Golden Trail (The 'Burg #3)(238)

“Well, now I’m coming!” She was also still yelling. “You can put CeeCee in the car!”

That meant she actually was coming.

Layne turned to the playpen by the dining room table. Blondie was flat out on her side by the pen. Cecilia was in it, holding herself up, her baby fists around the bars, her big blue eyes staring up at her Dad, a little tuft of dark hair in a mini-ponytail with a little purple bow sticking straight up on top of her head.

Layne approached and Blondie’s head jerked up and twisted, the dog glared at him a second like she had no idea who he was then her tail started banging against the floor. Pretty much no one got near Cecilia unless they had Blondie’s approval.

He reached into the pen and hefted up his daughter who immediately reached up, grabbed hold of his lower lip and tugged. Hard.

He knew what that meant so he dropped his head, she let his lip go, he buried his face in her neck and blew.

She giggled.

Layne pulled his face out of her neck, kissed her forehead then lifted a hand and gently tugged his daughter’s f**king ponytail, and the goddamned bow, out of her hair.

He tossed it on the island, rounded it, nabbed his keys and walked his daughter out to the truck as she babbled at the same time she slapped his jaw repeatedly.

He strapped her into the seat and was just slamming the door when Rocky came out. She was carrying a pie plate in one hand, a huge, but stylish bag over her shoulder and she was wearing a short skirt, a sweet top that hugged her frame and her skin was tan. This was because Layne had a below ground pool put in because Rocky told him the winter before she’d always wanted one. The second the spring thaw came, the diggers were there.

“Told you I was coming,” she informed him as she strutted to the truck.

“Get in the car, Roc,” Layne replied, swinging in himself.

She rolled her eyes. He grinned.

She settled in, put the pie plate on her lap and buckled up as Layne pulled out. They were accelerating forward when Rocky turned and smiled at Cecilia.

Then he felt her eyes on him.

“Layne, where’s her bow?”

“In the garbage disposal,” Layne lied.

“Layne!” Rocky snapped. “It took me twenty minutes to get that looking right.”

“So?”

She turned and faced forward. “I can’t believe you.”

Layne hit the button to roll down his window.

“What are you doing? Turn on the air con, that’s too much wind for CeeCee,” she ordered.

“You’re cute when you’re bossy, sweetcheeks,” Layne replied, stopped at a stop sign, turned to his woman, his hand shot out, fingers fastening on the band in her hair, he pulled it out, tossed it out the window, checked the way was clear and turned left.

“Did you just do that?” she whispered irately as he rolled the window back up.

“Yep,” Layne replied.

“I… I don’t know what to say.” She was still whispering irately.

“So don’t say anything.”

He felt her eyes on him and heard her twisting in her seat. “Last week, you pulled out my ponytail holder and took a knife to it while I was making dinner and your mother and Devin were there.”

“Yeah, Roc, I remember, I was there too,” Layne returned. “Like I keep tellin’ you, you quit wearin’ ‘em, I’ll quit doin’ shit like that.”

She twisted back to face forward and crossed her arms on her chest.

Layne reached out a hand and slid it up her bare leg until she clamped her legs together and his fingers got stuck between her thighs.

“You’re going to make me drop the pie,” she snapped.

“So move the pie,” Layne replied.

“You can’t feel me up when I’m mad at you.”

“Why not?”

She made a noise in her throat that made Layne chuckle. Then she moved the pie, wrapped her hand around his wrist and yanked it from between her legs. He twisted his wrist, caught her hand, curled his fingers around it and pulled it to his mouth.

He’d done as he’d intended. He’d given her a huge rock. A few months later, with his sons at his side and Josie Judd at hers, he’d slid a wide gold band at the base of it.

Right then, he kissed both.

Her fingers curled around his when he did and behind him he heard his daughter giggle. For some reason, Cecilia thought it was hilarious when Layne showed her mother affection.

His daughter laughed a lot.

“You know what’s annoying?” she asked when he rested her hand on his thigh.

“Nope,” he answered.

“When you’re sweet when I’m angry at you.”

“Right,” he muttered.

“Stop doing that,” she demanded.

“I’ll get right on that.”

He knew she’d turned her head to the side window when she murmured, “Big liar.”

Layne burst out laughing.

* * * * *

Layne parked on the street outside Cal and Vi’s house, a street that was lined with cars. One of those cars was Jasper’s red Charger. Another one was Tripp’s silver Camaro.

Layne released his grateful daughter from the confines of her car seat, Rocky grabbed her big bag and the pie and he slid an arm around her shoulders as they walked up the side of the house between the garage and Cal and Vi’s home and hit the backyard.