Page 25 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

“Let’s get out to the garden before it gets too hot,” Maggie said and grabbed her hat and wicker basket. The woman handed her another hat. “Wear this so you don’t get sunburned. We’ll get you your own the next time we go into town.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The rest of the day rushed by, and although Ellie felt tired, she stayed with it. She was hoping she’d be tired enough to sleep later.

“Ridge will be here shortly. Why don’t you go on and wash up? You worked hard today.”

“Thank you. I enjoyed all of it.”

She was learning so much, and she was anxious to see and learn more.

Ellie’s body tensed and then throbbed with what she guessed was desire when she heard Ridge in the kitchen talking to Maggie.

She stood in the doorway quietly, so she didn’t interrupt them.

“There she is. She worked hard today. I haven’t had that much fun in a long time,” Maggie said.

Ellie smiled. She was thrilled that the older woman enjoyed being with her as much as she did her.

Ridge pulled her to his side. “Well, I want to hear all about it.”

Maggie shooed them out of the kitchen with her hands. “Go on and sit down. Everything is ready.”

Ridge squeezed her hand and led her into the other room. They sat in the same chairs. Ellie enjoyed it because she was close to him.

When she was around him, she felt like everything was going to be okay and that she was safe. There were so many new feelings and emotions she was getting, and she wasn’t used to them. She decided to deal with one at a time. If she didn’t, she’d become overwhelmed.

Chapter Fifteen

As they ate their meal, Ridge studied her. Maggie said she held up well during the day, but she could see her getting tired as the day went on. She also told him that his girl tried to hide it and make it look like she had energy.

He thought about the best course of action with her. The bottom line is she needed sleep. Ridge thought about what to do after she ate. He could see she was already struggling to stay awake. He decided he’d get her in bed before he started on the paperwork he’d been putting off.

“Let’s get you ready for bed,” Ridge said as he stood up.

Her eyes widened, and she looked from him to the window where anyone could see it was still daytime.

“But…”

He lifted her with a hand under her arm. “No buts. I will not have you trip and hurt yourself.” He steadied her as they walked up the stairs and down the hallway to her room.

“I’ll get you another shirt. We’ll need to take time tomorrow to order you things.”

“What? No!”

He didn’t understand why she looked horrified, and then tears filled her eyes.

Ridge cupped her shoulders in his hands and bent to be able to see her face clearly. “What is the problem?”

“I don’t want anything. I really am fine.”

He sighed. He would talk to Darian, who he would ask to talk to Larkin and get a list of the things she thought Ellie might need.

“Let’s get you in the shower. We’ll talk about this later.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look stern but failed. He put his hands on his hips and waited for her to talk. He had to bite down on his lip to keep from smiling.

“We will not talk about it. I feel very strongly…”

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