she knew would arise.
Uprooting her daughter hadnât been her choice; she hadnât had one, thanks to the thoughtlessness of one man. âPeople just donât think,â she murmured.
âWhat people?â
Her eyes shot open and she sat upright. âLacy, honey, I didnât know you were standing there. When did you get up?â
Her little girl stood in the doorway, dressed in her favorite pink princess nightgown and little pink boots with her cowgirl hat hanging down her back. âJust now. Iâm hungry.â
Danielle rose to gather her daughter in her arms. She loved the way Lacy would giggle when she hugged her close. âDid you wear those boots to bed again?â
Lacy squirmed and Danielle set her on her feet. âNuh-uh,â she answered. âNot all night, Mommy.â
âWant some cereal?â She grinned when Lacyâs eyes went round with wonder.
âYou âmembered to bring it!â She dashed inside, climbed onto the chair, and poured herself a bowl, managing to get most of the cereal where she wanted itâin the bowl. âThanks, Mommy,â Lacy said, between chews.
âHow about a glass of milk?â
Lacy nodded and Danielle poured.
Spoon poised in front of her mouth, Lacy frowned. âThatâs a jar.â
Danielle laughed. âUncle Jimmy likes to use them for glasses.â
Lacy shook her head. âHeâs funny, but I like him.â
Smoothing the flyaway strands, she echoed her daughterâs sentiment. âHe likes you too.â
âWhere is he?â
âOver at the diner, serving breakfast.â
Lacy stopped eating and set her spoon down. âShouldnât we help him?â
âWe will, but he wanted us to rest up before going over to the diner.â Danielle paused. âOh no. We donât have a car.â
Lacy shook her head. âSure we do, âmember? We drove it here yesterday.â
âItâs probably still on the side of the road where we left it.â
Her daughter frowned up at her and shook her head. âI heard Unca Jimmy talking to someone last night.â
Danielle smiled and said, âThat was me.â
But Lacy just shook her head again and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. When Danielle opened her mouth, intending to remind Lacy she should have used the napkin by her plate, Lacy sprang up and reached for her motherâs hand. âCome on.â
Caught up in her little oneâs enthusiasm, she let herself be led to the front door. Lacy tugged her mother with one hand and pushed the screen door open with another. âSee, Mommy?â She pointed toward where their car was parked.
âI had no idea that he dropped the car off.â
âItâs part of the Code.â
Distracted, she looked down at Lacy. âWhat code?â
With a dramatic sigh, the little one shook her head. âMommy, you gots to listen when people talk.â
Well, that was like the pot calling the kettle black. âWhich people?â
âCowboy Jesse.â
âAh.â It all made sense now, something Jesse had said yesterday had stuck with her daughter; undoubtedly it had to do with being a cowboy. âWhich part of the Code? He said a lot yesterday.â
âHe promised heâd fix our car. Cowboys keep promises.â
The only other cowboy sheâd known was her ex, and he certainly hadnât kept any of the promises he made to her. âWell, Jesse certainly kept this one, didnât he?â
âSo we can go help Unca Jimmy?â
âI think youâll need to get dressed first.â
âBut I am dressed,â Lacy insisted, stomping one tiny pink boot in frustration.
Danielle fought against the urge to smileâno use encouraging bursts of temper just because her daughter was so adorable when she was riled. âYou canât wear your pajamas all day, sweetie. Get dressed.â
Reluctantly, Lacy turned in a