“Can I have a ham and cheese sandwich for a snack?”
“Yes, honey, you can.” I opened the fridge, and Bella ducked under my arm to get the ingredients out. “You still haven’t told me the names of the horses.”
“Okay.” Bella grabbed a piece of cheese and bit into it, sneakily looking at me to see if I would be mad. I just smiled at her.
“One of the horses has a long tail, so I named him Long Straw. The other one has the hole in its ear, so I named it Nip. The third one is Caramel.”
Bella saw what I saw for the most part. Her names made me double over in laughter. “You are so clever. You named him Long Straw.”
“Daddy, you’re going red in the face. Yup. Long Straw.”
I wiped the laughing tears from my eyes. “I can’t help it. I never knew about these names. How come?” I buttered the toast on both sides, added the ham and cheese, then placed the sandwiches in the waffle maker. These prison sandwiches that I learned to make ended up being a hit with Bella.
“Because you didn’t ask me,” Bella replied simply. “I’m putting my book bag away.” She stamped off and came back minutes later.
“You are one awesome little human.”
“Thanks, Dad. You’re not bad yourself.”
“Thanks, kid. Things are going to start happening around here pretty quickly. Lots of people coming and going. Are you ready for that?” I asked her as I plated her ham and cheese sandwich.
“Yes. I think it will be fun. I want to ride all the way on the trail. I can ride Moonlight.”
A string of cheese hung from her lips, and I wiped it with my free hand. “Hmm. I don’t know about that. Moonlight is sensitive, so you have to catch her on the right day to ride. I don’t want you getting bucked off her.”
“I won’t. She listens to me, and she talks back.”
“You can talk to horses?”
She nodded her head as more cheese dripped from her chin. This time she caught it.
“Your grandpa used to do the same thing.”
“Can you speak to them, Daddy?”
“Not speak, but I can feel if they are going to do something. Like buck me off.” I smirked.
“You’ll be okay. Moonlight just doesn’t like it if you don’t ride her. She likes the sunshine. Says you don’t ride her enough.”
“You are the cutest.” My daughter was a horse whisperer. “Your mother would be proud.”
“I miss Mommy. She made me laugh. I wish she would come back. But I like Amber, too.”
I took her one of her little hands in mine. “You can like them both. Nobody will ever replace your mother, but Amber is your friend now, and you can talk to her, too.”
“I know. I really like her. She’s nice to me.”
“I like her, too. What would you think if I married her?”
“Yay! Can I be the flower girl?”
“You sure can.”
Even gunslinging cowboys need love.
Epilogue: Amber
Six Months Later
