“No, I just work,” I counter.
Jimmy pulls out his phone and shows me the picture of us at the bakery, and then he slides it to one of me helping her in my truck.
“Fuck.”
He laughs. “Yeah, it’s going around. And the one of you guys dancing.”
I bet that’s why Jeremy was there.
“It’s nothing, you know that.”
“Yeah, I do, but you and I both know that the people in this town aren’t going to let it go.” He taps my chest. “I’m going to do my job now and clear your name. Do me a favor? Keep away from the damn Gatlins.”
If he only knew…
“All right, you ready?” I ask Sadie after we’re finished cleaning up from dinner. Harper cooked, and the rule in this house is that whoever eats helps clear dishes.
It was my turn to wash, and Sadie helped dry.
Dad took a nap because he’s apparently too old and feeble to do housework. Never mind we found him working in the coop with Sadie all afternoon, building a damn shelf for the chickens to shit on.
Feeblemy ass.
She beams up at me. “You mean it?”
“A promise is a promise, isn’t it?”
“It is, and a Stone promise is hard as a rock.”
I grin. “That is true.”
Sadie and I walk out to the barn where Cloud is kept. I push the large doors open and watch as she makes her way to his stall. Immediately, my body tenses, but instead of rearing back or getting agitated, Cloud almost settles as Sadie approaches him.
“Hi, boy,” Sadie says, holding out an apple. “Here, I brought you a treat.”
The horse starts to shift a little, and I step forward, but Sadie looks back at me, shaking her head.
Every protective instinct in me is screaming. Demanding I go to my daughter, rip her away from the animal that almost killed her, but I stand still.
“Sadie,” I warn.
“Don’t be upset, Cloud. Daddy isn’t going to come close. It’s just us.”
I watch her soothing him with her voice. She continues to talk to him, telling him about her day, how she stood up for herself at school, and how proud he’d be. She talks about nonsense. What she ate, her choice of outfit, and, of course, the damn chickens.
Apparently she ordered some misting system so the chickens can cool themselves during the day.
I have no words.
I sit on the bench, giving her the time she needs, smiling at some anecdote she tells him, and I remember the day I gave her Cloud.
She was so happy. Her big blue eyes lit up, and she screamed and threw her arms around me and thanked me over and over. What a different time for us both.
After a few more minutes, she pets his nose, says good night, and comes over.
“I’m done.”
I nod once, pushing to my feet. “Feel better?”
