A Cowboy's Touch Read Free Page B

could be about anything, he reckoned.
    Maddy burst through the front door, trotted down the porch steps, and met him in the yard. She curled her arms against the chill in the air.
    “Get your hair cut, squirt?” Even in the dim light he saw it was pulled back as always.
    “Can’t you tell?”
    Should an eleven-year-old girl wear the same hairstyle every day? He wouldn’t know what else to do with it. He pushed back the guilt. “It’s not hanging in your eyes, at least.” He ruffled her bangs. She had Lizzie’s fine, soft hair, but the rich mahogany brown came from his mother’s gene pool.
    They traipsed toward the house side by side.
    “My bike got stolen in town,” Maddy blurted.
    Wade frowned. “Stolen? You sure?” Not that bad things didn’t happen in Moose Creek, but these were neighbors. They worked together, worshiped together, celebrated together. Practically extended family, whether you wanted them or not.
    “I parked it at the market, and when I came out it wasn’t there.”
    He hated she’d lost her bike and figured chances of finding it were slim. Maybe he should buy her a new one—wasn’t like he didn’t have the money. But Greta said he spoiled his daughter, and maybe she was right.
    “Need to file a report,” he said.
    “Abigail already did. And she asked people questions and stuff too. She’s going to help me find it.”
    “Who’s Abigail?”
    “Miss Lucy’s niece. She’s visiting for the summer, and she said she’s good at solving mysteries.”
    Probably would’ve seen her around if it hadn’t been for spring works season. He’d been gone dawn to dark for days. “A mystery, huh?”
    “The Case of the Stolen Bike. She thinks we can figure it out pretty quick. Hope so. I don’t want to go all summer without it. We’re going to start looking on Wednesday.”
    “What about school?”
    “Dad. Tuesday’s my last day, remember?”
    Had he told the new nanny that? It had been weeks ago. He couldn’t remember. Wade made a mental note to call her tomorrow after church.
    He opened the door for Maddy, and she ducked under his arm. She was getting tall. He noted the frayed hems of her jeans as she passed through to the kitchen. Blame it all if they weren’t hanging three inches above the toes of her boots. The sleeves of her Western shirt were turned up at the cuff despite the chilly May weather, and the shirttail wasn’t long enough to stay tucked in.
    Why was he always two days late when it came to Maddy? Why hadn’t he noticed she’d outgrown her clothes?
    “Supper’s in the oven, Wade,” Greta said as he entered the kitchen. She tugged her thick sweater over her ample frame and flipped her gray hair over the collar.
    “Smells great,” he said. Greta hadn’t noticed that Maddy had outgrown her clothes either. That made him feel a little better.
    Greta and her husband, Pee Wee, lived in one of the camp houses. Pee Wee wasn’t much taller than Greta, but he was Wade’s cowhand, and a fine one too. Greta did the household chores a few hours a day, but she’d made it clear from the beginning she wasn’t a nanny. The couple had never had kids of their own, but neither one had said why, and he sure wasn’t asking.
    “See you at church,” she said.
    “Thanks, Greta.”
    The back door clicked quietly behind her.
    Wade hung his hat on the peg, then turned to help Maddy get the food on the table. She waited for him every night, no matter how late he was.
    Once supper was on the table, he said grace and they dug into Greta’s roast beef. The woman could cook. Once the worst of his hunger was satiated, he slowed down.
    “Homework done?” he asked.
    “When I got home from school yesterday.”
    “Grades okay?”
    She shrugged. “I’ll make honor roll.”
    Wade didn’t know what he’d done to deserve a daughter like Maddy.
    “Can I help with branding when school’s over?” she asked.
    He pictured the anxious calves kicking up a ruckus as they were heeled, held, and