Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
KADE
“You’re looking awfully antsy there, boss,” Sam says.
I check the stirrup one last time before adjusting the girth on Lollipop.
“Presley is bringing Poppy to the ranch today. I want her to have a good time.” But then a worried thought hits me. “Can a kid her age even ride a horse?”
Lollipop chomps down on more hay, not a care in the world.
Sam laughs at me. “She’ll be fine. I had Lennox on a horse at four. Poppy is going to love it.”
“I hope so.”
Because this is the first time I’m spending any kind of time with my daughter.
Daughter.
I still can’t believe she’s mine. That Presley and I have a kid together and I only just found out about it.
I try not to let that thought stoke my rage. I’ve already missed so much with her, and I don’t want to lose any more time.
If getting to spend a few hours with Poppy means having to see Presley, so be it. It’s not like anything is going to happen again.
That kiss?
I don’t care how fucking good it was. How it awakened feelings in me that I haven’t felt in years. Things I’ve only felt with Presley.
Sure, I’ve dated and had relationships while in Seattle. I wasn’t going to become celibate just because I didn’t have her.
But nothing ever felt as good as being with her.
I shut that thought down. Lock it up tight. I’m here for the ranch. And now Poppy. Everything else can be figured out later.
No more kisses or almost-kisses.
The sounds of footsteps grow closer. Spinning on my heel, I see Poppy running toward me with Presley following in her wake. At a much slower pace.
“Hi, Kade.” She’s out of breath by the time she stops in front of me.
Her blonde hair is in pigtails, and she’s in a pink sweatshirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. She’s fucking adorable.
“Hi, Poppy.” I drop down to my knees to get on her level.
I have no idea how to interact with kids. I’ve never really been around them before. It’s a whole new world for me.
“What are we going to do today?” she asks, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“I thought maybe we could ride horses.” My eyes dart to Presley’s. “If it’s okay with your mom.”
Poppy runs over to her, jumping up and down. “Please, Mom? Can I ride the horse?”
“Only if you listen to Kade. You’ve never been on a horse, and I don’t want you falling off.”
“Yes!” She pumps her arm before coming back over to me. “She said yes.”
“Follow me.”
Poppy grabs my hand, walking beside me. It tugs on my heart as I lead her into the barn. It’s not the worst start to this parenting thing.
“This is Lollipop.”
Leading her up to the mare, we approach her from the front.
“Her name is Lollipop?” she asks, looking up at her in awe. “She doesn’t look like a Lollipop.”
“She’s really sweet. I have a feeling she’ll like you, but why don’t we warm her up with a treat?”
“Okay.”
Presley stays close, eyeing us as I grab a bag of carrots and pull one out. The horse’s eyes track the movement, feet stamping on the ground.
“She’s excited,” Poppy tells me, still standing a few feet away from the horse.
“She likes treats. Hold your hand like this.” I demonstrate how to hold it out flat. “I’ll put the carrot on your palm and Lollipop will eat it, okay?”
She does as I tell her, and there’s barely time to give her the carrot before Lollipop is sniffing at it before gobbling it down.
“Her mouth tickles.” Poppy giggles as Lollipop chomps on the carrot.
“You’re doing a really good job,” I encourage.
“She’s pretty.”
“Do you want to pet her?”
“Yes.” Poppy bobs her head up and down.
“You can rub her nose between her eyes.”
Her face lights up with delight as Lollipop lets her pet her. So far, things seem to be going well. I mean, it could be worse. She could have run crying from the barn. Then any hope of a relationship with my daughter would go right out the window.
It probably helps that Poppy was talking to me before she even really met me.
“Let’s grab you a helmet,” I say.
Helping Poppy get the right size, I get her all buckled in before helping her on the horse. She looks fucking adorable sitting up there on Lollipop.
Grabbing the rope, I click at the horse and start leading the two of them around the ring. Presley is standing in the middle of the barn, a nervous look on her face.
Having done this before, I know how to do it. And with Lollipop being the sweetest horse on the ranch, Poppy is in good hands. Her hands are wrapped tight around the horn of the saddle.
“Are you liking it?” I ask Poppy.
“I really like it. Can we go faster?”
I shake my head. “Not today. If you want lessons, maybe your mom can bring you out to the ranch and I can teach you.”
“I don’t think Mom has ever ridden a horse before.”
“She has,” I answer without thinking.
“Really? Maybe she can ride with me.”
I glance over to Presley. A memory crashes into my mind. One of when Presley and I took one of the older horses out for a ride. I had a picnic for the two of us. It was the first time we ever slept together. That was one of the best days of my life.
I miss those days. Now that I’m back in Pinecrest, it’s harder to push aside the memories.
Because everywhere I turn is steeped in history.
The two of us were always joined at the hip.
Where one of us went, the other was always there.
There isn’t a place that Presley and I haven’t gone.
Haven’t shared something special together. I wish it didn’t hurt, but it does.
Being here now makes me realize just how much I’ve missed out on.
“Hey Sam,” I call out. “Want to help lead Poppy around the barn?”
“Sure thing, boss,” he agrees.
“Sam’s going to take you around the barn, okay? I’m going to talk to your mom.”
“Make sure to tell her I want lessons,” Poppy says.
I smile up at her. “I will.”
Heading to where Presley is, I nod my head toward the benches on the side.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Presley?”
“Sure.”
She looks at me, eyes shifting, like she’s nervous. That’s new.
I drop down next to her. Our knees brush together and I ignore the swooping feeling in my gut. Nope, not going to think about that at all.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Presley pulls her knee back, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Huh. Seems like she’s not the only one feeling things.
“I’m not going to lie, Pres. I’m pissed. Really, really pissed.” I turn to face her and she’s looking down, picking at her fingernail. “I have a daughter that I didn’t know about. It hurts.”
“I tried, Kade. When I realized I was pregnant, I called you, but your number was disconnected. I went to your mom’s and she didn’t want to talk to me. Believe me, I tried. But you made it clear you didn’t want anything to do with me, so I did what I had to.”
“I’ve missed a lot and I don’t want to miss anything else.”
“Okay.”
“And I—wait, okay?” I’m shocked. I thought she would put up more of a fight than this. “You’re okay with it?”
Presley looks worried now.
“What’s going on, Pres?”
“Look, if you’re going to have a relationship with Pop, you and I have to be cordial.” She ignores me.
I smirk at her. “I think we’re being pretty cordial to one another right now.”
“I mean…” She casts a glance to the ring to make sure Poppy is still riding. She is. “We can’t have any more repeats of what happened at the diner.”
“It was a mistake. It won’t happen again,” I agree.
Something flashes in her eyes. Did she expect me to fight her? It was a mistake. Sure, I have no idea what is going on in my life, but starting things with Presley? It’ll only complicate matters.
“Good. I have a meeting Friday. Would you want to watch Poppy?”
“Yes.” I jump at the chance. “I’d really like that.”
Sam stops with Poppy in front of us and helps her down. She comes running over, head bobbing under her helmet, and throws her arms around Presley.
“Did you see me, Mom? That was so much fun.”
“You did great, baby.” She unclicks the helmet and presses a kiss to her cheek. “What do you say to Kade?”
“Thank you.” She turns her attention to me and throws her arms around me. “That was the mostest fun ever!”
“I’m glad you had fun.” Fuck. That makes my heart grow two sizes. “I have something for you, Poppy.”
“You do?” she asks, looking up at me.
“I do.”
Jogging back into the office, I grab the hat off its hook and head back into the ring. Poppy is standing next to Presley. The two of them are playing some game with their hands. Watching them together, it’s easy to see how much they love each other.
I’m glad Presley is going to let me have a relationship with her. Because I don’t want to lose any more time with Poppy. I want what they have. It might take a while to get there, but I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Well, at least for the time being.
“This is for you.”
I hold the hat in my hands out for Poppy, and her eyes light up with happiness. “Really?”
It’s a small, beige cowgirl hat. She wastes no time plopping it right on her head.
“You look like a cowgirl,” I say.
“This is so cool. Thanks.”
Poppy wraps her arms around me and damn, I really could get used to this.
“What do you say about coming back here on Friday, Poppy, and hanging out with Kade?”
She nods her head with a ferocity, the hat falling off. “That would be so much fun.”
“Good.” I smile down at her. “I’ll make sure Lollipop is ready to go.”
“Yes.”
She waves to me before going to say goodbye to Lollipop, leaving Presley and me in an awkward silence.
“Thanks for bringing her out here,” I say, stuffing my hands in my jean pockets.
“Sure. We’ll see you Friday.”
Presley spins, grabbing Poppy by the hand and leading her out of the barn.
Well, things could have been worse. Poppy could have hated me right out of the gate and never wanted to come back.
I guess things with both of them might go better than I thought.