Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Bennett
I walk downstairs, the house quiet since Wren is still half asleep after I woke her up. After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I’m only one sip in when I notice the mess from last night, so I set down my coffee and wash the ice cream bowls from Wren and Nash’s sundae making.
I dump out the half-eaten bowl of popcorn, then wipe the spilled coffee from Nash filling his Thermos this morning.
Once the kitchen is clean, I walk back upstairs to make sure Wren is getting ready. She’s just sitting up in bed, her hair in a messy braid. Who would’ve done that? The best Jensen or Nash would’ve accomplished is a lopsided ponytail.
“Do you want to pick your outfit, or me?” I used to do it, but recently there have been some disagreements on what she should wear to school. And after seeing Leia from the back the other day, I’m starting to see why Wren keeps telling me her clothes are too old and boring.
“You can do it.” She rubs her eyes.
“Have a fun time with Nash last night?” This is the usual repercussion of having him watch her. It’s like a party, and I’m the mean police officer breaking it up when I come home.
But by the time I returned from Lincoln yesterday, she was already in bed.
“We went and rode Biscuits. He said my balance is getting better.”
I pick out shorts and a T-shirt for her and place them on the edge of her bed. “That’s good.”
“Leia rode Sparkles.”
My hands still on the sheets as I prepare to make her bed. “Leia was there?”
I want to drill her with questions and ask if Leia’s mom was there. Did Wren talk to her? How was she?
“Yeah, that’s why Nash took me. Leia told me she was going to start riding lessons, so I begged him until he was sick of hearing me whine.” She giggles.
“Wren, you can’t do that. He’s doing me a favor when he watches you.” I continue making her bed, tugging the sheet for her to get out of bed and get ready.
She gives me a shrug and stands, walking into the bathroom that I had added especially for her.
My family made a lot of additions when I decided to move out of my parents’ house and into this one.
Then Jensen returned and needed a place to stay, and Nash followed soon after.
It was never my intention to have Wren live with three adult males, but Jensen and Nash both offer Wren qualities I don’t possess.
Nash is the wild party one who diverts responsibility, and Jensen is the one who bakes with her and colors and even does crafts with her.
“Her mom braided my hair,” she mumbles around her toothbrush, toothpaste dripping out of her mouth onto her pajama shirt.
Even with pieces slipping out from sleeping with it, the braid is better than I could do. “It’s pretty.”
I tuck the comforter up and under her pillow, then set the stuffed animals in the perfect order she prefers.
She plops down on the bed, still brushing her teeth. “She’s pretty.”
Yeah, she is. Delaney’s gorgeous, and age has only made her more stunning.
“Did you hear me?” Wren asks.
“Go spit the toothpaste out before it drips on your bed.”
She grunts but slides off the bed and goes to the bathroom, coming out a minute later as I’m about to walk out of the room. “I like her. She’s nice.”
I nod. “I’m glad you had fun.” My hand lands on the door handle to give her privacy to change. “Hurry up, okay?”
“Levi made her cry.”
I release the door handle. “What?”
“They were talking at the picnic table while we were riding, and I saw her crying. Then Levi hugged her.”
“You don’t know why?” I’m pretty sure my question is useless, but one thing I’ve learned as Wren gets older is that her ears are always open.
“No, I was riding.”
I figured. It’s a mystery I’m going to have to try to control myself from solving because it’s none of my business. She’s only given me a little glimpse into her life in California, and I don’t want to push questions on her, but rather have her trust me when she feels comfortable.
“Let’s go. It’s going to be a cereal breakfast here if you don’t hurry.”
Wren rushes over to the clothes I laid out for her. “Uncle Jensen promised me last night that he’d give me extra chocolate chips if I went to bed.”
“How nice of him,” I mumble. I step out and am about to shut the door.
“I asked Leia if she saw her mom cry.”
I pause. Always when I think Wren’s moved on to something else, she gives me another morsel of information.
“Oh?” I hear my desperation to find out anything more and wonder if my daughter hears it too.
“Leia said her mom cries a lot. That she tries to hide it and always pretends she’s not.” She turns around, still not changed. “Why would she be so sad?”
I run my hand down the back of my head, giving myself a few seconds to come up with the best answer I can. “It’s been a lot of change for them. Can you imagine moving away from Plain Daisy Ranch? You’d be sad.”
“Yeah, but Leia said her daddy was a bad man. The police came into their house and took him away, and she hasn’t seen him since.”
How did I ever think that little girls didn’t talk? Here I’ve only been thinking about my own feelings that are stirring for Delaney again, while both Delaney and her daughter have a whole heap of problems she’s sifting through. How would Wren feel if she saw me being arrested?
“That’s sad too.”
She shakes her head. “Not if he was bad.”
I remember when the world was black and white at that age and not shades of gray.
“Well, now that they’re here, maybe her mom will be happier.”
That feeling inside me that I could be the one to make her happy rises up, but I’m not sure she’ll ever trust me again.
“Go, Daddy, I gotta change.” She shoos me with her hand, and I leave, shutting the door.
I hate that Delaney is dealing with so much and wish she’d let me be a shoulder to lean on, but I understand that I haven’t earned her trust after I’m the one who severed our tie.