Her voice was uncharacteristically strained, eyes wild.
“It’s perfect!” Just then, Mia jumped into the barn’s entrance, her arms splayed wide at her sides as she showed herself off. She all feathers, fabric, and a wide, gap-toothed grin. “I love it!”
Trinity spun toward her daughter and folded her into her arms. “Oh, look at that! It’s perfect on you.”
Mia’s nose scrunched. “You smell like a boy.”
Guilt-stricken eyes shot back toward Spencer, but Trinity tried to reclaim her poise. “Hmm. That’s weird.”
“Nana Jo told me to make a lot of noise before I came down to the barn so you would hear me. Not sure why.”
“How come she didn’t come down here with you?” Spencer stepped toward them.
“Her knees were bothering her or something.”
Her knees? Why hadn’t she said anything to him about her knees before? He knew she was still having issues with her shoulder, and the recent thing with her blood pressure. But nothing about her knees. “I should probably check on her,” he said to Trinity, gently touching her elbow.
“We should be on our way too. Don’t want to overstay our welcome.”
“Not possible.” Without thinking, Spencer pressed a light kiss to Trinity’s forehead.
A slight intake of breath pulled sharply through her lips, and they both looked down to find Mia gawking up at them with the biggest, widest gaze Spencer had ever seen.
“You just kissed Mommy.”
“I did.” He couldn’t lie. She’d seen the whole thing.
“Do you like her?” Mia plucked at a loose feather from her costume and spun it between her thumb and finger.
“I do,” he admitted. No sense in denying it. “How does that make you feel?”
“Happy.” The little girl beamed and then went on spinning and twirling in fast circles that made a few more feathers release from the costume and flutter to the ground.
“Me too,” Spencer said. “Makes me happy, too.”
“Me three,” Trinity echoed.
Something about hearing that she hadn’t regretted it made Spencer’s chest swell with relief. He figured things could go one of two ways, and he was happy with this particular outcome.
“But we should be going. It’s late and I’m sure my parents are ready for bed. Thank you again for everything tonight.” She placed a hand on Spencer’s forearm when she emphasized the wordeverything.
Spencer felt like he was walking on a cloud as he made his way back up the hill to the ranch house. His steps were light, his heart stretched so full to the point of bursting. Apparently, the evidence of that feeling had made its way all the way to his face, because the first thing Nana Jo said when he opened the front door was, “What’s got you smiling?”
“Nothing.”
“Spence, I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m no idiot when it comes to matters of the heart.”
He closed the door behind him and followed his nana into the kitchen. It smelled like apples and cinnamon, and his mouth watered in response. “You sent Trinity down to the barn, didn’t you?”
Josephine passed her grandson a mug filled with her famous cider, and he cradled the cup, enjoying the warmth that spread onto his palms.
“’Course, I did,” she admitted readily. “And I also told Mia to make a big fuss on her way back down. Didn’t want her interrupting anything.”
“Thank you for that.” He tipped his mug toward his grandmother and took a seat next to her at the kitchen table. It must have been their costume making station because he could still see a few loose strings and threads scattered across the tabletop like crumbs needing to be swept away.
“Did she?” Nana Jo asked.
“Did she what?”
