and scooped her into his arms. “Morning
sunshine.” He said, lowering himself onto the
old porch swing and settling Meg onto his lap.
“What has you up so early?” He pressed his
lips to her forehead and frowned.
“I don’t feel good.” She moaned, holding
her stomach.
Shane was immediately on his feet and
back in the house. It was too cold for her to be
outside with a fever. Once in the kitchen Shane
placed his little girl on a chair and began
rummaging around for the children’s Tylenol.
Once he found it, he grabbed a Sprite from the
fridge and moved to her side. “Tummy ache?”
He asked gently.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “And I’m cold.”
Her little body shivered to prove the point.
Shane crouched in front of Megan and held
out the Sprite. “I need you to take little sips.
It will help settle your stomach. And I need you
to take this medicine.”
Meg took the Tylenol and washed it down
with a sip of Sprite. “I wanted to go riding
with you today.” She frowned, clearly upset
about missing her first ride of the season.
“There’s always tomorrow, pumpkin.”
Shane said lovingly. His daughter was the best
part of his l ife, the one good thing he’d
accomplished.
He loved her more than
anything, even the ranch. It was strange, he
never thought he’d love anything more than
the ranch and certainly not any one. His
thoughts turned to Melissa Peters. He’d made
so many mistakes with Melissa. She was the
only woman he had ever truly loved. Back then
his feelings had been so intense, he hadn’t
known how to deal with them. So, being young
and stupid, he’d messed things up. On days
like today, he wondered how things might have
been different. But he couldn’t regret his
actions. That would mean regretting Megan.
And he could never regret such a beautiful,
special little girl.
Shane watched Meg take another sip of her
soda then lifted her into his arms and carried
her to the family room. After grabbing the
quilt from the back of the couch, he settled into
the large rocking chair and cuddled his
daughter against his chest.
Meg burrowed in close, pressing her cheek
against Shane’s chest. She felt so safe in her
father’s arms. Her eyes began to droop and she
pulled the blanket further under her chin.
Then she bolted up and gave her dad a worried
look. “You have to go.” She said softly. “You
don’t have time to waste holding me. You have
to move the cows today.”
Shane pushed his daughter back against
his chest. “Don’t be ridiculous. I always ha fP