Page 13 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

That's what the rash looked like to her. Especially during a bad flare-up. When the rash was a deep red. No doubt he thought she was crazy. Or on drugs.

“I wish I'd known you had flare-ups. We’ll be much more careful in the future. Doc Bradford wants to see you once your fever’s gone. He has tests he wants to run.”

Her heart leaped. Did he think they had a future? Even though she warned herself not to get excited, she couldn’t help it, at least a little bit.

Wait. He thought he was taking her to see the doctor again? And for more expensive tests?

“No,” she said, trying her best not to panic. The last thing she needed to do right now was make her flare-up worse. “No doctors.”

There was no way she could afford the doctor's visit that had already occurred. She certainly couldn’t pay for another one. She had no idea what she would do, but she couldn’t let him take her to the doctor.

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Instead, he took a slow breath. “First, you do not tell Daddy no. That is against your rules?—”

“No rules! Too many.”

“We’ll get you a book of your own. You can write lines in it, too, which is what you’ll be doin’ the next time you interrupt Daddy.”

Her cheeks flushed. She needed to be nicer. He was doing so much for her, and she was being a pain in the butt. He’d be happy to get rid of her if she kept this up.

Staring at her lap as if she had just discovered it, she said, “Sorry.”

“I’m sorry, who?” he asked. He raised his hand to stop her from answering. “I don’t want you to answer that now, but once your throat is better, you’ll say, ‘Sorry, Daddy’. Understood?”

Her gaze shot to his. He wanted her to call him Daddy? Out loud?

Wide-eyed, she replied even though he’d told her not to. “Sorry… D-Daddy? ”

“I said when your throat is better, little gypsy.” Yet, he smiled at her words, melting her heart.

She’d lived with Eddie for two years. He told her he was a Daddy Dom, but he hadn’t been one.

He didn’t want her to call him Daddy, even in private.

But he certainly wanted someone to cook and clean.

And other things . For the past year, other things were off the table, and he didn’t care.

In fact, he barely noticed because he’d found someone else to get those other things .

She was so foolish. Who wouldn’t recognize that for the glaring red flag it was?

“Thank you, babygirl. I like the sound of that. Now, tell Daddy why you don’t want to go to the doctor.”

It wasn’t a question of not wanting to. It was a question of signing her death warrant if she did.

Hers and how many others? Eddie and his crew would find her eventually.

She couldn’t let that happen while she was here in Wilder.

Everyone she met here was so kind. She owed it to them, and especially to Chance, to disappear as soon as she could.

But she couldn’t tell her Daddy that. So instead, she whispered, “No money.”

He nodded. “I thought that might be it. Here’s the thing, darlin’. The fact you had a flare-up is on me. If you’d spent the night here, you might never have gotten sick at all. So, covering any costs for getting you well is on me, too.”

He truly was a wonderful Daddy. A really good man, period. “Not true.”

“It’s true if I say it’s true. That’s a Daddy privilege. If that’s all you’re worried about, problem solved.”

The sparkle in his eyes when he thought he’d won a disagreement sent a delightful tingling through her tummy. And in areas further down. It was all she could do to keep from squirming.

“No need. Lost card.” She cut herself off when he snapped fully alert. Did he think she was stupid? Or worse, that she was asking for a handout?

“What?”

She shook her head and would have refused to answer. But she didn’t think his pointed glance at her naughty girl book was an accident.

Slumping lower, she confessed to him just how absent-minded she was. “Lost credit card,” she whispered.

He snapped to attention. “When was that, gypsy?”

She held up one finger. “Before Friendsgiving.”

His eyes held a different kind of spark now. Not exactly angry, but close to it. “The day before the Friendsgiving. Where were you when you noticed you’d lost your credit card?”

“Here.”

“Fuck.”

Wow. He was really upset with her. Sure, she had been careless. Even though she had tried hard not to use it, she hadn’t actually used it at all. She didn’t understand why he was so upset. She canceled it as soon as she got back to the shelter, when she realized what had happened.

Before she could ask, he took out his phone and made a call. “Kaya, this is Chance Daniels. Put me through to the sheriff, please. Thanks.”

What in the world? Why would he involve the sheriff? That was the last thing she needed. He was going to get her killed. Maybe get them all killed.

As if he could read her mind, he said, “If anyone used your card here in Wilder, the people you’re running from can find you.”

Oh no. Oh God! She had worked so hard not to use her card. How could she not have realized that if someone stole it, they might be able to access it?

She had to leave—now. There was no time to waste. Struggling with the covers, she fought her way to the edge of the bed .

A hand clamped down on her leg, holding her in place. “Do not move,” he said, before turning back to his phone. “Hello, Sam? I think we might have a problem.”