DAISY
“How do you feel about having a visitor this weekend?” Lainey’s voice is full of excitement as I answer her call.
“Hello to you, too,” I laugh. “What about a visitor?”
“I’m coming to Rosewater Creek. I’ll be in town on Friday.”
I stand up straight, dropping the hose I’d been using on the ground as my own excitement begins to build. “You’re coming here?”
Lainey laughs. “Yep. Cass and Canyon are competing in the rodeo. It’s Dexter’s week with the kids, so I convinced them to let me tag along so I can visit my good old friend Daisy.”
Cass and Canyon are Lainey’s brothers. The pair are twins, and although they’re almost identical in looks, their personalities couldn’t be more different. They run their family ranch over in Montana and were my employers for the past three years. Canyon reminds me a lot of Grayson. He’s the more serious, level-headed of the two of them,whereas Cass is the fun-loving brother. I built a friendship with all three of the Rhodes siblings in the time that I spent on their ranch, so having all three of them here will be a welcome distraction from my current reality.
“Oh my God,” I let out an embarrassing squeal. “Where are you staying? How long are you here for?”
“The boys’ have booked a motel just outside of town. The rodeo is on Saturday, but they have some business to take care of as well, so we’ll be in town until Monday. Which gives us four days, and I want all the dirty details about that man of yours.”
Butterflies swarm my insides as images of Killian and me kissing on my couch flit through my mind. And the way he held me to his chest last night until I fell asleep.
I haven’t told anyone about the kiss. With everyone being so close knit, telling my friends could complicate things, so I’ve kept it to myself. Having Lainey in town and getting her perspective on the situation as an outsider could be incredibly useful.
“I have so much to tell you,” I say, keeping my voice low in case one of the ranch hands hear me.
“Can’t wait. Listen, I have to go because Brianna is having a meltdown over her shoes. I swear to Christ, having a teenage daughter is not for the weak.”
I let out a laugh and tell her goodbye before hanging up and continuing about my day with a little more pep in my step.
***
I’m packing up my work tools when I catch a wave of blonde hair waddling into the tack room, and I smile as amuch smaller ball of blonde comes barrelling past her. “Slow down, Reign,” Savannah scolds as her daughter runs straight for me, wrapping her small arms around my legs.
“Hey, little one,” I laugh, reaching for a hand towel to wipe the muck off my palms.
“Hi,” Reign replies, her voice a shy squeak in comparison to her outgoing actions.
“How was school?” I ask, kneeling to her height.
“Good. I learned how to write my name,” she tells me, holding her hands together and swinging her body side to side in the most endearing way.
“You did?” I ask, my voice full of pride and excitement.
She nods, her smile sweet and shy and I ruffle her hair. “Way to go, Reigny.”
Reign giggles, the sound warming my insides. “Can I go look at the horseys?”
I look to Savannah for confirmation before nodding. “Sure. Just don’t touch them without an adult with you, okay?”
“Okay,” she answers, already halfway out the door.
“God, I love that kid,” I tell Savannah, my cheeks aching with a smile.
“Me too,” she responds, her attention focused on her daughter as she stands in the entryway.
“How’re you feeling?”
Savannah blows a loose strand of hair off her face. “Like someone shoved a bowling ball inside of me and is now prodding me between the legs with a hot poker.”
I wince. “Ouch.”
