Page 72 of Defending Casey

Chapter 12

Casey wokeup and reached for Hale, needing one of his bone-melting morning kisses, only to find the bed empty on his side. Turning over she stared at the sheets and pillows beside her. Frowning, she looked up at the wall calendar that Nora had made for them.

When Hale told their little girl that she had a big surprise coming up on Sunday, Nora had gone into super-duper-over-excited mode and made a calendar out of construction paper and stickers, counting down the days.

Flopping back and spreading her arms out wide Casey looked up at the light fixture and sighed. The world above her head wasn’t spinning but her head was. It had been weeks since she’d first seen Hale in the feedstore, and she felt like she’d been living in fast forward since then.

She was more in love than she ever had been. She slept in the arms of the man she loved. And her father hadn’t even tried to ground her.

And Nora.

Nora didn’t seem the least bit phased. For a decade she had a father that was somewhere and suddenly he was back. When they’d tried to explain it, she had brushed off the idea and seemed to just accept it. To quote little Miss Sonora Valentino Foster. “Well he’s back now, right? So we move on from here, okay?”

Blowing out a breath that sent a few strands of hair skyward, Casey sighed. “The bed set.”

Hale had mentioned that his team were headed over to the other house to set up Nora’s bedroom, they’d probably gotten an early start. Casey reached out and picked up her phone from the nightstand.

There was a message from Hale. She read it, smiled and sent a message in return.

Trainwreck: Hey you XO Just woke up Miss you

Hale: Are you trying to distract me?

Trainwreck: Moi? Distract the big, strong, sexy man who left me alone in bed?

Hale: Seriously, babe? I’m going to hammer my hand if you say things like that

Trainwreck: Hammer? There’s no hammer in the instructions! Dork

Hale: Dork? I thought I was big, strong, and sexy

Hale: The guys are telling me to stop sexting and get back to work.

Trainwreck: Sexting? You haven’t shown me those skills

Trainwreck: Yet

Hale: …

The three little dots were there for a while.

And then the phone rang.

She laughed when she saw his face on the contact screen.

Answering the call she laughed. “What-”

“Are you trying to get me to embarrass myself in front of the guys?”

Giggling, she turned on her side and cuddled the pillow. “Am I making it hard for you?”

She heard him swear under his breath.

“You could have gotten me up early if you needed a hand.”

“Woman, you’re going to kill me.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re strong as a horse, Hondo.”

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