Chapter 26
Bella
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, they might bite ya’.”
~ Papa Duke
“I don’t know what to say, Mr. Spratt.”
“Well, say yes. That’s what you say.” His tone was gruff, but I knew that he was all bark and no bite.
“Can I give you an answer after I speak to my daughter?”
“Well, now. I suppose. But, I’m old, I don’t know how long I’ll be around so don’t make me wait too long.”
“I won’t. I’ll talk to you soon.” I hung up the phone and took a deep cleansing breath, and sneezed. A lot.
Dust was everywhere. I was in the barn, trying to clean it out. If we stayed I wanted to be able to use the space for animals. And if we left, I wanted it to be ready to show.
I brushed my hands down my dress and immediately regretted my decision to wear a sundress to clean out a barn. I’d thrown it on this morning and didn’t change because I thought, how messy could sweeping be? Very messy, I found out.
Leaning the broom against the post, I wiped some stray hairs that had stuck to my forehead and this time instead of inhaling, I exhaled. This past week had flown by and Sadie had been spending all of her time with Colton. From the moment she woke up, until she went to bed at night, she was at Circle M. She’d milked a goat. She had a favorite horse; his name was Cinnamon. She’d been riding every day.
Colton was trying to spend as much time with her before he left tomorrow to go on the two-week vacation for the show. He’d tried to insist that he not go, but Sadie talked him into it. She said Natalie would “kill” her if he didn’t, so like all good parents, he did what he didn’t want to do to make his daughter happy.
If she wasn’t with Colton, she was with her “favorite” aunt. I didn’t feel the need to point out that it was her only aunt. She and Cara were like two peas in a pod. They finished each other’s sentences. They practically had a secret language.
It was more than I could’ve ever hoped for her. A family.
The only negative had been that Owen wanted to come see her. He’d called and said that even though he wouldn’t push for custody, he did want to have a relationship with her. He said that he loved her and he wanted to be a part of her life.
Sadie was still upset about his new fiancée. She was angry and said that it was way too soon for him to be dating anyone, much less getting married. But it had made me feel better knowing that the man I was married to for eight years couldn’t just walk away from the girl that he’d raised, the girl whose life he’d saved, without a second thought.
“Hey, there.” His deep voice startled me and I jumped up.
“Colton,” I put my hand over my stomach. “You scared me. I didn’t hear your truck.”
“I walked,” He winked.
“Nice. Were you planning on saying that the entire walk over?”
“Yes,” he admitted shamelessly.
I smiled and my heart jumped. I’d missed him this week. Of course I was so happy that he was getting to spend so much time with Sadie, but I missed seeing him. I missed talking to him. I missed doing a lot of other things, too.
“Sadie’s not here. Cara picked her up and they were headed to the mall in Parrish Creek. They probably won’t be back for a few hours.”
“I know.” He stepped closer. “I asked her to.”
“You did? Why?”
“Because, I’m leaving tomorrow morning and I didn’t want to leave things unsettled…between us. I thought we should talk.”
We hadn’t had a chance to talk since before I told Sadie that Colton was her father. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking or feeling.
“And,” he brushed the stubborn hair that kept falling in my face off my forehead, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I let myself lean into his touch for a brief moment before straightening away from him. “But, you’re right. We need to talk.”
He dropped his hand, but his smile remained in place.
“What are you smiling about?” I asked.
“I’m just happy. That’s all. I’ve been happier this past week, than I ever have in my life.”
I knew exactly how he felt. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”
“She is, and so is her mother.” He stepped forward again and I took a step back.
Lifting my arms, I warned. “If you keep that up, we won’t talk.”
“I think I can live with that,” he continued his pursuit.
As much as I wanted to give in to him, to let him take me to places only he could take me, I really did think that we needed to get a few things straight. Starting with the phone call I’d just had.
“Did you lease The Best Little Hairhouse in Texas?”
That stopped him mid-stride.
Wearing his most innocent, choirboy expression, his brow furrowed. “Why would you ask that?”
I did take note that he didn’t deny it. Very clever. “Because I just got a call from Mr. Spratt saying that he heard I was interested in the property.”
“Maybe Tami Lynn told him.” He shrugged.
My eyes narrowed. “How did you know I told Tami Lynn that I wanted to lease it?”
His face tilted to the side and he gave me the same exact “come on” look that Sadie did. It was surreal seeing them together this week and realizing how many mannerisms they had in common. They both ate with their left hands, even though they were right-handed. They both stretched their hands over their heads when they yawned. And they both cracked their middle finger knuckle. Not any others just the middle finger.
“Fine. Tami Lynn told him. Did Tami Lynn also offer to pay the real lease amount for two years if I decided to take Mr. Spratt up on his offer to rent the place for a hundred dollars a month? Did Tami Lynn think that I wouldn’t figure out that there was no way Spratt would be that generous, even if he did like me as a kid?”
His mouth turned down at the corners and his brow lifted. “You should probably ask Tami Lynn.”
Again, I noted that he didn’t technically lie to me.
“Give it up, McCord. Spratt told me that you signed all the papers this afternoon, contingent on me wanting the space.”
His lips curled in the irresistible half-smile that had always melted me. “Well, if you already knew, what’s with the twenty questions?”
“I wanted you to come clean.”
He stepped up closer to me and I had to bend my head to look up at him. He was so close I could smell his aftershave and feel the heat radiating off his body. I could see the specks of gold in his eyes and feel his breath fan my face as he asked, “Is that what you want? For me to come clean?”
I opened my mouth to answer yes, but my vocal chords had apparently gone on vacation. So instead I just nodded because I definitely wanted whatever he was offering.