip.

“You’re making a plan?”

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