Page 21 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

L unch on Sundays was Chance’s favorite meal of the week.

On Sunday, the entire family, those related by kinship and those related by friendship, all gathered together around the table to enjoy the food and fellowship.

He and Joy had missed the past two weeks because she’d been sick, but she’d declared herself “all better,” so they were headed downstairs.

Holding his hand, Joy hopped down the stairs, making sure to land on each step. “Thank you for my new anklet, Daddy. I love tiny bells. They make it sound like my ankle laughs every time I move!”

“I like it, too, babygirl. Every gypsy needs bells on her ankles. How often do gypsies take their anklets off?”

“Never. Once it’s on, it stays forever and always. That way, if they get lost, you can always find me. That’s smart, Daddy.”

He’d been afraid to let her out of his sight since she told him she’d gotten lost in her hometown on multiple occasions.

He could see her wandering off and getting lost in the woods.

The dime-sized charm on her anklet was a micro tracking device.

He could look at his phone and see where she was any time he wanted to .

“‘Bout time you two got down here,” Tanner said, grinning as he set a large tub of ice on a side table by the window. “I thought I was going to have to entertain all the women by myself.”

“You wish,” Trace said. “Are any of those cans cold already?”

Without asking what he wanted, Tanner dug through the tub and tossed Trace a cold beer before grabbing one for himself.

Boone walked in from the front porch, scowling, with Tildi following close behind. The front of Boone’s shirt was soaking wet.

She was trying to blot his shirt with the sleeve of her coat. “I really thought that would work, Daddy. It should have worked. I think there’s something wrong with the thermometer today.”

“What does the thermometer have to do with anything?”

“It was supposed to turn to snow. Really, it was.”

Ruby grabbed a towel and headed their way. “Oh, dear. What happened?”

Before either Boone or Tildi could answer, Kenzie looked up and burst out laughing. “I’m not sure what you were trying to do, Tildi, but great job!”

Chance smiled. It was good to hear his sister laugh.

Chance hadn’t heard that since the Friendsgiving.

He hadn’t even seen his sister smile. Something was wrong, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

He’d been so busy caring for Joy, he hadn’t had time.

He’d find time in the coming week to have a cup of coffee with her to see what was bothering her.

“You can laugh,” Boone groused. “You’re not the one she emptied a water bottle all over.”

“Hush, now,” Ruby scolded. “You’ll hurt her feelings. Here, dry off with this towel and then go get changed. Lunch will be ready in just a few minutes.”

“I’m not going to hurt her feelings. I’m gonna hurt her backside.”

Tildi gasped. “Daddy! Don’t tell everyone that. ”

Boone raised his brows. “And why not, Bluebell?”

Tildi stomped her foot. “Just because! That’s why.”

Joy tucked herself close to his side. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her even closer. Not everyone grew up with a large, loving, insane family like his. But he wouldn’t trade any of them.

When Tildi spotted his Little gypsy, she shook her head. “That was no good, Joy. The water stayed liquid. It didn’t turn to snow at all.”

“I can’t imagine what went wrong. It worked on the TikTok video.”

“I know. I don’t understand, either. We’ll have to watch it again and try it on Trace.”

“Hey! What did I do?”

Tildi grinned at him. “You didn’t do anything. But in the Daddy Dearest Award ceremony we held yesterday, you were voted least likely to spank. So, you’re the safest choice.”

Chance hid his grin. The girls had drastically underestimated Trace. He might be the most easygoing of all the brothers, but when he finally did get angry, everyone needed to dive for cover.

Boone stopped wiping his shirt. “What was I voted?”

Tildi’s eyes grew wide, and Kenzie suddenly became very interested in the potatoes on the stove.

“Oh… um… well, I don’t really ‘member, Daddy. And if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. Probably.”

Chance leaned down to his girl. “You can tell me later, Gypsy,” he whispered.

She shook her head. “That would break the Girl Posse Code, Daddy. Kenzie says what happens between girls stays between girls. My hands are tied.”

“Not yet, Gypsy, but they might be later.”

He loved how responsive she was. Her cheeks always turned the cutest rose color when she was embarrassed .

“Well, we are never going to eat if we don’t get busy,” Rose said.

“Kenzie, the potatoes need a bit more broth. Tildi, the veggies are already chopped. Can you spread them on the roasting sheet and season them?” She turned to Joy.

“And you, Poppet. Can you fix the deviled eggs the way I showed you yesterday?”

Joy nodded, racing toward the kitchen until Chance bit out a sharp, “Walk!”

She didn’t look back, but she did slow down. Shaking his head, he left her in Ruby’s capable hands and went to his office to see what was on the calendar for the upcoming week.

Just as he sat down, his phone rang. Seeing it was Sam, he took the call. It was unusual for the sheriff to call on a Sunday. Best find out what was up. "Hi, Sam. What's going on?"

Sam didn't hesitate. "We have another visitor in town, Chance. Says he needs to see you and Miss Joy. I was hoping Ruby had one of her roasts cooking for Sunday dinner, and we might could impose on your hospitality."

Chance grinned. Sam knew as well as everyone else in the area that Ruby was the best cook in three states. He wasn’t sure his friend’s timing was an accident. "Sam, you're always welcome at our table. You know that. Who's the mysterious visitor?"

"Detective James showed up in my office not ten minutes ago. He has some follow-up questions for Joy he didn't feel comfortable asking over the phone. He'd like to come out and speak with her."

Chance leaned back in his chair and pushed up the brim of his hat. What could the detective possibly need to ask Joy he couldn't have asked over the phone? He guessed he'd find that out soon enough.

"That's not a problem, Sam. You and Detective James are welcome. But if you want any dessert, you’d better head this way. You know how Ruby gets when people come to the table late."

Chance heard the smile in Sam's voice when he said, "Don't want to miss any of Ruby's good cooking, no matter what it is. We're headed that way now."

Chance disconnected the call. He ought to get back to work planning out next week's schedule, but he couldn't get his mind off what kind of questions the detective might need to ask his Little girl.

Was she in some new danger? If that was the case, the detective should've called, not wasted two days driving up here from Texas.

Picking up his phone, he called Boone. "Hey, brother. Just got a call from Sam. He says the detective from Joy's hometown is here and has more questions. Do you think there's anything for me to worry about?"

“I doubt it," Boone said. "He probably just wants more details of what she's already said. Sort of like what Sam did the other night. You need to tell him he's not talking to her without you being present, though, just in case."

"That goes without sayin’. Thanks." He disconnected the call.

The idea that Sam, Detective James, or anyone else would talk to his gypsy without him being there had Chance’s hackles rising. She was such an innocent. The wrong kind of man could lead her into saying anything.

Chance was much harder to lead. It was his job to protect his Little girl from any and all threats. That was a job he took very seriously.

If Detective James wanted to talk one-on-one with someone, that someone was gonna be him.

Twenty minutes later, Chance had the schedule worked out. The dinner bell rang downstairs as he finished, just in time to head to the table.

Joy met him at the bottom of the stairs. "Daddy, I got to ring the bell. Did you hear it?"

She was bouncing with excitement. Then again, Chance had never met a Little yet who could resist ringing the dinner bell .

Smiling down at her, he tapped her nose with his finger. "Well, I'm here, right? You did a great job ringin’ that bell. Now, what was that I heard about Ruby asking you to fix deviled eggs?"

She nodded. “I did, too. I used my own recipe and she said they were amazing.”

She was too damn adorable for words. It took too much effort to resist kissing her, so he didn’t try.

Too soon, they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Although the massive double doors were solid wood, long etched glass windows framed each side, allowing Chance to see he was opening the door for Sam and Detective James.

"Thanks for having us out, Chance," Sam said. "This is Detective Chris James from the Nameless, Texas Police Department."

Chance shook the detective's hand. "You fellows got here just in time. Come join us at the table. You can sit anywhere you like."

"Obliged," the detective said, not waiting for Sam before he headed for the dining room.

Sam threw a look at Chance, as if to say, Texans , before following the detective to the dining room.

When Joy saw Detective James, she flew across the room and threw herself into his arms. "Detective James, you're here! I can't believe you're really here! Wait, is anything wrong?"

It was easy to read the relief the detective felt at finding Joy safe and unharmed. He hugged her just as hard as she hugged him. Too hard in Chance’s opinion.

"It is good to see you, Joy. I can't tell you how worried I've been. When you stopped checking in and stopped taking my calls, I didn't know what to think. I was afraid Eddie or one of his cronies might have caught up with you."

Chance watched a blanket of guilt settle on his Little girl's shoulders. He wasn't going to have anyone making Gypsy feel guilt-ridden. Especially not this guy.

"Well then, Detective," Chance said as he crossed to his girl.

"I guess it's good you only had to suffer a few days before you figured out where she was.

At least, I hope you were the only one who figured that out.

But if this Eddie Sharp thinks he can come on this ranch and hurt Gypsy, he has another thing coming.

I assure you, she's in good hands now. Mine. "

Frowning, Detective James turned his gaze to Chance. After a long pause, the detective smiled. "I see that," he said with a grin. "It looks like she picked the perfect place for a new home."

Chance did not return the man's smile. "It looks like she did."

Sam's gaze bounced between Chance and the detective before stepping in. "Well, now that we have that settled, let's not keep Miss Ruby and the other ladies who made this fine meal wait any longer. Who’s hungry?"

The detective nodded and held out his hand. Chance had lost his appetite.