Page 180 of Cowboy Daddies

“It’s my thinking swing. Papa is gonna hire another nanny and I don’t need one. I’m old enough to look after myself.”

“How old are you? Four?” she asked.

“I’m seven!”

“Huh. You seem short.”

“I’m not short!”

The kid was definitely about to blow. She should probably ease off and give him the swing. But Casey always liked to take the hard route. At least that’s what her granny used to say.

“Do you know how to do rock, paper, scissors?” she asked.

“Pfft. Everyone knows how to do that,” he replied dismissively.

“Cool. We’ll play for the swing.”

“Shouldn’t you just give it to me?” he asked. “My mama died.”

“My mama is dead too,” she told him. “I miss her a lot.”

Ever since Mama died, Casey’s life had been chaotic. A father who yelled, brothers who didn’t understand her, and her grandparents had lived hours away.

“Oh, sorry. It’s hard,” he said, his hands dropping to his sides.

“Sure is. You know, I could give you the swing but wouldn’t it be more fun to win it from me?” she asked.

What are you doing, Casey? He’s a sad, lonely kid.

But she was a sad, lonely adult and this was the most she’d talked to anyone in weeks.

Pathetic?

It sure was.

He tilted his head to the side. “You got any more candy?”

She glanced at the lollipop in her hand. “Yep.”

“Grape ones?”

“Of course I’ve got grape. What sort of question is that?” She swore that she saw his lips twitch. But his small face scrunched back into a frown so quickly that she guessed she was mistaken.

Reaching into her jacket pocket she drew out several more lollipops.

“Whoa. You carry candy around in your pocket?” the kid asked.

“You don’t?”

“My papa wouldn’t let me.”

“Yeah, parents are rough like that. Always telling you to not eat too much sugar or your teeth will rot. Pfft.” She showed him her teeth. “See? Perfect teeth. And I’ve never gone to the dentist.”

His eyes widened. “Never?”

“Well, not since I became an adult. And I’m fine. It’s all a myth.”

She did have that one tooth in the back of her mouth that was kind of disintegrating. But it didn’t hurt so she was ignoring it. There was no evidence it was due to her sugar consumption. Maybe she’d hurt it eating an apple.