Page 41 of Ranch Rules

“Now, lie down and I’ll tell you a story,” Thomas said as he sat down on the bed beside her.

Any other time, she would have laughed at the absurdity of it, but in this moment she couldn’t imagine anything more perfect. “Yes, please.” She gazed up at him adoringly.

“Once upon a time, there was a pretty lawyer who met a cowboy.”

Natalie giggled.

“Now, the cowboy could tell that this pretty lady was a very good girl, deep down inside.”

“Oh, deep down, huh?”

Thomas lightly tapped her nose. “Hush and listen.”

She snuggled deeper under the covers.

“But sometimes, this good girl needed help being good.”

“So he helped her?”

He mock scowled at her. “Hey, who’s telling this story?”

“Sorry.”

“Hmph. Anyway, so the cowboy would help her, because he wanted her to see herself like he saw her. He knew that she was brave, and strong, and smart. But he also knew that she was very sad.”

“Sad?” Natalie’s brow furrowed.

“Yep. She was lonely, so she surrounded herself by law books and more work than she could possibly handle on her own. But none of this made the loneliness go away.”

“What happened next?”

“Well, the cowboy just knew that if he could show her what a good girl she was, she wouldn’t have to be sad anymore. So the cowboy became her daddy and she became his little girl.”

Natalie sucked in her breath. There was that term again.

“And they lived happily ever after,” he said. Thomas stood up, as though to leave.

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

Natalie pushed herself up in bed, not even sure what to ask. She kept her eyes focused on the comforter as she considered her question. “What does that mean?”

“What? They lived happily ever after?”

She rolled her eyes skyward as a grin tugged at the corners of her lips. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Okay. What then?”

He wasn’t going to actually make her say it, was he? She felt silly enough as it was! “You know. The part you said... about the little girl.”

“Ah. Well, that’s gonna take a bit of explainin’.”

She shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve got nothing but time.”

Thomas chuckled. “I reckon that’s true on your account, but the same can’t be said for me.”

Her eyes rolled again. “Fine, give me the abridged version.”

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