Teddie smiled back.
* * *
Later, Parker knocked at the door and Teddie let him in.
“Your hair’s down,” Teddie said. “I didn’t notice before. Gosh, it’s long!”
“Warrior hair,” he teased. “It’s my ‘medicine.’ I’ve never cut it, except once.”
Teddie’s eyes asked the question.
“When my mother died,” he said softly. “It’s an old way of expressing grief.”
“Gosh,” she said, fascinated. “Well, I’m glad it grew back. It’s beautiful!”
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. “You’re good for my ego.”
She made a face at him.
“Sandwiches and coffee,” Katy said, bringing out a platter of them and going back for the coffeepot. The small table was already set. “Teddie, want a sandwich?”
“No, thanks. I have to finish my homework,” she moaned.
“Feel okay now?” Katy asked gently.
She nodded. “I was just a little scared. He’s a very big wolf.”
“He’s a big baby,” Parker said as he took off his jacket and sat down at the table. “Sarge loves him to death.”
“I guess he’s just scary to people who don’t know him,” Teddie amended.
He smiled. “I’ll take you over to Sarge’s one day and you can get acquainted. He likes people. Loves girls.”
She laughed. “That’s a deal. I’ll go do that horrible math.”
“Math is not horrible,” Parker pointed out. “It’s the basis of all engineering.”
“I don’t want to be an engineer. I want to fly jet planes. Fighter planes!”
He rolled his eyes. “And here I’m teaching you to ride horses!”
“One step at a time,” Teddie said with a grin. She turned and went down the hall to her room.
“Fighter planes.” Parker shook his head as he bit into a sandwich.
“She’s adventurous,” Katy said, nibbling at a sandwich of her own.
“When I was her age, I wanted to be a cowboy and live on a ranch,” he said.
Both eyebrows went up.
“Of course, when I was a little older than her, I was a cowboy and lived on a ranch.” He chuckled, swallowing down a bite of sandwich with coffee. “Coffee’s good,” he said as he put the cup down. “Most people don’t get it strong enough.”
She laughed. “I like a spoon to stick up in mine.”
“Me, too.”
“You wanted to be a cowboy, but you already were one,” she prompted.