A Cowboy’s Honor Read Online Free PDF Page A

too.
    Which would explain her reluctance to bring him here without preparing her daughter ahead of time. For it was very clear to him that Gracie loved this child more than anything.
    “Can I see you?” Misty asked quietly.
    Gracie opened her mouth to explain, but Dallas shook his head at her. He knew exactly what Misty meant.
    “Of course you can.” When she held out her tiny hand, he took it and guided it to his face. “Go ahead, Misty.”
    The moment her baby-soft skin touched his cheek, Dallas closed his eyes and soaked in the sensations. Like stick men, her fingers walked over his forehead, slid around to “see” the shape of his face, the length of his nose, his cheekbones and his mouth. He smiled when she brushed his ear, and her fingers quickly slid back across his lips, found the dimple that matched her own.
    “Mommy doesn’t have these,” she said.
    Dallas blinked, studied his wife.
    True, but Gracie had everything else a woman could ask for. A perfect figure, sun-streaked golden-brown hair that tipped up at her chin in a perky style. A model’s oval face boasting a natural, barely tanned glow.
    “You got hurt.”
    Misty’s careful probing gentled on his scalp. She’d missed nothing.
    “I hurt my head a while ago.”
    “Is it sore?” she asked, gently touching the rumpled edges of healed tissue buried just beneath his hairline.
    “No, not anymore.”
    “How did you get it?”
    “I don’t know,” he told her simply. “I can’t remember.”
    Dallas glanced up at a wall of photographs. A picture of Gracie holding her brand-new baby forced home exactly what he’d forgotten. Until now he’d known he was missing details, but faced with the visual progression of his daughter’s life, he suddenly realized the totality of what he’d lost and could never recapture.
    Why, God?
    “You’re looking at my wall, aren’t you?” Misty’s chest puffed out.
    “Your wall?” Stupid question. Dallas could clearly see that the pictures all centered on Misty. “Yes, I am. I never knew anybody who had a whole wall of their own. It’s very interesting.”
    “ Interesting is a word adults use when they can’t think of anything else to say.” Her fingertips brushed his cheek again before she dropped her arm to her side. “Mommy, did you get the part for my dollhouse?”
    “Yes, I did. I put it on the counter by the cookie jar. Perhaps Elizabeth will help you. I want to talk to Dallas for a few minutes.”
    “Okay.” Misty walked purposefully toward the kitchen, felt unerringly for the bag next to a brown ceramic bear, then shifted toward the love seat. “Elizabeth, will you please help me?”
    So easily she dismissed him. Dallas wanted to weep.
    “I’d love to help, dear. Though you’ll have to show me what to do. I’ve never fixed a dollhouse before.”
    “Don’t worry, I have. I know exactly how to do it.” Misty paused in the doorway. “Will I see you later, Dallas? Is he staying for dinner, Mommy?”
    “I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to see. Be careful of the sharp places, honey.”
    “I’m always careful. You don’t have to tell me so much,” Misty grumbled before waggling a hand in his direction. “Bye, Dallas.” She walked out of the room and down the hall.
    Dallas. Not Daddy.
    But then, he hadn’t been her father. He was just a strange man who’d suddenly appeared in her life. Dallas didn’t know who he had been, but in that moment he prayed he could be a good father to this special child.
    “It’s a bit late, but I’d like you to meet Elizabeth Wisdom, Dallas. She’s been a wonderful friend to Misty and me.”
    “A pleasure to meet you.” He shook her hand, patiently bearing her intense scrutiny.
    “I’m glad Gracie found you.” Elizabeth opened her mouth to continue, but Misty called to her. “I’m sure we’ll talk later,” the woman added.
    Dallas wasn’t sure if that was a promise or a threat, but he found an odd comfort in knowing that she cared enough