Page 153 of Giddy Up, Daddy

“Cooking me delicious food, waiting on me, and doing my laundry? You drive a hard bargain,” I said sweetly. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

“You’ll sleep better here.”

My resolve had been slipping since he picked me up. Before the mention of yummy food. Had I been crushing on him again? That was a dumb question. Alden hadn’t left my dreams…

Chapter Three

Wyatt

Busying myself with finding some medication and a bottle of water for Kennedy, I wondered where I’d gotten the nerve to speak to Alden the way I had. He had a lot of patience but it only stretched so far. Calling him Daddy was not appropriate. I knew how he felt about titles.

Worse than my attitude, he’d asked me if I wanted to explore. Did he mean a dynamic with him or something more? Taming the playboy came to mind. Is that all I was? Alden, Luke, Tate and I had all been in the circuit at the same time. Alden was older than us by a few years. Remembering fondly the way he handled steers and broncos alike made me nostalgic for our years spent in the arenas.

Texting Luke I sent him a quick message.

Wyatt

Think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

His reply was immediate.

Luke

What have you done, Firecracker?

Wyatt

Poked Alden harder than intended.

Luke sent an entire text message of laughing face emojis. That wasn’t nice. He knew me better than most. Luke sent another text without any additional emojis.

Luke

What’d you do?

Wyatt

I called him Daddy.

Luke

‘Bout time.

Luke was of no help to me. None at all. I rolled my eyes as I thought about a smart-ass reply.

Wyatt

I don’t need him barking orders.

Luke’s reply was lengthy. He told me about myself like he’d written a book on the subject. To be honest, he had. Luke knew what I’d been longing for all these years. He hadn’t forgotten a thing. I highly valued Luke, respected him. I loved him in a different way. We hadn’t been compatible in a relationship, though we’d tried. Time brought us along different paths. He had two submissive partners: Elias, his best friend for over a decade, and Emma, one of the sweetest women I’d ever met. She’d arrived in their lives by running from a scary situationand a toxic ex. Luke and Elias doted on her, helping her heal. I wanted the same sort of happy-ever-after ending for myself.

After typing and deleting several times I finally sent,

Wyatt

He’s my best friend.

I already knew that Luke wouldn’t accept that answer.

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