CHAPTER 13
ADAM
“Come on.” I wave for Lizzy to follow me. “You can keep me company while I paint the bathroom.”
Lizzy has spent a fair amount of time with me the past two days. It felt awkward at first, especially since she’s here to visit her mother, but I like her company. She isn’t with me all day, just a couple hours here and there while Camille writes or cooks, but I like it. She’s funny and has lots of great stories from when she was a kid. I bet she drove Camille crazy with all the trouble she caused. Her stories remind me of Matt in some ways. He struggled a lot as a teenager and was always getting into trouble. I’d love to get those two together and hear them share wild childhood stories.
It’s nice having her around. Getting to know Lizzy has made me closer to Camille even if things haven’t changed between us physically. Our emotional connection is growing stronger. She’s letting me in, trusting me more. I like that, too.
I walk into the open space of one of the largest of the three downstairs bathrooms. I spent the morning taping the walls, and prepping to paint. Otherwise, it’s an empty room. After I finishpainting, we’ll install the cabinets, tub, and toilet. In less than a week, this bathroom will be finished.
“If you want to grab one of those chairs out there, you can sit while I work,” I say to Lizzy as I position the ladder in the corner of the room.
“Nonsense.” Lizzy rolls up her shirt sleeves and grabs a paint brush. “I’m gonna help.”
“You don’t have to do that.” It’s enough that she’s keeping me company. I hope she doesn’t think she needs to work in order to hang out with me.
“I know,” she shrugs, “but I want to.”
She sits cross-legged in the opposite corner from where I’m starting and waves for the paint. I can’t help but chuckle at how adorable she looks. I’m gonna miss this kid when she heads home. “All right, I won’t stop you.”
I pour some of the pale blue paint Camille picked into a cup and hand it to Lizzy. She starts painting the bottom trim while I work on the ceiling trim. We work around half the room in silence.
I glance over my shoulder at one point and catch her bobbing her head. She’s humming a tune to herself. She looks happy and content, and it makes me smile. It also makes my heart ache for all the things I missed out on in life because I never had kids. I’ll never have a son or daughter to teach how to paint or frame a wall. No kids to go horseback riding with, or teach how to rope a cow, or take hiking to my favorite spot in Glacier National Park. It’s depressing to think about, and I hate that I’ve taken this nice moment with Lizzy and ruined it with thoughts of my broken dreams.
“You’re meeting friends to go hiking in Glacier soon, right?” I ask to take my mind off the things that make me sad.
“Yep, tonight actually.” She spins around and gives me a big grin. I immediately feel better. “They’re picking me up after dinner.”
Seeing her excitement makes me miss being young and carefree. I spent a lot of time in those mountains as a kid with my dad. As soon as my siblings were old enough, we took them, too. Some of my best memories came out of those mountain hikes. “Are you camping or staying in a cabin?”
“We’ve got a cabin for two nights, but we want to camp along one of the trails. We just haven’t decided which one. There are so many choices.”
“Can I make a suggestion?”
“Yes, please!” Her excitement level increases, making me chuckle again.
“My favorite spot is Quartz Lake. It’s a six-mile trail with a camp site near the lake. This time of year should be gorgeous. The mountains will still have plenty of snow, but the campsite and trail should be clear.”
Lizzy pulls her phone out of her back pocket and starts typing. “Oh, my God. This looks amazing. Thank you. I’m telling my friends about it now.”
I love seeing her get this excited. Now she reminds me of my sister, Leann, when she was younger—so full of energy and life. “If you end up hiking it, take lots of pictures. I haven’t been there in years.”
“Oh, we’re hiking it. My friends already said yes.” She turns her phone toward me to show me the text message she just received.
Sara:Sweet, let’s go. Tell him thanks.
Damn.Not only is Camille winning my heart, her daughter is, too.
My heart squeezes tight, forcing me to take a deep breath. This moment with Lizzy is something I never thought I’d have. It’s the closest thing to fatherhood I’ve ever experienced. And it’s something I’d never considered until now. Camille is a package deal. I’m not just fighting to win over her heart. I’m fighting to win over her daughter as well.
And it's a challenge I’m more than willing to tackle.
“Seriously, you’ve never ridden a horse?”I ask.
Lizzy laughs at my surprise as we enter the dining room. Her admission is foreign to me. I guess my viewpoint is skewed from growing up on a horse ranch. But everyone I know has horses or at least rides, ranch or not.
Lizzy and I are late for lunch, and it looks like most of the crew already came and went. Camille called us for lunch about ten minutes ago, but Lizzy and I decided to finish up the last of the trim before we headed in. Thank goodness there’s still plenty. Lizzy said this was the best French toast in the world, and I don’t want to miss out. In addition to the French toast, Camille fried up sausage and bacon, and sliced fresh strawberries. Everything smells so good. I can’t wait to dig in.
