Tempted by the Wrong Twin (Texas Cattleman's Club: Blackmail 8)

“Yes!” she yelled, pumping her little arms in the air.

Staying a safe distance from Frank, who was lying on his soft bed, but still keeping the dog in his line of vision, Nick took his hands away from Ellie’s face. She blinked, looked around, then her gaze landed on Frank. She stilled, not moving a muscle, then burst into tears and threw her arms around Nick’s neck, holding him in a death grip with her face buried in the crook of his shoulder.

Alarmed, Harper moved closer. Was Ellie scared of real life dogs? Should she do something?

“Do you want me to take Frank outside?” she whispered.

Nick looked up from soothing his daughter, but his face was smiling. “Come closer,” he said. Harper did, and he added, “Listen.”

Ellie was sobbing, but on each exhale were the words, “Thank you, Daddy, thank you.”

“She’s happy?” Harper asked, confused.

He kissed his daughter’s forehead and held her a little tighter. “This is a very happy girl. Just a bit overwhelmed.” He smoothed back Ellie’s hair and crooned soft words to her.

Harper’s eyes misted over—partly in reaction to Ellie’s joy and partly from watching a father’s love in action. She couldn’t take her eyes off her husband—the scene was too beautiful.

It was a good five minutes before Ellie had calmed enough to actually meet the dog. Nick explained to her that Frank had been sad, so she had to be quiet and gentle with him, and Ellie took that advice to heart, practically becoming Frank’s nursemaid. Nick supervised, and Harper retreated to the kitchen to ice the cupcakes and watch the father-daughter bonding time.

The morning was going even better than she’d hoped. Fingers crossed, the rest of her plan for the day would be as much of a hit.

After a while, Nick brought Ellie into the kitchen.

“Do you like Frank?” he asked.

Her face was earnest. “I love him, Daddy.”

“Do you want to know whose idea it was to bring Frank into the family?”

Ellie nodded her head solemnly.

“Harper’s.” Ellie turned wide eyes on Harper, and Nick continued. “She called the Royal Safe Haven Animal Shelter and asked about all the dogs, and when she heard about Frank, she thought he’d be perfect for us. So she came home to get me and we went to meet him. We both loved him right away, so we brought him home.”

Ellie grabbed Harper’s hand. “Thank you, Harper. Frank is the best dog in the world.”

Emotion thickened her throat, and she had to swallow hard before she could reply. “I’m glad you like him.”

Then Ellie’s eyes landed on the iced pink cupcakes on the counter and widened more. “Who are they for?”

“They’re for all of us,” Harper said. “I was thinking we might want to have a tea party today. What do you say?”

“Yes! Can Frank have one, too?”

“Dogs shouldn’t eat pink cupcakes, but we have some other treats here that Frank will like even better.”

“I will give it to him,” Ellie said as if that settled the matter, and Harper smiled at Nick.

“Absolutely, you can,” Nick said.

Once they were set for their tea party—all sitting cross-legged on a picnic blanket on the living room floor, Frank sprawled between Nick and Ellie, a cupcake on each plate—Harper brought out a bag she’d left on the coffee table.

“We bought you something,” she said as she handed the bag to Ellie.

Ellie drew in a quick breath. “A present?”

More of a way of explaining the news to her through a picture book, but it probably counted as a present, too, so she nodded and said, “Yes, it is.”

The little girl pulled the book from the bag, ran a hand over the shiny cover and passed it to Nick. “Can you read it to me?”