Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Bennett
Two days go by, and I don’t see Delaney at drop-off. I’ve barely been at the shop either, and every time I’m there, she’s either with a customer or on her lunch break.
The ache to catch a glimpse of her keeps growing, but it needs to stop because she has way too much on her plate to deal with my bullshit. Her crying the other morning made that clear as fuck.
It also made it clear that a part of me still aches to comfort her, to reach for her, to soothe her pain. But I’m not the guy who plays that role in her life anymore. I lost that right.
And I have to keep reminding myself of that fact.
“Daddy, did you know Levi is Leia’s uncle?” Wren asks from the back seat, and I glance at her in the rearview mirror.
“I did. Her mom and Levi are twins.”
“She said her uncle is going to bring her to the ranch to ride. Can I meet her there?”
“We’ll see.”
Her legs swing back and forth while she watches the fields blur past the window. “She said her uncle is taking her to a rodeo. Can we go?”
Levi’s been in the circuit since he was young. He and Nash are saddle bronc riders with a mutual addiction to adrenaline.
“You’ve been before. We went and saw Nash, remember?”
“That was, like, two years ago. I was just little then.”
She pouts, and I can tell she’s gearing up to ask again. She’s been on a mission to hang out with Leia since she and Kayla named her their fellow best friend.
But now that I know Leia is Delaney’s daughter… I can’t pretend it doesn’t make it complicated—at least for me. What if Delaney doesn’t want to be anywhere near me? What if Leia being friends with Wren is already a sore spot for her?
“Maybe I’ll ask her mom when they plan on going.” I say it to appease Wren, but some stupid part of me wonders if I could just… accidentally run into them there.
God, what am I thinking? I torched any hope for a future with Delaney back in California.
“Yay!” Wren’s feet kick in excitement as I pull into the school lot. “There’s Leia! Do you see her, Daddy? Kayla too!” She reaches for her seat belt.
I’m too distracted by her trying to unbuckle herself to see the two girls she’s referring to as her best friends. I look at her in the rearview mirror again. “Wren, stay seated until I park.”
“But I don’t want to miss them!”
I find a spot, park, and before I can blink, she’s unbuckled and throws her door open—right into the truck next to us.
“Wren!” I snap, my tone harsher than I intend.
I’ve been shorter tempered than normal lately because of these feelings that won’t leave me alone now that Delaney is mere miles away from me.
That I could spend my entire day in the shop with her but be unable to touch her, to talk to her.
That her smile and laughter might never be pointed at me again.
“Sorry.” She leans back in her seat as Principal North steps out of the truck.
I get out, round the side, and immediately see the dent in the principal’s truck.
“In a rush there, Wren?” he says with a laugh. “Me too. Dentist appointment this morning.” He takes her hand and helps her down.
“I’m so sorry, Principal North.”
He waves me off. “Please. This truck’s old and beat up. I think the new ding adds character, don’t you?”
He winks at Wren, and I’m reminded why he’s the beloved principal of an elementary school, and I am not. He has the patience of a saint and the heart of a damn hero.
I grab Wren’s backpack and hand it to her. She puts it on, but her eyes keep darting toward her friends. I remember being eager to see my friends at her age.
“I’ll call my insurance.”
Principal North shakes his head. “No, you won’t.” Then he turns to Wren. “There’s Leia and Kayla. Let’s go before we’re late.” He waves to the crosswalk guard. “Cindy, let Wren catch up to her friends!”
Cindy puts up the stop sign, and Wren wraps her arms around my legs. I barely have time to bend and kiss her goodbye before she’s gone with a “love you” trailing behind her.
“I’m really sorry,” I say again, rubbing the back of my neck.
“I know. But while I’ve got you…”
Hearing that from a teacher or a principal is every parent’s nightmare. “Yes?”
He laughs, pats my shoulder. “Relax. I was going to say how great Wren is. She’s outgoing and smart and always making friends, but I’ve noticed she’s taken Leia Moore under her wing.”
He eyes me for a beat. “She’s a quiet one. Reminds me of a student I had once who clung to his cousin like a life raft.”
I cringe. “Was I that bad?”
He chuckles. “You needed Emmett, just like Leia needs Wren. I’m a sucker for friendships like that. Especially when one shows the other it’s okay to be yourself, let loose a little.”
“Well, I’m glad she’s doing that for her.” I shove my hands into my pockets.
I’m not sure who I would’ve turned out to be without Emmett always pushing me to do things outside of my comfort zone. Even years later, I’m still the quiet guy who generally listens more than I talk.
“So, I’ll take the ding.”
I nod. “Thanks.”
We glance toward the school. The three girls are walking up the pathway hand in hand.
My eyes lock on Leia. Her braid is done the same way Delaney wore hers the other day—wrapped around her head and down one side of her neck. And her clothes… she looks as though she just walked off a kid’s fashion magazine shoot.
“It’s nice to have a familiar face back in Willowbrook, don’t you think?” Principal North cuts into my thoughts. “Feels like memory lane, doesn’t it?”
“Ah… a little, yeah.”
“You know what I love more than those friendships?”
“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”
He laughs. “When the one who was helped becomes the one doing the helping. Now excuse me, I have to get inside the school to make it before assembly.”
He raises his brows as though he knows exactly what he’s doing, then nods and walks toward the school. “Good to see you, Bennett.”
I watch the girls disappear into the building while his words land with the exact weight he anticipated.
I might not be able to be a part of Delaney’s life the way I always wished, but I can’t leave her floundering either. I have no idea if she’ll be receptive to my help, but I have to give it a try for the woman who held my future in her hands for so many years.