40. Audrey
AUDREY
Ella was up early Saturday morning, but I didn’t mind.
I was sleeping better on the ranch, probably a product of the open windows at night, the cool air that wound its way through the house while we slept, the birds that sang us awake in the morning instead of an alarm or the trash trucks that rumbled down the streets of Carlton.
I stretched and tucked her hair behind her ear after she climbed into bed with me. “What’s for breakfast, sweetheart?”
She grinned, and I caught a glimpse of her new tooth. “Muffins!”
“What kind of muffins?”
“Chocolate chip!”
I laughed. “We’ve been doing a lot of chocolate chip lately. How about blueberry instead? I’ll add that crumb topping you like.”
She got up and jumped on the bed. “Blueberry, blueberry, blueberry!”
I laughed and got to my feet, taking her hands in mine so we could jump together. “Blueberry, blueberry, blueberry!”’
We collapsed in a giggling heap and I got up to use the bathroom and make a cup of coffee.
“Can I go outside?” Ella asked.
“Sure, but stay on the mowed part.” I was starting to realize that the apartment had kept Ella indoors more than she wanted. I might have to rent a house after the summer.
I’d just left the bathroom when Ella came back into the house holding something.
Or three somethings to be exact.
“Look, Mommy!”
“What’s that?” I walked toward her and took one of the objects out of her hand.
It was a perfectly formed horse, carved out of wood and made by hand from the looks of it.
I knew immediately it was from Ridge.
“Where did you find these?” I asked her.
“On the porch,” she said. “Are they mine? Can I keep them?”
I took the other two horses from her hand and inspected them, marveling at the detail of the legs and mane, the beauty of the horses’ faces. “You can keep them.”
“Who gave them to me?” Her eyes were wide with wonder.
It was probably like Christmas to wake up and find surprise presents on the porch.
I hesitated. “I think they’re from Ridge, one of our landlords.”
“I thought the man named Graham was our landlord,” she said.
“He is, but we actually have three landlords.” There was no point pretending the Bulls didn’t exist when we drove past them in front of the main house every time we came and went. “Graham, Ridge, and Holden.”
“I should say thank you for the horses, Mommy.” Ella’s expression was solemn.
I sighed because she was right.
“You definitely should.” I handed her back the horses. “Tell you what, you play with the horses while I make the muffins, and we can take some to Ridge to say thank you for the horses.”
My pulse ticked up at the thought of seeing him again even though I was in mom mode.
What can I say? I was only human.
“And Graham and Holden,” Ella said. “So they don’t feel bad.”
I smiled at her. She had such a good heart already. “And Graham and Holden. Muffins for everyone!”
I headed for the kitchen, torn between excitement at seeing the three men who made my heart beat faster and worry.
Because if I was this excited to see the Bulls after only a week, how was I going to feel when we left at the end of the summer?