And now he just had to get Maya packed up and the moment would be here.
He was beyond excited, but the thought of leaving his daughter behind gave him a twinge.
“Are you sure you don’t mind staying with Allie’s parents tonight?” he couldn’t help asking.
“I like it at the farm,” Maya said lightly. “We can feed the animals and sit by the fireplace and tell stories. And Miss Lawrence said her daddy has a sweet tooth, so there willdefinitelybe dessert.”
He couldn’t help chuckling at her list of innocent pleasures.
“I’m glad you’re excited,” he told her.
“You’re excited too,” she said. “Right?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding.
That was an understatement.
“You can’t wait to see Miss Lawrence,” she said, with a funny little smile. “You’rein love.”
Normally his knee-jerk reaction would be to tell his daughter the truth and temper her expectations. He braced himself for a wave of guilt.
But it didn’t come.
Am I in love with Allie Lawrence?
“I like her very much,” he said carefully. “But Iloveyou.”
Maya giggled as he scooped her up and covered the top of her head in the quick little pecks Maya called bird kisses.
When he put her down, she grabbed her backpack and began industriously pulling on her boots.
“You’re all ready, huh?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s go,” she said, going for her coat.
“Do you need help with that?” he asked her.
“No, Miss Lawrence gave me a ribbon for my zipper,” she said proudly.
Sure enough, she was tugging on a pretty red ribbon that Allie must have tied onto Maya’s zipper pull to make it easier for her to grab.
“What a great idea,” he said, impressed.
“Now it’s easy,” Maya said with a big smile.
He pulled on his boots and coat, and they headed out to the truck together.
The wind had picked up a little, sending snowflakes swirling before they touched the ground.
“It’s cold,” Maya said. “Will it always be snowing?”
“Not always,” Ash told her. “But it is colder here than it was in the city.”
“That’s okay,” Maya told him. “I have a fluffy coat.”
She gazed out the window while he drove the short distance from their little house to Lawrence Farm, and he wondered what she was thinking about.
Ash knew he was biased, but he thought Maya was very observant, and he liked the way she thought things through, often surprising him with her perspective.
