Page 77 of Before You Can Blink
Before I could join her, the phone rang. I frowned, my gaze volleying between the wall-mounted handset and my frantic wife in the yard. She needed me, but no one would be calling at this hour if it wasn’t important.
Grabbing the receiver, I barked, “Yeah?”
“Hey, Jett,” the feminine voice on the other end of the line said in greeting.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Caroline, we’re a little busy over here right now. Can I call you—”
Before I could finish, she cut me off. “You wouldn’t happen to be lookin’ for Tripp, now would you?”
She had my attention now. “Uh, yeah.” How could she have possibly known?
“Then I suppose you’re not too busy for me to tell you I found him curled up in bed with Penny this morning when I went to wake her for school.”
All the air in my lungs rushed out as relief crashed over me. “You’re kidding.”
“He’s safe and sound and eating his weight in pancakes. Tell Daisy I’ll bring him over in a bit and not to worry.”
“Too little, too late for that,” I grumbled. “Thanks for calling and letting us know, Caroline.”
“Sure thing,” she chirped before hanging up.
Immediately, I marched out the back door, hollering, “Daze!”
Daisy whipped around. “Did you find him?”
I shook my head. “No, but Caroline did.”
“Caroline?”
It took all my effort not to roll my eyes. “He must’ve snuck over to their house in the middle of the night.”
“But he’s okay?” she pressed.
“He’s fine.” Though I couldn’t promise that would hold true once I got my hands on him. The kid had scared his mama half to death—me too, for that matter—and there needed to be repercussions. I couldn’t allow him to think that wandering off without telling anyone was acceptable behavior.
Daisy sagged in my arms. “Oh, thank God.”
“You know I’m gonna have to punish him, right?”
With our chests pressed flush, I felt the weight of her heavy exhale. “Yeah, I know.”
“He needs clear boundaries, Daze, and if you’re not going to set them, I guess it’s up to me to become the bad guy.”
Blue eyes lifted to meet mine. “It’s just—”
“He’s your baby.” I’d heard that sentiment fall from her lips one too many times. “But I need him to be more than that. He can’t take over running this ranch if you never stop holding his hand, if he never learns the value of hard work.”
“You’re right,” she agreed.
I bent down to brush my lips over hers. “Have a good day at school, and make sure Tripp knows when he gets home, I’ll come retrieve him for chores.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “All right.”
I gave her a squeeze. “Don’t fret too hard about it, honey. I’ll teach him to ride when he’s not busy earning his keep.”
“Cowboy in training?” she teased, arching an eyebrow.
“Something like that.” Husky laughter rolled up from my chest.
