Decker's Daughter - Caroline Lee Page 0,5

animals, alright? So you gotta promise to do exactly as we say.”

“I promise,” the little girl breathed, staring up at the man as if he were her hero.

Maybe he was.

Bobbi stifled her sigh, but scrubbed her hand over her face. Since they’d arrived in Cauldron Valley, there’d been precious little opportunity for fun. They had a lovely little house and yard, but with her work hours, they hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to enjoy the surrounding area. Or to ride horses.

“Can I, Mama?” CJ begged.

When Bobbi dropped her hand, Deck was looking at her with his face all twisted up, as if he’d just realized how foolish it had been to make the offer in front of CJ, rather than in private to Bobbi. But luckily for him, she saw no reason to say no.

So she forced a bright smile. “That would be really nice, Decker. Thank you. As long as it’s no trouble?”

It was hard to tell who was more excited: Decker or CJ. Both of them appeared ready to jump up and down in glee. In fact, the little girl released him and grabbed onto his hand instead, swinging it back and forth in her enthusiasm.

“It’s no trouble, ma’am,” he assured her, and CJ bounced a little as she declared, “I’ll be good, Mama!” at the same time.

Lordhavemercy, how could a woman stand against so much adorableness?

Bobbi’s smile slowly turned genuine. “Well, lead the way, Mr. Cauldron.”

She felt a little like an outsider as Decker grabbed his broad-brimmed hat off a peg by the door, then took CJ’s hand and hurried out of the bright room and around the building to the front of the stables. Deck hailed a man who looked remarkably like him, and soon he held up a finger and jogged toward the stable.

Decker was speaking quietly to CJ by the time Bobbi caught up with them, and both were smiling.

Be still my heart.

But if she had a nickel for every time a handsome man smiled at her daughter, she’d have—

Twenty-three cents.

Twenty-three?

Uncle Larry doesn’t count.

Her lips twisted wryly, and she had to admit her subconscious was right. She didn’t exactly have a plethora of handsome men falling over themselves to smile sweetly at CJ. Surely that was the only reason her heart sped up every time Decker flashed that grin.

She might’ve even believed that, had he not, at that very moment, looked up and flashed that gorgeous grin at her and caused her to almost stumble over her own feet.

“Jim’s the ranch’s horse whisperer,” Decker was explaining. “I trust him with my life. He’s gone to fetch our best-behaved pony for CJ to practice on.”

The little girl was rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped tight around her middle. “I’m going to ride a horse, Mama! A real one!”

How could Bobbi not smile at that?

“I know, baby. But you have to listen carefully to whatever Mr. Jim and Decker tells you, okay? Please try to stay calm and not have too much of an adventure.”

It was a joke the two of them shared, and judging from the way Decker smiled, he must’ve understood.

“I promise,” CJ declared with a nod, and Bobbi had no choice but to believe the girl.

Soon enough, her daughter was sitting atop an adorable little horse—a pony?—and was being given instructions by Decker’s cousin. She was nodding seriously and seemed to be following all of Jim’s words, and Bobbi breathed a sigh of relief.

“We can watch from here,” Decker offered in that low voice of his, as he gestured toward the corral.

Bobbi followed, and when he propped his folded arms up on the top rail, she did the same and watched Jim lead CJ’s pony into the open area.

“This is where I was standing when I met Cora Jo,” he began, nodding to a spot on the other side of her. “She’d climbed up to see better, and I was pretty sure she was going to fall. But I gotta say, she’s got some cat-like reflexes.”

Cora Jo? I guess that’s what she’s calling herself today.

Bobbi’s lips twitched. “She went through a phase two years ago, where she decided she was a cat and insisted on being called Cat-Juice.”

When he chuckled, she felt her own chest tighten. Heavens, he had a nice laugh, didn’t he?

“Cat-Juice, huh? For CJ?”

She nodded, a little flustered. “Four-year-olds know what they like and stick with it.”

“We should all be so lucky.”

At his murmur, she turned to see what he was talking about…and caught him staring at her.