Page 213 of Cowboy Daddies

“Not cool,” she said. “Billy needs to learn that lying and being a bully are not okay.”

“Well, his father probably won’t teach him that. He’s been a bully since we were kids,” Jeb muttered as Billy and his parents left the building.

Maurice shot them all a dirty look.

“Hey, Casey?” Wyatt said.

“Yes, sugar?” she asked.

He grinned. “I got a question.”

Oh, he was probably wondering what she was doing with his father.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“How come you only have one sandal on?”

Well. Hell. She kept forgetting about that.

Jeb picked her up with his hands around her waist and lifted her into the passenger seat.

“Casey, you’re not supposed to be walking around barefoot. In fact, I believe I told you to stay in the truck.”

“Yeah, but I got bored.”

“You didn’t even wait for thirty seconds,” Jeb said dryly.

Casey shrugged. “I have a short attention span.”

“Your bandage is all dirty,” he pointed out.

“What happened to her foot, Papa?” Wyatt asked.

“An incident with hot coffee,” he explained.

“He crashed into me,” Casey added. “It was his coffee that burned me.”

Jeb let out a loud sigh. “Right. Let’s go.” He did up her belt and shut her door.

Wyatt got into the back seat and she turned to him as he buckled in.

“I think the principal made your dad’s stomach queasy too. Think I should offer him candy?”

“Probably best not to.”

Jeb climbed in and gave them a suspicious look. “What are the two of you talking about?”

“Nothing.” Casey gave him a big smile. “So, can I go back to the motel now or are you gonna kidnap me and take me somewhere else? If you are, could it be somewhere fun like the ice cream shop?”

“Ooh, I like ice cream.”

“What’s your favorite flavor, sugar?” Casey asked, turning to look back at Wyatt.

“I like cookies and cream,” Wyatt told her.

“Good choice. I’m a fan of butter pecan.”

“Nobody is getting ice cream,” Jeb said. “And that’s final.”