Page 91 of Risking it for the Cowboy

T.R. opened the passenger door. “You want Stevie and Seth to come with for that ice cream?”

“Yes!” She pumped the air in her summer dress and cowboy boots.

“Wow, Daisy, your dad’s got a cool truck,” a boy from her class said as he passed, as Daisy’s teacher made her way over to them.

T.R. opened his mouth to refute it—

“Thanks. He even keeps candy in the cab.” Daisy’s hold around his neck, tightened.

Charlie’s eyes locked on his.

“Lucky,” the boy said, waving goodbye. “See you next week.”

Heat crept up his neck. To be this girl’s daddy … would he make a good one? Or screw her up like his parents had done to him? And how would he ever help her be a good student when he’d never known how to be one?

She wasn’t his. He’d barely clinched a second chance with Charlie, and he was already playing happy family. But she could be.

He lifted the girl into the cab, scooting her to the middle.

“Belt on, darlin’,” he said, when the teacher intervened.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bradford?” Mr. and Mrs.…

“Hi, Mrs. Rodriguez,” Charlie said.

The woman smiled and nodded. “Can I have a quick word with you and your husband?”

*

Husband?

A mistake on the teacher’s part, but one that … didn’t sound bad. She glanced at him, the man who kept showing up.

Thad nodded toward the teacher. “Go ahead, babe, I got the girl.”

She stepped apart from them.

“How was Daisy’s program? Is there a progress note in her backpack?”

The teacher smiled. “Actually, after our phone call yesterday morning, in follow-up to your note, I was able to bring in the speech pathologist. Do you have a minute?”

She nodded, and Mrs. Rodriguez held out a packet. At the top read Language-based special education evaluation results and impact statement.

She furrowed her brow as she read down a list of apraxia and other jargon she was unfamiliar with.

“Daisy is a bright girl. Eager to learn, which made this eval a pleasure.” Charlie nodded and the teacher continued. “These are just preliminary. We didn’t have much time with the end of summer school today. Read over these results and feel free to reach out with any questions. But we feel it imperative to do a deeper evaluation when the regular term starts next week, to develop an IEP. An individualized education plan.”

“What’s wrong?” Charlie said, perusing the packet, glancing back at Thad teasing Daisy, inciting giggles.

“Our speech pathologist believes that there’s nothing wrong with her cognition. In fact, her comprehension is higher than average for her age. And, of course, her math and oral language skills are above grade level.” The teacher smiled gently. “The team agrees. We believe Daisy might be dyslexic.

“Once she explained how letters get jumbled for her, we realized it impacts her ability to decode them and piece the sounds together to form words when reading. Letters can appear out of order or reversed, as if in a mirror.”

She thought back on all the times she’d helped Daisy practice reading, how she’d complained that the letters looked like they were all over. It made sense. She looked back at Daisy, and Thad. He glanced up this time, his phone to his ear on a call, brow furrowing. She waved him off with a smile and turned back to the teacher.

“What can we do to help her? Are there reading programs I can download or classes I can take to better understand?”

Mrs. Rodriguez smiled fondly. “There are lots of resources these days that didn’t exist twenty years ago. But she’s got the number one ingredient to start with. Your support. Kids with disabilities thrive far more with parents who get involved. If we can establish an IEP for her, we can start providing early intervention to better prepare her with the lifelong tools she’ll need so she can better succeed in college when the time comes. Just review the paperwork, and sign where the arrow is so we can get an IEP meeting established. If you return it with her next week, we’ll set a meeting date.”