The Nine-Dollar Daddy by Day Leclaire

Author:Day Leclaire
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780373035434
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1999-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Ty stood at the door of the cabin, his arms folded across his chest. “How did this happen?”

“I’m sorry, Ty,” Hutch said with a big show of contrition. “I musta left the door open when I took our clothes over to your laundry room. I guess the stupid critter snuck right in. Thank goodness we hadn’t unpacked your pickup yet.”

Cassidy sniffed, her expression clearly one of disgust “A skunk!”

“Don’t scrunch up your face like that, Mom,” Hutch whispered. “It’ll give you wrinkles.”

Ty’s foreman, Lorenzo, stuck his head in the doorway then swiftly withdrew. “Damnedest thing I ever heard of boss.”

“Isn’t it though.” Ty pinned his gaze on the shuffling ten-year-old beside him.

“There are six different types of skunks indigenous to Texas, you know,” Hutch volunteered, a hint of anxiety creeping into his voice. He fingered his glasses, nudging them higher on the bridge of his nose. “It coulda been a western spotted skunk. They favor rocky bluffs like this area around here.”

“Think so?” Ty asked very, very softly.

“Maybe.” The boy blinked rapidly. “I know it wouldn’t be the eastern spotted. We’re too far west for them. Or the hooded skunk. They’re pretty darned rare. And they tend to be farther south, as I recall.”

“You seem to recall quite a bit.”

“Well, I do remember a few facts from the books I’ve read. Like...” He swallowed, darting Ty a nervous glance before doggedly continuing. “Like it could also have been a striped skunk. ’Cept they’d rather be in the woods.”

“You read some weird books, kid,” Lorenzo offered “Ever tried comics?”

“No, sir. Not since I was three. As for the skunk...it could also be the common hog-nosed.”

“Don’t have any rooter skunks around here,” the foreman explained kindly. “Wonder what made him spray?”

Ty fixed his gaze on his soon-to-be son. “Or why he’d be out exploring during the day. Most skunks are nocturnal.”

Hutch swallowed visibly. “Gosh. Who knows? Maybe he has insomnia. That might have made him upset enough to spray.”

Ty glanced at Cassidy, his mouth tightening into a grim line. She looked like hell. No doubt she felt like it, too. Right now, she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders and this latest incident was one more crisis she didn’t need.

“Did it ruin anything?” she asked, tension vibrating through her voice.

“We were real lucky, Mom. None of our clothes got it since we had all that wash to do. And I hadn’t unpacked my computer yet.”

“Or much of the truck, by the look of things.” Ty stepped through the doorway of the cabin and inhaled deeply. The pungent aroma had already started to dissipate. Interesting. He’d never known skunk stink to be quite so accommodating. “Guess that only leaves us with one option.”

Cassidy nodded stoically. “Sure does. If you wouldn’t mind driving us to a motel, I’d be grateful.”

“No! We can’t! I mean—” Hutch broke off and shrugged awkwardly. “I was hoping we could move into the bunkhouse instead. I’ve never stayed in one before. It sure would be educational.”

Ty shook his head.

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