Page 46 of Lay Down the Law

CHAPTER 8

Nick’s heart stopped dead in his chest when he saw Stephanie in the round pen astride Bandito, with Erin walking alongside. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The horse was walking fast enough to seriously injure Stephanie if she lost her balance and fell.

How could Erin act so irresponsibly?

He brought the truck to a skidding halt in front of the barn, out of sight from the pen. Throwing open the door, he hit the ground running. By the time he entered the barn, he was breathless not only from the short run, but from the burgeoning anger that had his pulse racing like hot mercury through his veins.

Nick had always prided himself on control. A father at the age of twenty-nine, he’d trained himself to keep his emotions in check, keep a constant grip on his temper. But as he watched Erin lead the horse through the rear door of the barn with his little girl astride, his temper ignited.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

Erin stopped, her gaze wary and level on Nick. “I was—”

“Don’t be mad, Dad.”

Stephanie’s words struck him like a stinging lash. Nick looked at his daughter and felt the fist of emotion lodged in his chest tighten even more. “I’m not angry with you, Steph.”

“Don’t be mad at Erin, either,” she said. “She didn’t do anything wrong. Riding Bandito was my idea.”

Shaking with the remnants of fear and a powerful anger he hadn’t been prepared for, Nick approached the horse slowly and reached for Stephanie. “Come here.” He dragged her into his arms. Her little-girl scent surrounded him like a soft cloud. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Dad, I’m okay. Geez, we were just walking.”

He closed his eyes against the ensuing burst of emotion. He wouldn’t let this innocent child be hurt. Not again. Certainly not by a reckless adult.

“You smell like Bandito,” he said.

Stephanie grinned. “I like the way he smells.”

Not wanting her to notice his state of mind, he forced a smile. “Go inside and ask Mrs. T. to fix a pot of coffee for me, would you, honeybunch?”

The little girl eyed him suspiciously. “You’re going to yell at Erin, aren’t you?”

He heard the woman in question behind him, putting Bandito into his stall, but Nick didn’t look at her. He wasn’t sure what it would do to him if he did. He was angry and wanted to stay that way. “Erin and I are going to have a talk.”

“About what?”

“About boundaries and responsibility.” Carrying Stephanie over to the wheelchair, he settled her in the seat. “Tell Em I’ll be inside in a few minutes.”

Stephanie looked past him toward Erin. Nick didn’t miss the quick, uncertain smile, or the spark of newfound respect in his little girl’s eyes. It had been a long time since Steph had smiled at anyone but him and Mrs. T—and she didn’t do it nearly often enough to suit him. He wondered how Erin McNeal had managed to reach her in such a short period of time.

“I gotta go,” Stephanie said to Erin “Sorry you got all sweaty and dirty.”

Erin looked down at her uniform. “Hey, a little dust never hurt anyone.”

Ignoring Erin as best he could, Nick helped his daughter maneuver the wheelchair around, then watched her disappear through the door. Aware that his heart rate was dangerously high, he closed the door behind him and turned to face Erin.

In keeping with her tough-guy image, she raised her chin. “This isn’t as…premeditated as it looks.”

He started toward her. “Really?”

She stepped back. “Stephanie came to the station asking for you. She skipped school and needed a ride home. You were at the courthouse, so I drove her home. One thing led to another and—”

“One thing led to another?” Nick barely recognized his own voice. “That’s a lame excuse, don’t you think?”

“It’s the truth.”

“Just who do you think you are, walking into my home and endangering my daughter like that?”