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“I don’t mind. I’m secure enough in my masculinity to handle a purple bedroom.”

A smile crossed his face. More relief. He had such kind brown eyes when he relaxed. Cole ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair before walking downstairs.

“I should tell you no,” Cole groaned.

“But?” I asked, hoping for movement.

“But I’m too tired to argue and out of options. This isn’t like me. I swear⁠—”

“We all need help sometimes.” I leaned on the doorframe. “If I didn’t help, I’d not forgive myself.”

He looked around the tiny space, but his guard was down. “She’ll freak out. It will make her so happy to know we have a place to lay our heads and to see her new school.”

“We’ll sign a lease right away, then. I’m sure they’ll want to see that before they can enroll her.”

“Yeah. It will be good, right?”

“It will be good,” I said. “But what if you have the house before the end of the year?”

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “Overall, what she wants is to be near the barn. It’s not what we planned for. It’s not anything I expected. But having a place to sleep at night is a big win.”

“Good,” I agreed. “Well, let’s hope this is a good in-between to keep you together.”

“I only hope she doesn’t fall in love with it,” he chuckled. “She has expensive taste. I always tell her she better marry well.”

I snickered. “My mom always said the same. Instead, I am super-duper single at nearly thirty-five, and I make my own money. Honestly, that part? I wouldn’t change. The whole dramatic breakup I’m in the middle of? I could do without that shit.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah. I won’t burden you. It’s just gross.”

“Gotcha. Well, I hope it gets better for you, and we stay out of your hair enough.”

“I’m not around much, sadly,” I said. “I’m about to be in and out on a book tour.”

“You wrote a book?”

“Yeah. I did. So, they are ferrying me all over the US to promote it. My mom is throwing me a party to celebrate my release in the most embarrassing way. Oh and it’s my birthday, too.”

“Don’t get embarrassed. If my Piper managed to publish a book, I’d be shouting all about it. I’d embarrass the hell out of her and I wouldn’t care.”

I loathed to admit my mom’s reasoning for throwing this party was so she could trot out my achievement to all the Chicago bigwigs. She wanted a reason to out-party Lady Danna Delphine and her brood of Very Impressive Children. The only relief I had was that Lady Danna’s second youngest—my best friend—flew across the Atlantic to be here, too. That was all I could look forward to. Mom wasn’t like Cole. She was complicated.

Cole was the parent we all deserved which was why I felt so invested. Piper loved her dad enough to put herself out there to save his business. Meanwhile, my mother often stood in my way even when I was helping her. We couldn’t have had more different upbringings. I wanted Piper to have the best.

11. MACK TRUCK

COLE

I tucked Mack, the massive warmblood gelding Chloe entrusted me with, in his stall. He shook his head, lips slapping, relieved to be free of work—work in a climate-controlled arena. Lucky bastard! I’d only just started with the two warmbloods, but could appreciate their dead-headedness. Riding Mack—named I assumed after a Mack truck—felt like being on a floating couch. I was tall for a western rider, so he could handle my full leg more easily than some of the youngsters I started. He had no idea what direction his head was going in relation to his tail.

Thankfully, he was my second-to-last ride of the day—one that began at four AM. It was odd leaving Chloe’s palatial compound before dawn to arrive at a barn that wasn't mine. Having all my horses close, I’d gotten so spoiled in the last two years. I was fortunate that I had the day to myself—a day to breathe. We were only a week from the start of our trek to Tulsa—a last hurrah before Piper went to her new school.

Piper spent the day at an art and music camp her mother signed her up for, followed by some shopping and dinner in Chicago proper. She’d felt so grown up taking a cab to the train station this morning, texting me when she left, again at the station, and when she arrived downtown. Selfies were taken and I was happy to see her smile.

“You’re done, goober,” I patted Mack’s rump and left his stall. “Good job remembering I was on your back and trying not to kill me.”

He slurped a big gulp of water like he was dying before returning to his hay.