“You heard me.”
“Don’t do that thing you do,” I warned.
“What thing?”
“That witchy thing where you make proclamations and then they come true.”
“You don’t want a baby?”
“I’d like a man who actually loves me first.”I sighed.“I have a baby.A fur-baby.”
“Speaking of that, whereisMildred?”
“I left her with Poet.It’ll be hard to run errands with a dog.And I didn’t want to leave her home alone.”
“No need to when your best friend lives a few blocks away now.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m glad you’re here, sugar.It wasn’t the same without you.Now grab a knife and start cutting some veggies.”
ChapterNine
The Ranch
Lenni blew into the main house, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“I love horses!”
I looked up from placing the lasagna noodles on top of three types of cheeses.“I thought we knew that already.”
“No.”She shook her head.“I mean Ireallylove them!Mr.Powell took me to the barn and Brooks showed me how to brush and care for Goldie.That’s Hadley’s horse.”
My lips flickered with a smile.“She’s sweet, isn’t she?”
“So sweet,” Lenni agreed.“Then I watched Archer shoe a colt.”
I didn’t miss that she’d called her father by his given name.
“He’s really good,” Lenni went on.
“The colt?”
She shook her head.“Archer.Have you ever seen a farrier in action?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Well, it’s cool.He let me file a hoof.It’s called rasping.”
I held in my sigh of relief.Archer had found a way to connect with his daughter.
“You have to see it,” she said, taking my hand and tugging me toward the door.
I laughed.“Hang on a second.I’m in the middle of making a lasagna.”
“Please?” Lenni begged.
The back door slid open and Muddy came inside, holding an empty wicker basket.
