I pointed back to the closet. "It's summer. She needs open-toed sandals, and toes painted in a silver glitter."
"I don't have nail polish," Faith admitted.
I just grinned. "I do. The whole look should be smudge-proof and long-lasting. Wanna help the ladies paint their toes, Ash?"
He just laughed. "You do know that Cy is a lot closer to being your gay best friend than I am, right?"
"Yeah, but you're my fashion best friend," I teased. "And it's easier if I don't have to twist all weird and miss a side of a nail."
"Fine!" Ash said, throwing up his hands. "If that's what Faith wants, then that's what she gets."
The girl giggled. "You'll paint my toes too?"
"Promise," he said. "Gotta take care of both of my girls, right? Now you try this on, and we're going to be in Violet's room, waiting for the fashion show."
"Got it," she said.
I rolled off the bed, and together, Ash and I headed out. He closed the door softly behind him and then moved his hand to my back, guiding me to the opposite end of the hall. The whole time, there was a smile on his face.
"I kinda like being a dad," he admitted. "Or an uncle? Whatever this is. I like it, Vi. I'm pretty good with kids."
I claimed a spot in the middle of my bed and patted the mattress for him to join me. "She reminds me so much of me at that age."
"Yeah, but this time we'll get it right," he promised. "She might not end up famous, but she'll be healthy. That's the plan."
But there was a big problem with that. "They're going to bully her again."
He nodded. "Yeah. I know. This whole town knows what happened to Brody. At least three people mentioned it to me this morning at church. If they do, then you know their kids will."
"How do we prepare her for that?" I asked.
He just shook his head. "I have no idea. Do we tell her to be ready for it and make her worry more? Do we say it doesn't matter? I mean, all I can think is that she needs to talk to Cy."
"Then she'll do that tomorrow while her dad is in mediation," I decided. "I'll make sure Luke's on board tonight."
"Oh, spending the night with him?" he asked. "When do I get my turn?"
I just stuck my tongue out at him. "Two weeks, bud."
Ash leaned back against the pillows, crossing his arms behind his head. "And when she's at school?"
"Then it doesn't count, right?" I glanced over at him with a smile. "You got it bad, huh?"
"For both of you. Mostly, I'm thinking about Cy. They've been out riding for a while, you know."
"Mhm," I agreed. "Luke snuck off to talk to the pastor today, too."
"After that sermon, I'm not surprised," Ash admitted. "You do know this won't get easier once she's here for good, though. She'll be right in the middle of us, and he's not ready."
"We'll make it work," I promised. "We always do, Ash, and this? It's worth it. He's..."
"Perfect for us," he finished just as Faith's feet sounded in the hall.
Chapter Eight
Seeing the crimson red Mustang pull into the drive was the sign that my ride with Cy was over. The pair of us headed back to the barn so we could tack down the horses. Somewhere out there, we'd found a comfortable peace. The kind that made it hard to keep our eyes off each other.
But when we stopped, I climbed off Storm easily. Cy, on the other hand, wasn't used to sitting on something that big for that long. I made it to his side just as he swung his leg over. Without thinking, I shoved at the pommel of his saddle, making sure it didn't slip, and he stretched for the ground.
