So, Harley’s daughter was the pixie dust kid.
“You know, I think they call that a therapist,” I said.
“My daddy sees a therapist,” Aria replied. Damn, his kid was giving away all his secrets. “He says she helps his head and heart feel better.”
I smiled slightly. I kind of liked that description.Better than one finding me a personality.
I leaned against the support beam as I considered her. She stared right back at me with big blue eyes that looked just like Harley’s. In fact, there was a lot of Harley in her from the color of her curls to how her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled.
That attitude, though, that wasn’t him at all.
“You know,” I began, “it’s a good thing he sees a therapist, but maybe you shouldn’t tell everyone about it.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Well, he might not want everyone to know.”
“But he says it’s not a bad thing to need help.”
“It’s not,” I told her, “but it’s also not your place to tell other people that kind of thing about your daddy. It’s his business.”
“No, his business is helping other people with their business,” Aria replied, and I chuckled.
“What I mean is, your daddy should be the one to pick and choose who he tells that information to,” I explained. “It’s not nice of you to go around and tell people for him.”
“Oh.” Her face dropped instantly. “I didn’t mean to be mean to Daddy.”
“You weren’t mean to him,” I assured her. “You just didn’t know any better.”
“True.” From the look on her face, she was overthinking it.A very Harley thing to do.
“Hey, does your daddy know you’re out here?” I asked to change the topic.
“Nope! I went for a walk alone, and I saw your truck, and I thought I’d say hi.” That whole sentence fell out of her at a speed that was borderline inhuman. My mind rushed to catch up while I just nodded.
“Why don’t I walk you back to the house?” I said as I stepped down from the ladder. I dusted my hands off on my thighs and hooked my tape measure back into my toolbelt. “You don’t want your daddy to worry, do you?”
And I’d be damned if I just let her wander around when Harley didn’t have a clue.He’d have a panic attack if he couldn’t find her.
“Nope, I don’t!” Aria exclaimed. As I turned to walk her out the door, her little hand found mine, and her fingers wrapped around my pinky. It was unexpected. When I glanced down at her, the smile on her face was devastatingly adorable. “I don’t want you to get lost. It’s a big farm.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I replied.
Holy fuck, she never shut up.I didn’t have to say a goddamn word the entire time. This little girl just kept on talking and talking. Carson wasn’t the talkative type. When he had something to say, he’d say it, but this… shit, she was the goddamn Energizer bunny. My brain had to work overtime to keep track of everything she said.
As we got closer to the house, I heard Harley shouting her name. The worry in his voice made me feel bad. I probably should’ve texted him to let him know.
“I found her!” I hollered to stop him from panicking. He appeared around the corner of the house, and his frantic expression shifted to something of relief mixed with frustration.
“You can’t just walk out of the house without telling me!” Harley exclaimed as Aria let go of my hand and skipped over to him. When she was close, he hauled her off the ground, hugging her tightly. “Just because we have the space doesn’t mean you can just leave without an adult. What if something happened?”
“Something did happen! I found the pixie dust man in the barn!” Aria quipped, completely unfazed by his concern. My stomach dropped.Damn it.Would I ever outlive that stupid nickname? “Does he live there?”
“No, the pixie dust man doesn’t live in—Mr. Fox doesn’t live in our barn,” he replied, and I frowned.Mr. Fox was almost worse than the pixie dust man.“He’s fixing the barn for us.”
“That’s so nice of you,” she said. With her arms still around his neck, she stared at me. Seeing them side by side was wild. She was his mini-me in so many ways. “You should come have lunch with us.”
“Oh,um…I’m sure Mr. Fox has his own plans for the rest of the day.” The look Harley gave me practically begged me to agree. I was tempted to be a shithead and suggest otherwise, but I couldn’t do that to him.
