Page 88 of Giddy Up, Daddy

He shifted in his seat and his expression lightened, just slightly. “I trust you… but I also know sometimes you…” He paused as if trying to settle his words. He finally went with, “Sometimes you get yourself in trouble.”

It wasn’t untrue, but that was beside the point. Here she was trying to do something really sweet for him and he was being suspicious. She turned back, took a can out of the bag, and smacked it down on the counter. It was a little louder than she’d planned, but satisfying, so she continued to unload the bags that way.

“Charlie.”

Bang.

“Girl, you are?—”

Bang.

“I’m about to lose my tem?—”

Crunch.

Oops. She hadn’t been paying attention and when she got to the eggs, and she smacked them down with the same force she’d been using on the cans. Eggs, as it turned out, didn’t like being slammed on the counter and something viscous began to ooze out of the broken foam box.

She glared at the mangled carrier and swept the whole thing into the sink. “Now, look what you made me do!”

“Me? Charlotte McGee Mason, you are about two seconds from going over my knee.” His voice had dropped low, and a growl had crept in.

She both loved and hated that voice. It was sexy as hell and screamed angry Daddy, which was delicious. But it also meant she was about to get her ass heated, and that wasn’t what she was going for at that moment.

She sniffed. “Sure, might as well. Since you don’t trust me anyway. Just add an unfair spanking to everything else,” she said, huffing.

Sam made a gruff sound, and for a second she thought she’d oversold it. But he didn’t come over to deliver the promised spanking. Instead, he stood up, snarling, “Women!” and headed for the door.

He stopped to grab his coat, and as he was shrugging into it, he said, “This isn’t over, Charlie. You and I are going to have a discussion about your attitude, and about this secret.” The threat was clear.

And then he was gone, and she heaved a sigh of relief. A spanking was the least she could expect out of this, but she considered the penalty worth it, if it meant the surprise wasn’t ruined. “Katie must be rubbing off on me,” she muttered.

In fact, she’d pulled a page right out of Katie’s book. Her friend was amazing when it came to throwing Nick off the scent with distractions. Though, Charlie was pretty sure, he just allowed it because he enjoyed the game.

Settling up with Sam, when it all eventually came out, wasn’t going to be nearly as much fun. But it was still worth it, and, if she was being honest, Charlie was having fun trying to keep him in the dark. She was starting to understand why Katie wound Nick up so much.

Sure there’d be punishment, but she’d still have ‘won’, and that was a rare experience when it came to challenging Sam. And, after all, it wasn’t aterriblesecret. It wasn’t a relationship-damaging trick she was playing. Their business wasn’t involved, so really, it was pretty low-stakes. Why not let herself enjoy the game?

Despite talking herself up about it, she still felt a little queasy with nerves when she thought about the trouble that would be coming her way. It was one way she differed from Katie. That girl could throw all caution to the wind and not worry one bit, when she felt like it.

Charlie had never quite got the hang of that, and she’d be an anxious mess until Valentine’s Day. But if she made it without giving in or getting caught… it would still feel like an accomplishment. She told herself, without quite believing, that the sweetness of the win would make everything else easier.

Ha! If only.

But the important part was that she’d gotten him out of the house, and just in the nick of time too. Less than an hour after he’d stalked out, Micky showed up. She didn’t have to watch for him, the truck was loud as it came down the road. She really hoped no one on the ranch side would hear and come looking.

She pulled on her coat and hurried out to meet them.

It was obvious the truck was running, and the engine sounded just fine, if loud. She walked all the way around to make sure the body was in perfect shape, as he’d claimed. It really was beautiful, if a bit silly looking. The exhaust stacks were so over the top.

But the cherry-red paint that gave the model its name was in great shape, with barely a scratch. Not bad for a truck that was running over forty years old. Sam was going to be absolutely thrilled.

“I thought you didn’t have a license?” she asked, as the door swung open, and he got out of the driver’s seat.

He shot her a dark look from under shaggy, greasy-looking hair. “I don’t, but how else was I going to get it here?”

Fair enough. “Well, I’ve got your money.” The bank hadn’t been thrilled to hand over the large cash withdrawal without notice. She’d had to fill out a few forms, but she’d gotten it.

“Good. You oughta pay more for the inconvenience. I?—”

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