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His must have done the same. He smashed his against the hot cheeks of her ass and erupted inside her.

Once they came down, he brushed her hair from her face. “Are you all right?”

“No,” she answered, and he stiffened.

“What’s wrong. Did I hurt you?”

“No,” she repeated. “I’m not good. I’m freakin’ amazing.”

Chuckling, he pulled out of her. “Stay still. I’ll be right back.” He returned with a warm rag and, after cleaning her up, settled them both in bed.

“Your soul with mine for eternity, babygirl. Our love will outlast the universe itself.” And she knew in her soul he was right.

He’d scolded her. He’d spanked her. He’d healed her.

She wasn’t naive enough to think all her problems would disappear. She’d had a tough life, but she was a tough girl. Boone spooned behind her, still naked and holding her, watching over her as she drifted off to sleep.

And hours later, he was still there, watching over her when she woke.

CHAPTER 15

As far as ways to be woken up before the sun went, having sexy lips from an even sexier cowboy was a pretty good one. And when that cowboy was your Daddy made it even better. “Today’s the big day, babygirl. Time to rise and shine.”

After one more kiss, Boone pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. Tildi squealed and tried to yank the covers back up, then realized the room was already warm. The aroma of warm apple cinnamon rolls filled the room, and she spied a steaming cup of coffee milk waiting for her.

“How long have you been up, Daddy? It’s still dark outside.” Not that anyone on a ranch went by that. By the time the sun made an appearance, breakfast was cooked, the animals fed and watered, the stall’s hay freshened, and who knew what else.

“Not too long.” He ruffled her hair and smiled. “Let’s get you dressed. Then we’ll eat and watch the snow coming down.”

Tildi sat up and looked at the window, shooting to her feet with a wince when her bottom pressed against the mattress. Man, her rear end was sore.

She sent a glare to her Daddy that said, “My bottom is sore and it’s all your fault.”

He raised her glare with one of his own that said, “The only one to blame for your sore rear is you. And if you don’t want a repeat of last night, you’d better check your attitude.”

Geez! Daddies sure could say a lot with their eyes. It seemed prudent to change the topic of unspoken conversation. Besides, there was snow to be watched and copious amounts of coffee milk to drink. Not to mention warm sweet rolls to consume. She grinned and darted toward her closet.

“Don’t run in the house,” Boone yelled.

Daddies were also overprotective. This was justified running because it was snowing. Sure, she’d seen it snow before, but that was Tennessee snow and Northeastern snow. This was Wyoming snow.

She pulled on a brown shirt that saidLittle Miss Gobble till you Wobbleon the front and matching cream leggings with ruffles at the bottom. Eight hundred thousand centuries later, she sat in the lounge next to the kitchen. It was her favorite place so far, other than her bedroom. The lounge had a huge picture window, perfect for watching fat flakes of snow cascading down to play with all their friends already blanketing the ground. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

Before long Boone brought them both one of those huge cinnamon rolls to eat. They talked about the day to come and all the people who would be there. Knowing Ruby and Kenzie were already hard at work, Tildi ate as fast as she could, intent on helping in the kitchen.

After telling her to slow down twice, Boone took her plate and fed her himself.

He told her all the things he’d already done that morning. Honestly, Boone and his brothers did more before breakfast than most people did all day. She got tired just listening to him.

As soon as the holidays were over, she was going to ask Daddy to show her how to do some of those chores. He mightnot expect her to pitch in, but this was going to be her home, too. That meant she wanted to do whatever she could to help him. She was a fantastic helper.

As soon as she swallowed her last bite, they headed to the kitchen to put their plates in the sink. But before they reached the kitchen, they heard raised voices. What in the world?

Boone held her back when she tried to dash to see what all the commotion was about. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he lifted her off the floor. “Hold your horses, bluebell. We’ll find out what’s goin’ on soon enough.”

Chance’s voice, loud and laced with anger, echoed through the kitchen. “What the hell are you and your thugs doing here?”

Oh dear, that didn’t sound good at all.