Second Sunrise Cowboy (Second Chance Book 8) (6 page)

Her heart warmed at the scene below and she found a sliver of forgiveness for him. Obviously, he loved his daughter very much. A big, grappling man so soft toward his child…what woman could deny how precious that could be? Dakota couldn’t. She’d always wanted a family of her own.

Becca skipped around the front of the truck and climbed into the passenger seat. Cash opened the driver’s door and, as if he had a second thought, he paused. He looked up, right into the window, meeting her gaze. Her brain demanded she move, but her body stood paralyzed right there, staring back at him, the apex of her thighs remembering what they’d shared moments ago.

He knew how he affected her, because he smiled, one that could knock her panties off if she allowed it too.

Nope, wouldn’t happen.

She swore off cocky men. Even if they were good fathers. And even if they made her feel pleasure .

He climbed into the truck and backed out.  She watched the truck head down the lane, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. Exactly what had just happened between them—they’d headed down a rocky path and the dust hadn’t settled yet. She had to keep her sights on the ‘dead end’ sign. Nothing could happen between them. She would be leaving by next week, back to Oklahoma—back to her miserable existence.

While she was here at Havens Ranch, she’d need to make sure she stayed as far away from Cash as possible. She’d have to focus on why she was here and it had nothing to do with riding a cowboy.

Her inner thighs throbbed. She was losing her mind. How could she have sex fantasies about a man she didn’t know? Oh, she knew him alright. He probably had every available female, and some not, coming to his door every evening with a casserole and a smile. Dakota laughed. So why wasn’t he hitched? Good looking, accomplished, hardworking, and confidant…what more could a woman want?

Long-term. That’s what Dakota wanted.

Chapter Four

Cash jumped up out of bed, his feet hitting the cold wooden planked floor. He read the digital clock. Seven thirty. “Shit!”

He raced out of the room, down the hall and came to a sliding halt in front of Becca’s bedroom. He sprinted across the pink, patchwork rug to the edge of her bed, “Wake up, Becca. We’re going be late for school.”

Becca’s eyes fluttered open and she came to a sitting position. Looking at him with narrowed gaze, she yawned real wide. “What’s wrong, daddy?”

“Sorry, bug, but I overslept.” He crossed to the closet and grabbed the first thing he came to. “Here, wear this.”

Becca shook her head. “That’s a winter shirt.”

He viewed the long-sleeved polka dotted top, confused. “What makes the difference? We live in Texas.” He shrugged, pulling out another shirt.

“Can’t wear that either. It bothers me. It makes me itch.”

With a sigh, he hung the ‘winter’ shirt and the ‘itchy’ shirt back on the rack and grabbed the next thing he came to. “Look, a pretty pink dress. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear this.” She shook her head, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest. “What now? Dresses can be worn anytime.”

“It has a stain.” She pointed a finger. “And I don’t wear dresses.”

He searched the material, finding a nickel sized spot on the arm. “No one will even see this mark.”

“I will. So will Sam.” She crawled out of bed, patted over to him in her bunny socks.

“Who is Sam?” He lowered the garment to his side, forgetting how late they were running. “Is Sam a boy or girl?”

“A boy in my class.” She looked up at him with innocent expression. “He likes me. So I just might wear a dress today…or not.” She grabbed the hanger.

“You’re in kindergarten. Liking boys is against the rules.” He shook his finger.

“You’re a boy,” she huffed.

“I’m a man. And your father. Big difference.” He pushed the dress toward her. “Now wear the dress and save me from getting more grey hairs this morning.”

“This isn’t fair.” Her bottom lip puckered.

“I tell you what, wear the dress today and I’ll ask Aunt Hope if she can take you shopping for new clothes.”

“She’s busy with Marah.” Becca lowered her eyes, staring at her feet.

Cash’s heart tugged. He bent to her level, inhaling and exhaling slowly. “I know she is, sweetheart. But babies require lots of attention. When you were little, so did you. So let’s work together this morning. If you’re late again the teacher is going to give your daddy a detention.” He stood and hurried to the door. “Meet in the kitchen in five. Okay?”

She gave a quick nod.

Thankfully, Cash didn’t have the same issues as Becca as he grabbed the first shirt from his closet. He didn’t care if it had a stain or a small rip in the sleeve. A cowboy didn’t care about stuff like that, unless he had someone to impress. Which he didn’t. An image of a petite blonde raced through his brain. Yeah, not even her.

Becca came downstairs, dressed in the outfit he’d picked out and her hair in too many pony tails to count. He kept his expression in check, remembering the last time he’d made a remark about her appearance, it didn’t go over too well. He couldn’t make that mistake again. She saddled up at the bar and dug into her cereal.

“Honey, would you like me to fix your hair?” he offered.

She looked at him thorough the veil of her lashes. “No, thank you.”

Better not to argue. He grabbed a bottle of water, considering he didn’t have time for coffee, and drank half of it. “Are you glad you have Turtle back?”

“Yes. Did you see Dakota, daddy? I like her. She said she knows how to make cookies like Delores. Think she’d come here to make cookies? She could make you a cookie too.”

He looked at her down his bottle as the water went down the wrong pipe. He coughed and sputtered. “I can make cookies.”

“Not good cookies. You burn them.”

“Don’t I get an A for effort?” He lifted a brow, recapped his bottle and set it on the sink.

“Yes, daddy. You try. But I don’t like burnt cookies.” She wrinkled her nose.

“I hear you, sweetheart. I don’t either.” He came around the counter, swept her off the seat and into his arms. “It’s time to go. I really meant it when I said your teacher is going to give me a detention.” He tickled her under the chin and she erupted into giggles.

At 8:15 A.M., Cash pulled in front of the school and came to a stop, slipped from the driver’s side and helped Becca out of the passenger side. He handed her off to the meet n’ greet teacher.

“Hello, Mr. Bailey.”

Cash dipped his hat. “Hello…uhh…”

“It’s Miss Cornerstone. I teach second grade here.” She smiled and blinked. Did she have something in her eye?

“Oh, sorry. We’re in a bit of a rush this morning. But we made it.” He smiled at Becca who was now holding Miss Cornerstone’s hand, smiling from ear to ear, showing off missing teeth. The next tooth she loses he’d have to remember to tell the tooth fairy to come the right day. Last time Becca woke up with the tooth still under the pillow and no money. Her dreams of the tooth fairy were crushed until Cash had come up with some excuse that there was a blizzard in the Midwest that slowed the fairy’s visits. Thankfully, Becca had believed him.

“I’m sure being a single father is very difficult.” Miss Cornerstone gave her long blonde hair a toss over one shoulder and tilted a hip.

“It has its moments.”

“We have something in common.” She stepped closer.

“We do?”

“I’m a single mother. If you ever need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. Becca is a wonderful student.” Her dark eyes sparkled.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Bye, Becca. See you this afternoon.” He gave his daughter a quick peck on the cheek and stood. The teacher was staring up at him through the veil of her lashes. “Miss Cornerstone.” He dipped his hat.

He turned and moved on. He wasn’t skilled in the area of womanly ways, but Cash got a feeling Miss Cornerstone was flirting with him. She was a pretty woman, but dating a teacher in Becca’s school was too close for comfort. He’d decided long ago to never date anyone that could cause issues for his daughter.

Another boundary and rule he’d placed on himself. They were starting to feel more like handcuffs, and not in a good way.

He climbed back into his truck and started the engine. He brought his head up and around, looking out the side window to check for traffic when a tall brunette across the street caught his attention. She wore a large hat and her sunglasses covered half of her face, but he knew her. She was matchbook thin and had very long legs. The same woman he saw at the funeral who looked a lot like Rebecca—she looked identical to Rebecca…

But it couldn’t be.

He blinked.

She was still there.

His breathing sounded loud in his ears. He shifted the truck back into park and opened the door, his gaze remaining on the mysterious woman, afraid if he blinked she’d disappear. He started to cross the street…

Honk!

He about jumped out of his boots as a car squealed to a stop ten feet from him. He stepped back onto the sidewalk.

The car sped by him, still honking.

The woman quickly climbed into her car, a black economical two-door, and took off from the curb while he continued to stare.

He stood there for the longest time, cars beeping and people yelling. He realized he had caused a traffic jam. He went to his truck and pulled away. Bewildered and confused, he drove down the street, scrubbing his jaw in thought. His heart thudded against his ribs and it took him until he was almost home that he was able to get his nerves back on track.

Instead of going to his house though, Cash took the lane that took him to Tucker and Hope’s. If he didn’t remember to ask Hope for help with Becca, his daughter would deem him useless in the category of fashion. Hell, he was worthless when it came to what she should wear. Up until now, he’d either had Delores’s help or Hope’s when it came to picking out Becca’s wardrobe.

He parked the truck, slid out, and walked up the porch giving the old dog a scratch behind the ears. He knocked and the door opened, but it wasn’t Tucker or Hope who stood on the other side. It was Dakota. He’d almost forgotten that she was staying here at the ranch.
Liar
. He wouldn’t forget a thing like that.

He tipped his hat. “I swung by to see Hope. Is she in?” Remembering the kiss they’d shared made his zipper bulge. Shit, he didn’t want to go through this up and down like a yo-yo stuff again today.

Dakota opened the screen and took a step back. “Come on in. She’s getting Marah ready for the day.”

Cash removed his hat and stepped in, sweeping his gaze over Dakota. Yeah, he wasn’t mistaken that she was a bit on the skinny side, but this morning she was wearing nice fitting jeans and he could see that she had curves—oh yes, right where they belonged. Her hair, which had been in a tangled mess yesterday, was brushed out and a piece tucked behind her ear. She had the prettiest eyes.  They seemed to shine when she was happy and turned dark when she was turned on—he knew that look well. He’d dreamt of her last night and probably why he’d slept through the buzzing of the alarm. And right now, they were staring at him in speculation. Their first meeting hadn’t gone over too well, and she probably still suspected that he would have screwed her in her aunt’s bedroom if she would have allowed him. Although he could be a jerk at times, he wouldn’t sink so low. He knew she was vulnerable.

But what if things got out of hand again? Right now? Hell, he didn’t think he could stop himself. Dakota flashed her eyes his way and he grew as hard as a hammer, as opposed to this morning when Miss Cornerstone practically threw herself at him and he didn’t feel even a slight nudge. They were both beautiful women, but Dakota didn’t try, and he found that downright sexy. She didn’t wear much makeup. She didn’t dress to accentuate her breasts or body, but she didn’t need to.

Dakota blinked and sighed. He had been staring. He couldn’t get past that first lousy impression. He really sucked at talking to a woman—an attractive woman. “I think I should apologize for yesterday. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“It seems you fall into that problem a lot. But it wasn’t just you. I went right along with it—”

“Until you stopped things, of course.”

“Good thing one of us did. We’d ended up in bed.” Her eyes turned a lighter shade. This was a new look.

“Yeah, what a shame that would have been”

She seemed to mull over his words, then turned and headed down the hall with a nice sway to her hips. He’d bet his best boots she did it on purpose, but he got the feeling she didn’t like him much. Hell, he couldn’t blame her. He hadn’t given her much reason to like him. He wasn’t sure it mattered if she liked him or not, even though he knew it really did matter. And suddenly he wanted her to recognize that he wasn’t a complete dick.

The strong smell of coffee reminded him that he hadn’t had his first cup of the day. “I smell fresh joe.”

“I just made a pot. Would you like a cup?” she asked from the kitchen doorway.