Page 44 of Daddy's Rules

“It’s not likely,” I tell her. “It’s several hours’ drive.” When she takes my hand, she notices the plastic bag.

“Owen,” she says, her voice soft and a little amused. “Did you bring doggie treats?”

“Well, yeah,” I say gruffly. I don’t want her to think I’m getting soft for the thing. “Seemed like a good idea.”

She giggles. “But you got the ribbon ones,” she says. “His favorite.” She pulls closer to me and a smile tugs at my lips when she kisses my cheek. “You’re a big softie under that stern exterior, Daddy.”

I half grunt, half growl, and don’t give her a response.

“Growl all you want, caveman, I know it here.” She taps her chest above her heart.

Does she? Her words give me momentary pause. I’ve been so focused on meeting her needs that I neglected to focus on my own. How well does she know me? Does she know how much I need her? Does she realize that I need her as much as she needs me? I shove the thoughts out of my mind, as I don’t want to get distracted from our purpose, but when I take her hand, I give her a little squeeze.

A brisk wind bites at us as we get closer to the water. Instinctively, I draw her close to me to shield her from the cold. We look everywhere we can think of until her teeth are chattering.

“Daddy, have I failed him?”

I shake my head firmly and start purposefully toward the car. I lead her to the passenger door and open it, waiting until she slides into the seat and buckles her belt. My heart is heavy and my footsteps quick.

I start the car and turn the heat on. I suspect not all of her shivering has to do with the cold, but the heat can only help. I leave her there to grab our things and return quickly to throw them in the trunk.

“We’ll check town.”

We drive slowly through the street of town, looking everywhere, but find nothing. I can see she’s not handling it well so I pull the car over. “Baby, maybe you’re right. Maybe he, by some miracle, headed home.”

“Wait!” She points to a pet shop down and across the main street. “I’m gonna run in there and ask if they’ve gotten any calls about a stray.” She turns to me, her face hopeful. “It’s a small town. News travels fast.”

Before I can stop her and go myself, she’s out the door, hair flying as she runs across the road to the shop. She doesn’t even look for traffic! I get out and walk briskly after her. We need to have a serious talk about her impulsiveness. She’s cruising for a trip over my knee.

Before I can even open the door to the shop, she’s bursting out and colliding with me. She’s practically gasping for breath in excitement.

“The lady says there was a couple in here with a Yorkie a few hours ago and the dog didn’t seem to like either of them very much. When I showed her a picture of Beast on my phone she said the dog had a blue collar with a yellow bell just like his and the couple had Hollywood plates on their car. It was a blue Camry!” Jordan is running again and I want to grab her and smack her ass to settle her down, but the girl is on a mission. So I just follow after her, shaking my head, my palm itching.

“She said the woman told the guy she was with that they were heading back to Hollywood right away,” Jordan yells as she climbs in the car.

When I get into my seat, I cast a glance in her direction. “Settle your ass down, young lady or you’re going to be sitting very uncomfortably later.” She bites her lip, squirming in her seat. I wait for her to relax.

“Are you calm?”

She nods solemnly and swallows hard. I can’t have her doing something silly to compromise her safety, like jumping out of the car and attacking every couple in a blue Camry we come across, which in her current state I wouldn’t put past her at all. Pulling into the busy intersection, I reach for her hand.

“You’re way too excited, Jordan. You need to relax, got me?” I give her a sharp look and she gathers a breath and visibly relaxes her shoulders. “You ran into the street back there, twice, without even looking for cars.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“Good. You should be,” I say gruffly, watching the road. Now that I have her attention and my worry has eased a little, I’m ready to find out why she’s so excited.

“How do you think we’re going to find him? There are a lot of blue Camrys. And you heard that vet before. Yorkies are the second most popular breed in the world.”

“Simple,” she says almost smugly. I grit my teeth. “The lady at the pet shop said there was a bumper sticker on the back of the car. It’s an alien face with the words ‘We’re watching you.’” She huffs. “I know exactly who has my dog and where she lives.”

So do I. Kari-Anne Bowing and her partner in crime—that little freak assistant of hers.

When we get back to Hollywood, Jordan rolls down the window at our first stoplight. “Hey!” she shouts. “Move!” That catches the attention of the people crossing and they shoot her the finger.

“Jordan!”

“What?” she asks, flashing me that look that tells me she’s on the cusp of acting out. She jabs a finger at the walk signal. “The hand is flashing. They should be finishing crossing, not starting.”

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