CHAPTER 86
maverick
Bright and early, I drove out to Harley’s farm. I talked myself out of making it awkward and getting him a coffee on the way. He was my boss; I was his contractor. I didn’t need to bring him coffee. Besides, he probably had better coffee at his house anyway.
As agreed upon, I didn’t bother checking in with him.
I just drove straight to the barn and got to work.
I started with measurements for new boards, making notes on the little pad of paper I kept shoving back into my pocket.
Time passed easily as I built a list of exactly what I needed, left markers around the barn for places to work, and made a plan to run by Harley to go over what to do and where.
I was standing on a small ladder inspecting a board when I was interrupted.
“Did you ever find a doctor for your personality?”
I paused, recognizing the tiny voice throwing shade like she had no care. I glanced down to see the little girl from Sparrow & Sage standing there in a new poofy dress, this one all purple to match the creepy bear she hugged.
So, Harley’s daughter was the pixie dust kid.
“You know, I think they call that a therapist,” I said.
“My daddy sees a therapist,” Aria replied. Damn, his kid was giving away all his secrets. “He says she helps his head and heart feel better.”
I smiled slightly. I kind of liked that description. Better than one finding me a personality.
I leaned against the support beam as I considered her. She stared right back at me with big blue eyes that looked just like Harley’s. In fact, there was a lot of Harley in her from the color of her curls to how her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled.
That attitude, though, that wasn’t him at all.
“You know,” I began, “it’s a good thing he sees a therapist, but maybe you shouldn’t tell everyone about it.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Well, he might not want everyone to know.”
“But he says it’s not a bad thing to need help.”
“It’s not,” I told her, “but it’s also not your place to tell other people that kind of thing about your daddy. It’s his business.”
“No, his business is helping other people with their business,” Aria replied, and I chuckled.
“What I mean is, your daddy should be the one to pick and choose who he tells that information to,” I explained. “It’s not nice of you to go around and tell people for him.”
“Oh.” Her face dropped instantly. “I didn’t mean to be mean to Daddy.”
“You weren’t mean to him,” I assured her. “You just didn’t know any better.”
“True.” From the look on her face, she was overthinking it. A very Harley thing to do.
“Hey, does your daddy know you’re out here?” I asked to change the topic.
“Nope! I went for a walk alone, and I saw your truck, and I thought I’d say hi.” That whole sentence fell out of her at a speed that was borderline inhuman. My mind rushed to catch up while I just nodded.
“Why don’t I walk you back to the house?” I said as I stepped down from the ladder. I dusted my hands off on my thighs and hooked my tape measure back into my toolbelt. “You don’t want your daddy to worry, do you?”
And I’d be damned if I just let her wander around when Harley didn’t have a clue. He’d have a panic attack if he couldn’t find her.
“Nope, I don’t!” Aria exclaimed. As I turned to walk her out the door, her little hand found mine, and her fingers wrapped around my pinky. It was unexpected. When I glanced down at her, the smile on her face was devastatingly adorable. “I don’t want you to get lost. It’s a big farm.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I replied.
Holy fuck, she never shut up. I didn’t have to say a goddamn word the entire time.
This little girl just kept on talking and talking.
Carson wasn’t the talkative type. When he had something to say, he’d say it, but this…
shit, she was the goddamn Energizer bunny.
My brain had to work overtime to keep track of everything she said.
As we got closer to the house, I heard Harley shouting her name. The worry in his voice made me feel bad. I probably should’ve texted him to let him know.
“I found her!” I hollered to stop him from panicking. He appeared around the corner of the house, and his frantic expression shifted to something of relief mixed with frustration.
“You can’t just walk out of the house without telling me!
” Harley exclaimed as Aria let go of my hand and skipped over to him.
When she was close, he hauled her off the ground, hugging her tightly.
“Just because we have the space doesn’t mean you can just leave without an adult. What if something happened?”
“Something did happen! I found the pixie dust man in the barn!” Aria quipped, completely unfazed by his concern. My stomach dropped. Damn it. Would I ever outlive that stupid nickname? “Does he live there?”
“No, the pixie dust man doesn’t live in—Mr. Fox doesn’t live in our barn,” he replied, and I frowned. Mr. Fox was almost worse than the pixie dust man. “He’s fixing the barn for us.”
“That’s so nice of you,” she said. With her arms still around his neck, she stared at me. Seeing them side by side was wild. She was his mini-me in so many ways. “You should come have lunch with us.”
“Oh, um… I’m sure Mr. Fox has his own plans for the rest of the day.” The look Harley gave me practically begged me to agree. I was tempted to be a shithead and suggest otherwise, but I couldn’t do that to him.
“Sorry, spooky queen, I’ve got things to do,” I told her. To Harley, I added, “I need to finish up a few things in the barn, but then I’ll be done. Do you want me to email everything over to you? Would that be easier?”
“Please,” Harley said. “As long as you don’t mind.”
“Not in the least.”
“Will you go inside and let me talk to Mr. Fox for a few minutes?” He set Aria on the ground, giving her a little jostle to make her giggle. “When I come in, we’re having a talk about you running out of the house.”
“Fine!” She let out a dramatic and exasperated sigh as she stomped her way up the stairs.
“The sass in that one is real,” I commented under my breath. Hands in my pockets, I wandered closer to him.
“You have no idea,” he said. His gaze never left her until the front door was shut behind her. “I’m sorry she showed up.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah, but my daughter isn’t your responsibility.”
“I know, but don’t beat yourself up about it, Harley.” I wanted to soothe the worry in him—a notion that was both dangerous and unexpected.
“All I can think of is what if she walked off the property?” he whispered. “And I know it’s parenting and all of that, but she’s never lived in a place like this. She spent her whole life in a condo, where all the neighbors loved her.”
“I can see that.” She was easy to like. “On the upside: today nothing happened. She’s safe, she’s happy, and she never made it off the property. I think a lot of kids wander out of the house at some point.”
He nodded slowly, and I could tell he wasn’t entirely convinced. I couldn’t blame him for that. The what-ifs ranged from frustrating to devastating.
“If it helps,” I continued, pushing my luck because this wasn’t my conversation to have with him, “one of my customers has a kid that sleepwalks out of the house. She had me install a few of those hook-locks on her doors to keep him from getting out. It might be a way to keep her in the house while you work on boundaries. I could bring them over next time and install them for you if you’d like. ”
“Is that too much? Is that overbearing?” Harley asked quietly. I knew where his mind was going with that question. It wasn’t hard to figure out that he was worried about becoming his mother.
Gently, I bumped my shoulder into his, making him glance at me.
“You’re a good dad, Harley,” I reassured him. “You’re nothing like her.”
“She threw glitter at you.”
“That was pixie dust,” I scoffed. He laughed—the sound was easier and smoother than it had ever been. “And I got a goddamn wish out of it.”
The same wish that was supposed to be whatever my heart needed.
And as I stood next to Harley laughing, the irony of that wasn’t lost on me.