Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Reassured, Jordi looked around again. “Can I touch things?”
“Of course. I hope you will enjoy playing in here.”
Walking forward, Jordi trailed her fingers over the railing on the large crib. “This looks like it was built for me.”
“It was. Let me put the side down and you can crawl inside,” he suggested as he moved forward. “There. See if you think it’s comfortable.”
“It’s high. I think I need a stepstool to climb up there,” she said, running her hand over the mattress.
“How about a boost from your Daddy,” he offered.
In a flash, she sat inside. “Oh, look!” Jordi scooped up a small stuffed mouse who had sat in the corner waiting for her to find him.
“Fromage has hoped a Little girl would adopt him for a long time.”
“Fromage? Is that French? It sounds fancy,” she questioned as she straightened the mouse’s jaunty bowtie.
“Mais, oui, mademoiselle! Fromage is his favorite food. He likes it so much that I started using that for his name. Can you guess what Fromage likes to eat?”
“Cheese?” she guessed.
“Exactement!” Callen praised her in French, making Jordi giggle with his silly accent.
“I like the name Fromage. It suits him. I can lie down in here and stretch out all the way,” she demonstrated and could just touch the tips of her fingers and toes on the wooden crib. “Am I going to sleep in here the next time I spend the night? You know… If I get invited to spend the night again.”
“You will be here with your Daddy as often as you’ll let me steal you away from your place. I like having you here. Look, there’s a place for you to play, and I even added a TV so you could watch a princess movie if you wanted to in here.”
“That’s fun! Where did you put the remote?”
“The remote is in Daddy’s nightstand. I’ll get it out for you when you have permission to watch a show,” Callen said firmly.
“I have to get permission?”
“Yes. Just in case you’d make a poor decision like watching TV instead of taking a nap.”
“I don’t like naps.”
“That will change. Little girls need lots of rest.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Jordi was prepared to argue with him when she noticed a rocking horse at the side of the room. She pushed herself out of the crib and dashed over to run her hand over the saddle. “Do I get to ride on this?”
“Yes, Sunshine. I thought you might like to be a cowgirl sometimes instead of a princess.”
“A cowgirl needs a hat,” burst out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Sorry, I wasn’t asking for stuff.”
“You simply state the truth. A cowgirl does need a hat.”
Callen opened a door to display a small closet. On the shelf at the top were several types of hats. Before she could figure out what everything was inside, he picked up something brown from the shelf and closed the door. Her Daddy turned around, plopped the hat on her head, and stepped back to see what she looked like.
“Well, miss, I declare. You’re adorable,” he said with a southern drawl that made her giggle.
“I want to see!” she demanded, bouncing up and down on her toes.
“Alright. Let’s go look in the bathroom mirror,” Callen suggested, offering her his hand.
Skipping at his side, Jordi clung to his hand. She touched the brim of the hat and patted it down a bit more securely on the way. Hats were so much fun.
“Whoa, Sunshine.”
Not paying attention where she was going, Jordi almost ran into the door frame, but her Daddy saved the day by guiding her through it safely. Catching a glimpse of herself sporting the cowboy headgear, Jordi clapped her hands in delight.
“I do look like a cowgirl!”
“A very cute one,” Callen agreed. “You have just enough time to take a quick ride on the horsey before you need to get ready for work.”
“What time is it?” she panicked. She hadn’t even thought about work.
He pointed to the clock and she relaxed. “I have about an hour. You scared me.”
“You have plenty of time for a quick ride, breakfast, and a snuggle with Daddy.”
“I don’t ever eat breakfast.”
“You do now. Little girls need fuel for their bodies. Especially when they work as hard as you do,” he corrected.
“I don’t like breakfast.”
“So we find something you do like. How about a smoothie?”
“Who wants to drink their food?”
“A bowl of cereal?
“It gets too soggy.” she pointed out, wrinkling her nose.
“Eggs?”
“Yuck! No way!”
“How about peanut butter toast?” he offered.
“I like peanut butter.”
“Perfect. A quick ride and then breakfast.” When she made a face at that word, he amended his statement. “A quick ride and then some grub for the cowgirl.”
“I could eat some grub. You know… as long as it’s not real grubs because… gross!”
“No grubs will be injured in the making of cowgirl grub,” he promised.