Daddy's Little Darling (Montana Daddies 2)

“Do you really think that a Pop-Tart is suitable for dinner?” Her hands drifted behind to cup her bottom as he gave her a disapproving look.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, you and I both know that’s not true. Would you like to tell me why you didn’t make yourself something healthy or have dinner in the dining hall, baby girl?”

Neil was back and working in the kitchen. She missed working there sometimes, but he’d told her she was always welcome to come help him. No one had heard from Allan, and Clint was adamant that he wouldn’t be welcome back here. She couldn’t feel sorry about that.

“I was in a rush. I didn’t have time to cook anything.” Sometimes during the weekend, she liked to cook meals at home, but they usually ate in the dining hall during the week.

“And just where were you rushing to?”

She bit her lip. Then sighed. “I wanted to get some photos of the sun setting over the mountains.”

Since she had a lot of spare time, Clint had asked her if there was ever anything she’d wanted to try, some hobby she’d like to take up. Unused to having free time, to not working or worrying constantly, she hadn’t had an answer. Until she’d found an old camera in one of the downstairs storage cupboards.

“And why didn’t you make something once you got home?”

“Umm, because then I went down to the stables to visit Star Gazer to give her a carrot.” Star Gazer was Eden’s horse. But Charlie was slightly obsessed with her. She was dying to learn to ride and Clint had promised to teach her once things settled down a bit.

“Was it dark by the time you finished up at the stables?” he asked.

“Umm, yes.” Uh-oh.

“Who escorted you home?” he asked in a low voice.

Aww, crap. She might have been able to talk her way out of a spanking for the Pop-Tart. Maybe. Probably. Yeah, she hadn’t had a chance. But she knew she’d made it worse by admitting that she’d been walking around in the dark alone.

“I had a flashlight, Daddy.” She wouldn’t go out without that. Even with it, walking around in the dark wasn’t her favorite thing. In fact, she’d ran all the way from the stables back home, her heart thundering in her chest.

Huh. “I always thought you made that rule about not walking around on my own in the dark because you thought I’d get lost or something, but the main reason is because I’m scared of the dark, isn’t it?”

“I won’t have my girl scared,” he said fiercely.

“I love you, Daddy.”

His face lightened. Love filled his eyes. “I love you too. That doesn’t mean you’re not about to get your butt lit on fire. Come.” He pushed back a little from his desk and pointed at the spot on the floor between his legs.

“But Daddy, don’t I get brownie points for being honest when I filled out my food diary?”

“You do not. Little girls should always tell the truth and if they fib, they get Daddy’s belt.”

Holy hell.

“You know I wouldn’t be so strict on what you eat if Doc wasn’t concerned that you aren’t gaining much weight.”

And she knew how that worried him. Now she felt terrible.

“I notice you haven’t been writing down when you’ve been taking your supplement drinks,” he said in a quiet voice. “Like I asked you to.”

A sense of failure filled her and tears entered her eyes. Jesus, she remembered when she never cried, now she was a regular blubber guts.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m trying. They’re just awful.”

He sighed. “I know you are, baby. But you need to take those drinks for your health. Which means you are going to take them, even if I have to put them in a bottle and feed them to you like a baby.”

She stared up at him, her eyes widening. “Clint, you wouldn’t!”

He just raised one eyebrow. Oh, he totally would.