“We have a supplier—someone who usually sells us a big ol’ pile of hay. But this year, his field didn’t grow enough of it. And we need a whole lot more than he’s offering.”
“Because you have a lot of horses,” she says with a sharp nod, a bit of life sneaking into her small voice. Ellie loves our horses like family. If paternity tests didn’t exist, that little fact would have convinced me just fine.
“Exactly. And your Grandpa Connor told us about a guy a few towns over who’s got good hay and really good prices, but he won’t hold them for long.”
“Can I come?”
I give a little grin. “I’ll be gone a few days. But Uncle Wilder and I can’t leave Rose alone. That woman tends to get into trouble when unsupervised.”
Ellie giggles.
“We need someone to keep an eye on her for us.” I wink. I have no doubt this little one’s going to tell on me but I’ve got a feeling Rose will get a kick out of it.
Ellie considers it for a moment. “Will you bring something back for me?”
I’ve known my daughter three months. She plays soccer, likes flowers, and is brave enough to give me a chance at being a dad. She’s got exactly one stuffed animal—Buttons—a pink bunny with several loose threads and not a single button.
“How about a new stuffy?”
Her eyes drop for a moment like she remembers something. When she frowns, I’m instantly on alert, like I’ve said something wrong. Like I’m undermining her worth by offering a stuffed toy for abandoning her for a few days.
She looks up at me with hopeful eyes. “Maybe when you come back, we could go pick up Piggy.”
I stare at her, wracking my brain to see if I can remember her mentioning a “Piggy” to me before.
“I left her on my bed to watch over all my things while I’m here.”
My lips part. Because it’s a reminder that we still don’t have all her stuff yet. The custody transfer from the Hartlys to me is still in progress. It shouldn’t take this long. Especially when both parties consent. But between the traveling for Maya’s treatment and our social worker, Rachel, not wanting to push the matter on Cole, who’s been busy fighting to keep his wife alive, it’s taking longer.
Too long.
Because I’m not one who deals well with things floating in the air. No set dates. Nothing signed. Nothing but a damn test that says Ellie is mine.
“OK, but I’d hate to come back empty-handed. Is there anything you don’t have at your grandparents’ house that I can get you?”
Her expression turns mischievous and playful again, easing my tension.
I narrow my eyes at her. “What are you gettin’ at, young lady?”
She shrugs innocently. “If you can’t find something I’ll like, how about a horseback ride?”
“I’ve taken you on a ride before.”
“Where you stand beside me and walk the horse. I want to go faster and far.”
My chest clutches. “Let’s talk about it when I get back. But I’ll still try and bring something back for you,” I say, determined to stop somewhere on the way to grab a book or something she might like. “It’s a promise.”
She smiles with a seal-the-deal kind of nod.
“Now go grab your slippers, think I saw one under my bed and the other under yours.” I perk a brow.
Ellie’s an odd duck. All her socks somehow manage to match and pair perfectly, but her slippers can be found in the strangest of places, and rarely together.
She shrugs as if to say,who knows how that even happened? Then runs off.
I stand with a groan and look around the guest room of my brother’s house. It’s been six months since I moved in here after Millie’s death. Three of those months I spent either locked up in my room, or getting into fights at the local bar.
I was a shell of the man I used to be. The one who put Blue River Ranch before anything else. Sunrise to sundown, and then some. Even long before Dad retired.
