Page 2 of Cuddling Carly

“Here, girl. You like cupcakes? They’re super yummy.” Carly remained calm and casual as she walked to the counter, not wanting to scare her visitor with fast, frantic movements.

Next to the cupcakes was her stuffie, Mr. Pumpkin Head—a plush jack-o-lantern doll with arms, legs, and a top hat. As much as Carly loved Halloween, he was her preferred stuffie even when it wasn’t October. But now that it was the Spooky Season, he really seemed appropriate.

“This is crazy, isn’t it?” she asked him.

Mr. Pumpkin Head just smiled at her.

Grabbing a cupcake, she turned back around to see the cow watching her as it still chewed away at the hay, seemingly without a care in the world.

“Hello? In the house. Mind if I approach?”

As the strong voice drifted in through the open back door, Carly pictured a handsome, strapping man.

She also imagined that same man picking her up, twirling her around, and calling her babygirl as he told her to call him Daddy.

That was all just fantasy, of course. But you couldn’t blame a gal for daydreaming.

You read way too many romance novels, Carly. Too much DDlg fiction.

Walking to the door, she looked out and saw her fantasy wasn’t far off at all—except the guy approaching on horseback was even hotter than the one she’d imagined.

With broad shoulders and arms that rippled with taut, bulging muscles under his black t-shirt and jeans that fit him just right, the man in her backyard wearing the boots and black Stetson was everything she’d ever hoped for in a Daddy and more!

Well, appearance wise, at least.

Obviously, she didn’t know a thing about this fella. But she sure liked the looks of him!

The fact that he was sitting high atop that horse just added to it all, too.

“Hi,” she said.

“Howdy, ma’am. You wouldn’t happened to have seen a cow walking around here, would you?”

Carly nodded. “She’s in here.”

“Inside?”

“Yes, sir. I had the door open to let in some cool air and she just came on in. I think she wanted a cupcake.”

The man appraised Carly for a moment, and the twinkle in his eyes and smile on his face made Carly suspect he found her cute.

That might just be wishful thinking, she reminded herself.

Again, lots of Daddy books loaded on her Kindle.

“I was going to lure her outside with this,” she said, holding up the sweet treat.

The man smiled. “Well, that was a good plan. But we might want to coax her out a different way. You see, too much sugar hurts their stomachs. I’m not sure there’s enough in that cupcake, but it’s best not to tempt it.”

Carly gasped. “I’m sorry, sir. I’d never hurt her on purpose.”

“No reason to be sorry, ma’am. Cows just have different digestive systems. Did you know they have four different chambers to their stomachs?”

“Really?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She watched as the strapping cowboy swooped down from his horse, moving with ease and grace. When his boots were planted on the ground, Carly realized just how tall he was. He probably stood at least four inches over six feet, but maybe five or six.