“Good.” I smile down at her. “I’ll make sure Lollipop is ready to go.”
“Yes.”
She waves to me before going to say goodbye to Lollipop, leaving Presley and me in an awkward silence.
“Thanks for bringing her out here,” I say, stuffing my hands in my jean pockets.
“Sure. We’ll see you Friday.”
Presley spins, grabbing Poppy by the hand and leading her out of the barn.
Well, things could have been worse. Poppy could have hated me right out of the gate and never wanted to come back.
I guess things with both of them might go better than I thought.
Chapter Twelve
KADE
“Joey, can I ask you something?”
Walking up to the front desk, I drop off the box of paint samples on the counter and lean over. I get an irritated look from her. Considering I’m her boss, it’s pretty bold of her. Considering she’s Presley’s best friend?
I still expect it. I’ll deal with it. Eventually I’ll win her over.
“What is it?” Her tone is more polite.
“What would a five-year-old like to do?”
“Huh?” She looks confused.
“Poppy is coming by this afternoon, and I don’t know what to do with her,” I confess.
“Didn’t you take her riding the other day?” she asks. “Kids love horses.”
“I already did that. I want to do something different with her.”
“Hiking? Archery? Fishing?”
“Fishing?” That piques my interest. “Would she like fishing?”
This time, I get a smile from Joey. “I think she’ll like it. Poppy isn’t your average girl. She likes doing everything. And I meaneverything.”
Fishing. I wouldn’t have thought of it, but I always liked fishing. It was something I was good at. Verne would take me out in his boat and we’d float for hours. Sometimes, we didn’t catch anything, but we’d enjoy each other’s company. Those days with him were some of my favorite.
Maybe Poppy will enjoy it like I did.
I rap my knuckles against the counter. “Thanks, Joey.”
As I start to walk away, she calls me back before I can leave.
“Kade.”
I stop, spinning on my heel to face her again. “Yeah?”
“Don’t hurt them. They’ve been through a lot and they deserve to be happy. Both of them.”
Why the fuck is everyone being so cryptic? I keep hearing about what they’re going through, but what the fuck? Have I really missed that much in the years I’ve been gone?
