Chapter 22 #3
He looked over at her, seeming startled. “Oh. I, um… I thought Denny was going to make your money available to you.”
“He did, but after I secure us a new place to live, I’m going to put away most of that to pay for the kids to go to college someday.”
“Are you sure you want to work in the bar? I mean… it can get crazy.”
“I know. I’ve done it before. It’s the best way I can make a lot of money quickly at a time when the kids are asleep. Mrs. V will stay with them. It’s all worked out.”
She could tell he wanted to say more, but thankfully, he kept his thoughts to himself. On this new path of hers, she was calling the shots, and no one would ever again tell her what to do or how to live. That was a hard line in the sand for her.
They drove for miles past an olive grove and long rows of grapevines that were dormant in the winter before pulling up to a large Spanish-style home with a terracotta roof and tile accents that was situated across from a modern white barn with black trim.
“Can we get out, Mama?” Theo asked, bouncing in his seat.
“You sure can.”
She’d shown Julian the secret to the car seat latch, and he had Theo out of his seat in record time.
“See?” he said to Theo. “I can be trained.”
Laughing, Theo ran off toward the horses inside a paddock with Julian in hot pursuit. “Horsies! I wanna see the horsies!”
Mila perked up to see what had Theo excited. Her pretty green eyes went wide at the sight of the horses.
“Can you say horse?” Isla asked her daughter.
“Horse.”
“That’s right.”
“Puppy.”
“No, puppies are different from horses.”
She’d no sooner said that than three golden retrievers came into the yard, barking when they saw Julian and Theo, who was now standing on one of the rails with Julian holding him so he could see the horses.
When Theo saw the dogs, he wanted to get down to greet them and so did Mila.
While Julian lowered Theo to the ground, Isla put Mila down to toddle along on her own to see the dogs. Her little girl resembled a drunken sailor on liberty call on her new legs, so Isla stayed close to catch her if she fell.
The dogs surrounded the kids, who were delighted by them.
“They’ll talk about this for weeks,” Isla told Julian. “They love animals of all kinds.”
“Let’s go see the chickens and goats.”
“Gochas,” Mila said.
“That’s her word for goats,” Theo told Julian.
“We have a book we read at bedtime with all the animals,” Isla added.
“Gochas it is,” Julian said as he put Theo on his shoulders and Isla picked up Mila to walk toward the barn, with the dogs leading the way.
“Doggy,” Mila said.
“Three doggies.”
“Twee?”
“That’s right. One, two, three.”
“One, two, twee.”
“It’s three, Mila,” Theo said. “I am three. Say three.”
“Twee.”
Theo laughed. “Three.”
“Twee.”
They all laughed at Theo’s dramatic moan.
Julian took them past the barn to visit a wire coop, where they sprinkled feed for the colorful chickens, and then on to play with the goats in the yard. Dogs and goats ran in circles around the kids, who laughed so hard they almost hyperventilated.
When one of the goats knocked Mila over, Isla rushed to pick her up and brush her off. “You’re okay, pumpkin. The gocha was just playing.”
“Play.”
“That’s right.”
Mila pulled loose to resume the game.
“Thank you so much for this,” Isla said to Julian. “It was just what we needed today.”
“I’m so glad.”
“I thought that was you, Julian,” a man said from outside the fence. “To what do we owe the honor?”
“Hey, Miguel. This is Isla and her kids, Theo and Mila. They wanted to see the gochas.”
“The what?”
“That’s one-year-old-speak for goat,” Isla said. “Nice to meet you.”
Miguel’s smile stretched across his sun-weathered face. “You, as well. Your kids are cute.”
“Thank you.”
With a curious expression on his face, Miguel watched Julian chasing the kids and animals.
While Julian wrangled the kids, Isla wandered closer to the fence, hoping Miguel might share his thoughts.
“Never seen him with kids that little before. Surprised he knows what to do with them.”
“He’s great with them.”
“Interesting.”
“Is it?” Isla asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Julian Remington isn’t the type of guy to play with kids, goats and dogs in the middle of a workday. That’s just not who he is.”
Isla was overtaken by a sinking sensation as Miguel’s observations landed. Was Julian doing all this to get her into bed, after which he’d suddenly lose interest in her and her kids?
He wouldn’t do that. He’s Denny’s good friend. That has to count for something.
Julian grabbed Mila before one of the goats could crash into her and resituated her before he grinned at Isla over his shoulder.
That man wouldn’t play me, she thought. How she knew that, she couldn’t say, but her absolute certainty couldn’t be denied.
He wasn’t like other guys. He didn’t have time to play games or take a Monday off to spend it with a single mom and her kids just so he could get laid.
He could get laid without putting forth that kind of effort.
No, there was a reason he’d chosen to spend this day of all days with them, and if she had to guess, sex was the least of the reasons.
If she turned out to be wrong about him, she’d never trust her gut again.