The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch by Cheryl Gorman

chest. He'd missed so
much. Why hadn’t he returned to Chimney Rock sooner? He had no one to blame but
himself.
    "Did she throw up
anymore after I left?" Lexie asked.
    "A couple of times then
it was over.” Thank God. He didn’t know if he could have stood much more. Watching
his little girl heave and not being able to stop it had made him feel helpless.
He considered himself anything but helpless and never wanted to feel that way
again.   
    Mitch slid Dani gently out
of his arms then tucked her under the covers. With just the tip of his index
finger he brushed her bangs from her forehead and laid a gentle kiss on her
brow. "I love you, Dani," he said in a whisper.
    Her eyes fluttered open for
a moment and her mouth lifted in a brief smile before she fell back to sleep. Mitch
gazed at his daughter with wonder and love nearly bursting from his heart. How
could he not love her?
    Lexie placed a scarf over
Dani’s bedside lamp to soften the light. She looked at Dani, her eyes awash
with love then leaned over and gave her a kiss. Dani shifted slightly under the
covers and sighed. Lexie smiled then straightened and motioned for Mitch to
follow. He shook his head and whispered, "I want to show you something.”
    As if it were the most
natural thing in the world, he took Lexie’s hand in his. She tried to pull away
but he held on and led her to a small cork board hanging on the wall in Dani’s
room. A crayon drawing of a family was tacked to the board.
    Beside the stick figure that
represented Mitch she’d written, "My new daddy.” On the figure for Lexie
she’d dressed her in a wedding gown complete with veil and a bouquet. Mitch
looked at Lexie.
    She gave him a slanted look
and pulled her hand from his. "Let’s go downstairs where we can talk."
    When they stepped out into
the hall, Lexie closed the door to Dani’s bedroom but left it slightly ajar. Without
looking at Mitch, she turned and headed down the stairs.
    Mitch followed her into the
kitchen where she washed her hands in the sink. He walked up beside her and
leaned the small of his back against the counter with his arms crossed over his
chest. She balled up the dish towel in one hand then glanced at him, her mouth
set in a grim line, her eyes brimming with irritation.
    "If you’ve got something
to say, Lexie, go ahead and say it."
    She threw the towel into the
dish rack, straightened her shoulders and looked at him. "Fine. I hope you
didn't give her any unnecessary encouragement where that drawing is concerned."
    His temper flared but he held
it in check. "For the last time, I’m not here to hurt my daughter."
    She paced to the breakfast
table, turned and glared at him. "She thinks we’re going to get married,"
she said in a cool voice tinged with exasperation. "You saw the picture."
    To be honest, he'd barely
glanced at the stick figure bride. His focus had zeroed in on the words my
new daddy . "You’re making too much out of this. I think she hopes we
might get married. When she sees that isn’t going to happen she’ll accept it."
    "How do you know?”  Contempt
radiated through her voice.   "You just got here. You know nothing about
Dani.” She jabbed a finger into the middle of her chest. "But I do. When
she sets her mind on something she doesn’t let up."
    Her cold criticism irked the
hell out of him. "Why don’t you just kick me in the balls and be done with
it?"
    Lexie rolled her eyes and walked
over to him. "You don’t get it do you?"
    "Oh, I get it all right.
You think I’m an unfeeling bastard who wants to crush his little girl’s heart
under my boot heel."
    A cynical smile trembled
over her lips. "You have no idea what it’s like to try and make up for
your child’s disappointments.
    He gripped her upper arms
and stared into her eyes. "Give me a chance to try."
    She shrugged out of his hold.
"Dani holds on to her disappointments. When she realizes there isn’t going
to be a happily ever after family between the three of us, her heart