She loved living here, in their little cabin. Bear had told her that they could move into a bigger one, but she didn’t really want to. This place was cozy and sweet. Bear worked a lot during the day, but when he came home, he gave all of his attention to her. It was amazing. She’d been so lonely, starved for affection and now she had all the attention she could desire.
She hadn’t been able to patch things up with her parents, but at least she’d tried. And she had a new family now.
“All right, so back to your glasses. Did you go anywhere else after I brought you back here from visiting Doc?”
She sighed. “I went to visit the horses, but only for a little while.”
“Is that so?” he drawled.
Uh-oh.
“Someone tattled, didn’t they? Who was it? Linc?”
“It doesn’t matter who. I told you to take a nap. How long after I put you down did you get up and go down to the stables?”
“I didn’t look at the time, Daddy.”
He snorted. “I bet you didn’t. That was naughty of you, Ellie.”
“I wasn’t tired, Daddy. I just wanted to go give Eagle a few treats.” Eagle was Bear’s horse and she loved him. But Bear wouldn’t let her ride him. He wanted her to learn to ride on a gentler horse. She didn’t think Eagle would like her riding another horse, though.
“He’s going to get fat on all the treats you give him,” he said dryly.
“He gets lonely. He likes me visiting.”
“He does. And you can visit whenever you like. But only if I haven’t given you orders to rest or stay in the cabin.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter of the small kitchen area. They didn’t cook in here, but took all their meals in the main dining hall, which was just as well since she was such a terrible cook. “And only if you dress appropriately and stick to the main paths. No wandering off.”
“I didn’t wander off,” she protested.
“Clint is threatening to put a GPS tracker on you,” he told her. “I’m in agreement.”
“Get lost a few times and suddenly everyone wants to track you.” She threw her hands up in the air.
“A few times? You’ve been here for less than three weeks and you’ve wandered off five times!”
“I’m sure I’ll get better at navigating my way around.”
He pointed a finger at her. “I’m not so sure. Do you remember your rules about walking around the ranch?”
“I have to keep to the main paths and carry my cell phone everywhere,” she replied.
A sudden knock on the door had her turning with a gasp. She looked down at herself. She was dressed in the onesie Bear had ordered for her online. It had just arrived today. It was grey and white; the hood had a pair of ears and a rabbit face. It even had a fluffy tail at the back.
Lots of adults wore onesies like this nowadays. Of course, they didn’t all have back flaps that made it easier for Daddy to reach her bottom. But the
person at the door didn’t need to know that.
She still blushed slightly as Bear opened the door. Linc stood on the other side.
“Linc,” Bear said with a nod.
“Hey, Bear. Found these down by Eagle’s stall. Figured your girl might need them.” Linc handed Bear a pair of glasses and looked down at her with a smile. “Hey there, sweetheart. You look cute tonight.”
She smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
“Thanks, Linc. Appreciate it.”
“No problem.”