Page 15 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

A s Chance guided his naughty little gypsy toward the couch, someone knocked on the door and cracked it open before Chance could tell them to stay out.

Doc Bradford poked his head in. Sizing up the situation, he asked, “Am I preventing you from something?”

The doctor had practiced medicine in Wilder long enough to known exactly what he’d interrupted, namely Chance’s wrath descending on his naughty girl’s ass by way of his palm.

He had no doubt the man had seen his fair share of reddened backsides.

It was probably for the best. Once his gypsy had been checked over, he’d feel better about turning her over his knee.

Glaring down at Joy, he made sure she understood this was not a reprieve. “Not preventing, Doc, just postponing. Come on in.”

Eyes twinkling, the doctor crossed the room. “This shouldn’t take too long. It looks like she’s doing well. Let’s get her on the bed so I can examine her.”

“That’s all right. I’m feeling all better now,” Joy said, throwing Chance a look of triumph. Minx .

That was all right. He cast a sideways glance at her naughty girl book. The shiver that ran through her at that made him smile. Maybe a spanking wasn’t what was called for right now. He didn’t want to trigger another flare-up, just get her attention and make her regret her bad choices.

He had other, much more creative ways to do that. Once she was settled on the bed, he crossed to the closet and retrieved his play bag. Yes, it was time to teach her a lesson and see how compatible he and his gypsy were.

It had been a dealbreaker every time he’d tried with the Little’s he’d been attracted to. His ropes stripped away their sense of safety and control. Most Littles didn’t enjoy the experience. He had a feeling his Little gypsy might be different.

At least, he hoped so because he was falling for her, fast and hard, and he needed to pull back on the reins if she couldn’t deal with rope play. It was a part of him he wasn’t sure he could live without and be happy. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

“I think she’s doing well,” Doc said after he finished his exam.

“She seems to be on track, and she knows what to look for as far as symptoms go. I still want to perform an ultrasound of her heart and an ECG. Mainly to establish a baseline for her, so I’ll know where her norms are.

That way, I’ll be able to catch any changes in the future. ”

Chance hoped there would be a future. He guessed he’d find out soon.

Not as soon as he would have liked, as it turned out.

Once Doc Bradford left, Kenzie called to let him know the sheriff was waiting downstairs with questions for Joy about her situation.

Chance wanted the same thing. “Tell him we’ll be right down, tiger,” he said before turning to his babygirl. “How are you feeling, little one?”

“I’m okay. I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

He helped her dress in one of the new outfits Kenzie and Tilde had helped him find online.

“We’ll work that out later. Right now, I need to tell you that outfit looks adorable on you, Gypsy.

White with all those sequins makes you look like a Little snow bunny.

Now we need to hop downstairs and meet with the sheriff. ”

“Wh-why are we meeting with him? Am I in trouble? Well, more trouble.”

“I don’t think so. Should you be?”

If she shook her head any harder, it would fall off her shoulders. “All right, babygirl. I believe you. I think he wants to find out the details of what happened and how you came about losing your credit card.”

He hadn’t asked her again since he had called Sam earlier.

He figured if it were a problem, Sam would call him back.

Truth be told, the fact that Sam drove out all this way had him concerned, too.

But there was no need to make his Little girl any more nervous than she already was.

If there was a problem, he would take care of it before it could affect her.

Downstairs, Chance greeted his friend before sitting in the armchair across from Sam and settling Joy on his lap. He thought he could trust his friend, but he wasn't willing to take risks when it came to his girl. “Mornin’, Sam. What brings you all this way?”

Sam nodded and got right to business. “When you called me about the missing credit card, the first thing I did was put a call in to Detective James.

He was, of course, concerned about what that might mean for Miss Joy and her safety.

He said he wanted to check a few things out and he'd call me back.”

“Well, I don't see a problem so far. So why the visit?” Chance wanted to get this over and done with so he could get his girl back upstairs for a nap. Doc Bradford might have said she was doing fine, but that didn't mean she still didn't need her rest.

“I got a callback today from the detective. He mentioned there were some ‘grave concerns’ because her credit card was used once before she cancelled it. He's afraid that means the people she's running from might have a way of tracking her down.”

Joy stiffened in his lap then attempted to jump down.

“Whoa, little girl. You aren't goin’ anywhere. The sheriff and I are going to take care of this. I don't want you worryin’ about anything but getting better. The rest of it is my job now.” Turning to the sheriff, he added, “I want to bring Grant in on this. He’ll want to be up to speed on anything that could affect the ranch. ”

In the end, the whole family joined them. His gypsy shrank back against him. She would have burrowed under him if she could have. It would have been nice if she’d been able to meet them before having to talk about her past, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

Best to make introductions. “First of all, everyone, this is Joy. She’s staying with us for the foreseeable future, and she’s under my protection. You just treat her as part of the family.”

She squeezed his arm. “No one is going to want someone like me as part of the family.”

Tilting Joy’s chin up, he forced her to meet his gaze. “Do you remember what I said about lying?”

Her pupils were dilated, and her breathing was rapid and shallow.

He needed to calm her down before she hyperventilated.

Resting his forehead against hers so his face was all she could see, he lowered his voice.

“Listen to me, Little gypsy. I am right here. I will not leave you. I will not let anyone say anything to upset you. You are safe here, and my family is going to love you. The people in this room are only here to help. Right now, we need information only you can give us. So, I need you to be brave for just a little while longer. Then we will go back upstairs together. Deal?”

She searched his eyes as he held his breath. He wasn’t sure what they would do if she couldn’t talk to them. What he did know was her mental and physical health came first, so if they had to figure out a plan B, they would .

Whatever she was searching for, she must have found it. She nodded, and he swayed his head with hers, unwilling to break the skin-to-skin contact with her. “I may have to squeeze your finger.”

He held up his pointer finger and smiled. “One finger, at your disposal, gypsy.”

She had a surprisingly firm grip, but he didn’t say a word. He had a friend whose finger was crooked because he had tried the same move with his wife while she was in labor with their first child. Hopefully, his finger would fare better.

“All right, Sam. I think we’re ready. What is it you want to know?”

Pulling out a small, beat-up notebook, Sam said, “Well, there’s no better place to start than the beginning. Miss Joplin, can you tell me what happened that sent you running from the only place you’ve ever called home?”

Joy nodded. Her whole body trembled. The pulse in her neck ticked much faster than it should. She glanced over at the others sitting around the room.

If they had known each other longer, he would have blindfolded and bound her.

By the time he finished, she would feel secure and cradled.

But he couldn’t do that yet. So he said, “Eyes to me, little one. You keep your eyes on me. We are the only two people in the room. Now, tell Daddy what happened that forced you to leave Texas.”

She never took her eyes off him. Trying to smile, she answered his question.

“I’m the only person in the world who can get lost in my own hometown.”

That was not what he had expected. “You left because you got lost?”

He must have looked as confused as he sounded because her smile reached her eyes.

“In a manner of speaking. I only wanted one more good picture of the light from the streetlights sparkling off the wet pavement downtown. It had rained, and the reflection off the puddles was beautiful. Well, that and to jump in a few of the puddles.” She stopped speaking, and her smile faded.

“It didn’t seem like too much to ask. It was late, well past midnight, but I wasn’t worried.

Well, not too much. It wasn’t like I had anyone to go home to.

Eddie was always out until the wee hours of the morning.

Besides, Nameless is a small, peaceful town. ”

She fell silent, so Chance asked the one question he wanted the answer to. More than he should, probably. “Who is Eddie, and why were you livin’ with him?”

Her cheeks flushed with color. “His name is Eddie Sharp. He was supposed to be my husband and my Daddy. But after two years, we never got around to the first, and he couldn’t have been the second if he tried.

Which he didn’t. What he wanted was a live-in cook and maid.

” She shuddered, and when she spoke again, it was in a whisper. “And he was mean.”

Chance would have said he knew what rage felt like. But until that moment, he did not. In that moment, his mind sheeted white, and it took all he could do not to leave right then for Nameless, Texas, and teach Eddie a few pain-filled lessons on how to treat a precious gift like Joy.