I panicked the moment Chloe asked if Steed was going to ask me to marry him. It took me a few seconds to find my breath. She’d asked me to pretend I was her mommy during the mother daughter spa retreat we went to that morning, and my heart broke when I had to explain to her that would be lying.
Steed was talking to Chloe in that oh-so-sweet voice he used with her. My mind swirled as I tried to process what he said and the sad look on her face.
When he admitted that he’d hurt me, I had to reach out and hold onto the fence. He was so honest with her and with me. I knew it had been hard for him to take it slow. The kissing led to touching, which led to him waiting for me to give him permission to take things further. For some reason, I was hesitant. Oh, believe me I wanted to have Steed do all the dirty things he had been whispering in my ear over the last few weeks, but a part of me was still scared. If I opened that part of our relationship up again, I was opening my heart to the risk of being destroyed.
Steed’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “I promise you I’ll never hurt you or Paxton. Ever.”
Chloe leaned in close to her father. “Did you say you were sorry?”
My hand covered my mouth in an attempt not to laugh. I glanced at Melanie. She gazed lovingly at her son and granddaughter. The ache in my chest was hard to ignore. Knowing Steed had a child from another woman seemed to be my biggest hurdle. I loved Chloe, but I couldn’t shake the idea that I wasn’t the one to give Steed his first child. That some monster of a woman had made this precious, sweet, innocent little girl…the spitting image of her father.
Steed kissed Chloe on the nose, and her next words nearly knocked me off my feet.
“I trust you, Daddy.”
Steed beamed, and I knew those words also affected him deeply. “That means so much to me, pumpkin. I love you.”
Her little arms wrapped around his neck where she held on for dear life. He stood, taking her up with him. I watched as they stood there lost in one another. Steed held onto her until she was the one who was ready to break the contact. Chloe had trusted her father to never break her heart, and I honestly believed he never would. Not purposely. Just like he didn’t purposely break mine.
A million things started running through my mind. We had handled everything wrong, yet we had been so young. Weren’t we supposed to get stuff wrong? And I knew deep in my heart, just like Chloe did, that Steed would never hurt either one of us now.
Turning to me, Chloe grinned. “Paxton, do you like pumpkin bread too?”
The question threw me. I’d been so lost in thought that I had to force myself to push it all away and act normal.
“Yes! It’s one of my favorites.”
Steed set Chloe back on the ground, and she skipped over to Melanie. “Grammy, let’s go make bread!”
With a lighthearted chuckle, Melanie took Chloe’s hand, but not before glancing back at us. “You two kids have fun. Don’t rush back.”
She winked, and I felt my face flush. Cord lost it laughing. “And that’s my cue to get the hell out of dodge. I’ve got to get to the bar. Y’all enjoy your ride.”
Steed made his way over to me, took my hand, and led me to his horse. “Come on. Let’s go saddle up a couple horses.”
“What’s wrong with riding Lady?” I asked.
“She’s due for a break. I’ve been on her damn near all morning with Trevor.”
I nodded and followed. Peeking over my shoulder, I watched Melanie and Chloe drive off on the mule, headed back up to the house. My chest squeezed as I thought about the amazing morning I’d spent with Chloe. I was falling head over heels in love with her. It wasn’t hard; she was precious. Her heart so full of love and a need to be loved right back.
Steed set off to work, taking Lady’s saddle off, brushing her, getting her some fresh water and a small snack of oats. Trevor walked into the barn, leading two horses behind him.
“Thought y’all might like to exercise a few of the horses for me. I don’t get near enough time to give them all their fair share.”
I walked over to the beautiful bay mare who was standing so patiently behind Trevor. My hand ran over her gorgeous reddish brown color. Her mane and tail were black and matched the lower half of her legs. She bobbed her head a few times as if to tell me to just get on her already. She was ready to go. I smiled as I pressed my face into her side and breathed in her heavenly scent.
Steed gave Trevor a light tap on the shoulder. “Thanks, Trevor! You didn’t have to this.”
He laughed. “Considering you kicked my ass at roping, I figured I’d do something nice for you.”
Steed did the same thing I’d done with my horse. His hands moved over the Blue Roan. “Fucking hell, she’s beautiful,” he said.
Trevor nodded. “I just bought her not too long ago from a breeder in Mason. His wife trained her, and I’ve got to say, she did one hell of a good job. I’ve never had a mare behave like such a lady as this one.”
“What’s her name?” I asked while still running my hands along my horse.
Trevor pointed to my horse first. “This here is Allure.”
My brows lifted. “Very fitting name for her.”
He laughed. “Yeah, and this one is Marley.”
I crinkled my nose. “That’s an adorable name for her.”
Steed took the reins from Trevor. “Anything you need us to do when we get back?”
“Hose them down, and make sure they have fresh water. They’ll get oats tomorrow morning, so a bit of hay cubes is fine if you want to treat them.”
“Got it.”
Trevor started to walk off. “Oh, and just an FYI. They like to run.”
I laughed. “Oh gosh, I feel a race coming on.”
We rode in silence for a bit until we were off the main trail, cutting through one of the pastures. Steed seemed lost in thought, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about what Chloe had said.
“Today at the spa, Chloe told me her Christmas wish list.”
He laughed. “She’s been asking to write a letter to Santa Claus, but told me it wasn’t ready for me to read it. Of course, I can hardly read what she writes anyway.”
I chuckled.
“What was on it?” he asked.
I cleared my throat. “Well, some things you’ll love, one you will hate.”
His brows pinched together. “Really?”
Nodding, I giggled. “Yep. She said she wanted her own horse. A bed for Patches so she could sleep in her room with her.”
Steed let out a roar of laughter.
I went on. “A Barbie dream house. Some books, other things like dresses and make-up.”
“Make-up?” he gasped. “What the fuck does she need make-up for?”
My failed attempts to hide my smile only made him frown more. “Fuck,” he said, his hand raking through his beautiful brown waves.
“Then she said she wanted a boyfriend. Preferably Timothy Knox.”
Peeking over to watch his reaction, I thought he was going to blow the top of his head off.
“Boyfriend! Who the fuck is Timothy Knox?”
My cheeks ached from holding back laughter. “He’s a classmate. Sweet little boy. He always pulls her chair out for her if he is near. And he always sits next to her at lunch.”
Steed’s eyes widened in horror. “W-what?”
I looked ahead of me. If I kept staring at Steed, I was sure to start laughing my ass off.
“You need to move him.”
Lifting a brow, I asked, “Move him? Move him where?”
“Away from my daughter! To another class!”
“Steed, I’m the only kindergarten teacher. I can’t have him moved. Besides, I wouldn’t even if I could.”
“Why not? The little bastard is going after our Chloe.”
My breath seized in my throat.
Our Chloe.
Not wanting to make a big deal out of what he said, I ignored it. “They’re five. It’s harmless.”
“It’s not harmless if my daughter wants to be his girlfriend.” He shook his head and brought Marley to a stop. “I’m going to be sick.”
A small part of me felt sorry for him.
“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you she asked for a kiss from him also.”
Steed’s face turned white, and he slid off of his horse. He stumbled for a few steps and dropped back onto his ass.
It shouldn’t have, but damn, it turned me on seeing him react this way. I knew I was making a mistake sliding off my horse, but I was tired of playing it safe. Besides, it was obvious that Steed needed me.