Page 85 of Giddy Up, Daddy

But theyweretoo young. There was too much that was out of their hands, and life pulled them apart. Getting back together years later meant realizing that she needed something more than Sam smacking her ass in the bedroom.

She needed him, and she needed him to be her Daddy—to be dominant inandout of the bedroom. Her life had been a mess for a long time, structure and rules were necessary to get her back on track. And as soon as they tried it, she knew it was what she’d always wanted from him.

Everything clicked. It all fell into place. Things followed a predictable pattern. They dated, they got engaged, and finally they got married. It was the happy ever after she’d never known she was looking for. Sometimes it was still a shock to realize she was married.

And it had been so wonderful. Being a newlywed just felt… different. Or maybe it was just because they’d sorted out all their problems before they got married. Either way, they almost never argued anymore.

This morning had been an exception and she’d been taken off guard. All of a sudden Sam had confronted her, waving an issue of his stupid car-swap paper, as he demanded to know what she was up to.

She honestly hadn’t thought he’d miss one issue, and after cutting out all the parts she needed, she’d meant to throw it away, and then got distracted and forgot. It quickly became obvious that he’d noticed a few things.

Damn it, I thought I was being so sneaky too. She’d done her best to keep her plan on the downlow, but apparently, she hadn’t been stealthy enough to stay under his radar. Somehow, he’d figured out that she had a secret.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise; Sam was a Daddy and Daddies were good at keeping an eye on things, and he’d had a lot of practice—especially since Nick had moved onto the ranch.

Nick’s wife was her best friend, and they spent a lot of time together. Sometimes it was productive; Katie was a huge help at event planning for their side business, but other times… well, they’d gotten in their share of trouble together.

Most of it was Katie’s idea. Charlie didn’t really look for trouble, and when she did, she was more of a smart-assed masochist than a brat. It was her mouth that acted up, at least most of the time. Katie, on the other hand, loved to play pranks and sneak off to do things that would make the men growl.

Charlie had to admit, it could be fun sometimes. It depended on how Sam reacted in the end. Nick was more likely to laugh and deliver something that looked more fun than punishing, but Sam was stricter. He didn’t always find their games funny, and Charlie’s ass ended up paying a higher penalty than Katie’s.

She still found herself getting dragged along, and it was hard to resist her friend, even when she knew she’d regret it in the end. As a result, Sam had gotten a lot of practice at looking for hints that she was up to something. He could smell mischief at fifty yards now, and it could be really frustrating sometimes.

Try to get away withonelittle thing, and boom, there he was putting his foot down. In a way she didn’t mind. Even if it ended in real punishment, instead of play, part of her needed and wanted that. She’d never been able to figure out why. It was just like that.

But this time… she really didn’t want him to find out, because it wasn’t a bratty secret, or mischief she was hiding. It was a surprise.

For as long as she could remember, all the way back to when they were kids, Sam had wanted a classic truck. Specifically, a 1978 Dodge Li’l Red Express. She could still remember him pouring over the glossy magazines, skipping right past the cars to look at the trucks.

Personally, she thought the Li’l Red model was kind of silly, with the 18-wheeler exhaust stacks that sent clouds of smoke up. The front half was normal length, but the back was shortened, which made it look sort of stunted, in her opinion.

Not very useful either, with such a short cargo bed. Of course, a truck like that wasn’t made for ranch work. It wasn’t supposed to be useful, like Sam’s beat-up old pickup was. That truck looked like it had seen wars and still kept going.

And that was why her Daddy would never buy a Li’l Red for himself. It wasn’t useful. It wasn’t good for much aside from being pretty and fun to have, which meant he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) justify the expense of getting one. He never splurged on himself.

Although they kept their finances separate, she knew he had a pretty decent bank balance. Being the foreman here for somany years, with room and board included, meant he’d been able to save a lot. And then, when her father had died and left the ranch to both of them, Sam had stopped being foreman and picked up an owner’s share instead.

Their spread wasn’t one of those fancy dude ranches that catered to rich guests wanting to feel like cowboys for a weekend. It was a working business, but most years it did well. They had a reputation for prime stock and now that they were starting to expand into other areas… their shares were pretty decent.

But the only thing Sam ever spent his money on was her. He’d insisted, in his Domly, or maybe husbandly, way, on paying all the expenses for the traveling they’d been doing, but that probably hadn’t made a dent in the money he’d saved over the years.

“We might need it someday. Ranching is a tough business. Who knows what we’ll have to deal with in the future,” he would say, shrugging.

He wasn’t wrong, but she had a hefty inheritance that continued to grow through careful investing. If it came down to it, she’d be able to cover them both. Reminding him of that was useless.

In some ways Sam was old-fashioned, and as far as he was concerned, it was his job to take care of her. So, he stashed away his pennies and looked longingly at trucks he’d never buy.

Enter Charlie’s secret plan. She’d been looking for a Li’l Red for him. It had taken months, longer really, but she’d only gotten consistent about the search in the Autumn, thinking it would be the perfect Christmas present.

Well, that hadn’t worked out. Finding one in decent shape, that was close by, and not so expensive that she’d feel like an idiot pouring that much money into an old truck, had taken longer than she expected. But Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, and she’d been aiming to make it memorable.

It would be their second February as a married couple, but the first time they’d really have a chance to celebrate the day of romance. A nasty winter storm had left them trapped in an airport for most of the previous V-Day. Their plane had been delayed nine hours and by the time they’d gotten to their destination… romance was out of the question.

But she was going to make up for it this year. She had a whole evening planned for them, and the truck would be the cherry on top…ifshe could keep it a secret from her Daddy until then. She hadn’t been too worried about it, until she realized he was already suspicious.

Now he was going to be watching her every move. Things had just gotten a lot more difficult, and she might have to call in some backup.

She was just lucky Sam had stormed out when he had, otherwise the whole thing would have been blown. That would have been utterly devastating, considering how much work she’d put into the surprise.

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