“Oh, did she?” I asked when she came to a stop beside him. Teresa and I went to high school together. We’d never been close, but she was always nice to me. Her dad ran the livestock barn, so we had seen each other more outside of school than we did within the halls.
“Which ended up not mattering because someone put fourspoonsful of sugar in while I wasn’t looking.” She grimaced, putting her hand on top of Liam’s head to stop him from bouncing.
“Oh yeah, I did do that,” he said, nodding. “It tastes so much better that way.”
Teresa and I shared a look. “I’m sure it does, buddy. Here, I’m going to give you this name tag,” I said, taking out my pen and writing his name on the blank label. “I need you to wear it all day, okay?”
Liam’s bottom lip stuck out. “Do I have to?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“But you already know my name.”
I crouched down to his level. “I do, but other people don’t. You don’t want people calling you Timothy, right?”
He scrunched his nose. “No way.”
“Alright then. You’ll need to wear this so that doesn’t happen. It’s just for today, okay? Look, I’m even wearing one.” I pointed to the silver one pinned to my chest, which bore the BSR logo.
“Ooh, I want one of those!” he shouted, jumping up and down again.
I pushed to my feet, ruffling his hair slightly. “Unfortunately, these are just for adults, but maybe one day you’ll work here and get one.”
Every member of our staff had a nametag. They didn’t get much use, but they made things easier during our events. It was an easy way for patrons to distinguish between employees and non-employees. Now that we were throwing kids into the mix, they needed to know who they could turn to if they needed help.
“Really? That is so cool.” Liam turned to Teresa. “Momma, I wanna be a cowboy when I grow up!”
She smiled down at her son. “Well, your grandpa’s gonna love hearing that. Now, gimme a hug so I can head to work. I’llbe back later to pick you up, okay?” Liam made quick work of his hug before running off to say hi to some of his friends. “I’m so sorry about the sugar high,” she said, grimacing. “I’d set the sugar out to put some in my coffee, but got distracted. By the time I turned around, there was already a mountain on top of his oatmeal. I didn’t have time to make another bowl?—”
I waved her off. This wasn’t my first time dealing with sugar rushes, and it wouldn’t be my last. “You’re fine. I know today’s a late start, but the rest of the week, we’ll be providing breakfast, so you won’t have to worry about it.”
“Y’all are amazing for doing this. My dad’s been wanting to teach him to ride for ages now, but you know how it is. Things slip through the cracks when you’re busy.”
I was trying so hard to focus on what Teresa was saying, how her dad had been struggling with health issues of his own. Still, I couldn’t help but overhear snippets of two women somewhere behind us.
“Oh my gosh, is that?—”
“No, it can’t be. There’s no way…”
“I’m so sorry to interrupt, ladies, but could you tell me where I need to check my daughter in?”
I froze, my blood running cold. Goosebumps cropped up along my skin. I knew that voice. God, I hated knowing that voice. This wasn’t happening. There was no way it was happening. Not here, not now.
Nope. No, no, no. Not again.
“Of course! It’s right up there,” one of the women said. She sounded way too chipper if you asked me. It only got worse as she dropped her voice into this weird sultry tone and added, “Can I just say I’m a huge fan of yours? Your music helped me through somereallydark times. I recently went through a divorce, and I’ve never heard lyrics that spoke to me like yours did.”
Are you freaking kidding me right now? Did she think that would work? As if his fucking ego wasn’t inflated enough…
“Excuse me, Miss?” There was humor in his voice, which pissed me off more than anything. How dare he come back after everything? “Rumor has it you’re the one to see about checking my daughter in?”
Teresa glanced behind me, eyes going wide before she gave an awkward wave and headed back to her car. I returned the gesture, if only to buy time as I sucked in a deep breath and whirled around, coming face-to-face with Grady Wilde and his daughter on my goddamn ranch.
grady
. . .
DidI expect to be met with a warm welcome when Cleo found out I was not only back in town, but had also enrolled my daughter in her summer camp? Absolutely not. Did I, however, expect it to be slightly warmer than the Arctic tundra look she was sending my way now? Maybe.
