Daddy in Cowboy Boots (Montana Daddies #9) - Laylah Roberts Page 0,90
him. He sent her a wink.
“No cookies. Doc lied,” he told her with a sigh.
“And now all the cookies are gone!” Caley wailed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Will the blows never stop coming?”
“Hush,” Doc told her, walking close and grabbing one of her hands gently, looking it over. “There’s still some cookies left. I just told Linc there were none because I didn’t want him eating them all.”
“Jeez, Doc. I feel so loved.” Linc shook his head.
“You’re not loved. I love Caley. She gets a cookie. You don’t.”
Archer sighed. “It’s hard to be your brother sometimes.”
“Just sometimes?” Linc asked dryly.
“What about Marisol? Does Marisol get a cookie?” Caley asked. “She looks like she could use one.”
“I think I’ve got some sugar free ones she can have,” Doc replied.
“You don’t eat sugar, Marisol?” Caley asked with interest.
“I’m diabetic,” Marisol explained shyly, wishing she could kind of disappear now. Even if it was fascinating watching Caley with her two Docs.
“Really? That’s great!”
“Um, it is?”
“Argh, Caley, think about what you just said.” Archer nodded over at Marisol.
“Oh no, I’m such an idiot.” Caley reached for her with the hand that Doc wasn’t holding. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m so sorry. It’s just the character in my story has diabetes and I’m having trouble figuring everything out. I can’t believe I said that. Forgive me?”
“It’s okay,” Marisol told her.
“Oh good. So would you mind?”
“Um, mind what?” It was hard to keep up with Caley.
“Would you mind answering some questions for me? Or maybe even reading through the story to make sure what I’ve written is accurate? Do you like reading?”
“M-mind? I would love to! I love your books. I’ve read all of them. Several times.”
“She got nervous about coming here when I told her your pen name,” Linc explained.
“Nervous? To meet me? You don’t have to be nervous. I’m just Caley.”
“Just Caley is beautiful and smart and sweet,” Archer told her. Wow, he was so sweet.
“Your hands are swollen,” Doc snapped. “You need to sit with some heat packs on. Have you not been using your dictation?”
And Doc was so grumbly. She guessed they evened each other out.
Caley looked instantly guilty. “The words aren’t coming, so I switched to typing.”
“Caley,” Doc growled in a disapproving voice. “That’s going on your chart.”
With a sigh, Caley pouted up at Doc. “My characters aren’t behaving. What was I supposed to do?”
“Once your hands start hurting, you’re supposed to stop,” he told her.
“You’re not winning this one,” Archer told her with a soft pat on her ass. “Come on, let’s go find some cookies and get your heating pad ready. You can talk to Marisol while you sit.”
Caley looked over at Marisol. “But I need to take notes.”
“I can do that. I don’t mind,” Marisol offered. “Or I could write things out as I’m reading your story.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“Please. I’d love to help. I just . . . your books have helped me when things haven’t been so great in my life. I’d lose myself in them. I’ve read them several times. To help you in any way, would be amazing.”
“I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.” Caley slipped her hand around Marisol’s arm. “Marisol, I think you are my new best friend.”
24
Marisol was riding a high as they drove home.
“Can you believe Caley wants my help? Mine? And she’s sending her manuscript to me so I can beta read for her?” She jumped up and down in the seat.
“Whoa. No jumping around while I’m driving.” Linc shot his arm out to hold her against the seat, shooting her a firm look.
She sighed at him. “Daddy, we’re not even on the road. I don’t even need to wear a seatbelt.”
“You most certainly do. I catch you without one and you’ll get a spanking every night for a week.”
Uh-huh. She didn’t think so. Linc could never spank her that much. And she could barely feel the one she’d had this morning.
“You think I won’t do it? I will. And before you tell me that one this morning didn’t hurt that bad, that was just a light reminder. It wasn’t a proper spanking.”
It wasn’t?
Hmm.
“Sit in your seat. Seems I do need to order the full car seat for you.”
“You do not!” Bad enough she was getting a booster, but a proper seat with harness was not going to happen. Was it? She shot him a sideways glance.