2. Beck
Beck
Jade whizzes by me in her superhero cape and pink princess dress, completely unaware of the mountain of stress her mother just unloaded on me.
Before becoming a parent, I never realized how much energy six-year-olds could have.
Sometimes I look at her and wonder how she isn’t exhausted. I’m tired just watching her.
She’s been singing Disney songs into her pink Bluetooth microphone since we got home from the stables almost two hours ago.
Two hours of singing at the top of her lungs.
Now she’s “dancing” through the house with music blasting.
And I use the word dancing liberally because it’s more just a lot of running and jumping.
There’s a single knock on the front door before my best friend Sawyer walks in.
“Mr. Sawyer!” Jade yells before she runs and jumps into his arms.
“Jadey! How are you today?”
“I’m great. Daddy took me to get ice cream and then we rode horses and now he’s making my favorite dinner!”
Sawyer smiles at her. “What’s your favorite dinner?”
“Mac and cheese!”
“That’s my favorite dinner, too! You think I can convince your dad to give me all your mac and cheese?”
Jade’s eyebrows crinkle together. “No way, Jose! It’s for me. My belly is hungry.”
“Ah, well, I can’t argue with a hungry belly.”
He sets her down, and she runs to the table where I’ve just placed her plate.
“Daddy, why do I have to eat broccoli?” She looks at her plate, where I’ve loaded a mountain of mac and cheese but also a few broccoli florets.
“Because you need something healthy,” I tell her.
Her little shoulders slump as she picks up her fork. “Fine.”
Sawyer laughs as he opens my fridge and pulls out two beers, handing one of them to me.
“Long day?” he asks after he gives me a once-over.
I nod as I take the beer and then turn on the TV for Jade to watch while she eats. I try not to allow too much screen time, but I’d say she’s earned it today. Or maybe I’ve earned it. We’ve been on the go all day, and I need a minute to decompress.
“It wasn’t too bad until just a few minutes ago,” I say.
“Why? What happened?” Sawyer takes a swig of his beer, and I hand him my phone to read the text I just got from Jade’s mom.
Gemma: Hey! Hate to ask this, but what are the chances you could keep Jade for the summer? Chris has an orientation in California this summer for his new job, and he asked me to go with him. He leaves on Monday.
Today is Saturday. She’s given me barely a full day’s notice.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Jade more than anyone or anything on this planet, and I want this time with her; of course I do.
But I also have a job. A job that is particularly busy in the summer.
And I have no child care because I’ve never needed it before.
I don’t even know how to look for a babysitter.
“Damn. What are you gonna do?” Sawyer asks.
I sigh. “I’m gonna say yes, of course.”
Gemma and I have a pretty good co-parenting relationship.
We broke up when Jade was one, but we ended on good terms. We both knew it wasn’t working for us.
She’s moved on and is engaged to a great guy named Chris.
I’m happy for her. She always works with my schedule if I need to rearrange my time with Jade, and I do the same for her.
Dare I say it’s been a breeze to co-parent up to this point.
“How do you even find a babysitter?” I ask Sawyer, not that I expect him to give me an actual answer.
“Hell if I know. What about your mom?”
I shake my head. “She’s working part-time at the craft store in town. Loves it there.”
“Good for her. Well, shit, man.”
I take another swig of beer and glance over at Jade. She’s smiling as she watches her favorite princess on the screen while she shovels mac and cheese into her mouth.
When I look back at Sawyer, he looks like he’s deep in thought. “You alright?” I ask.
“Yeah, I just… I just thought of something,” he says.
“What’s that?”
“Well, Willow’s back in town for the summer.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. You moved her back yesterday. How’d that go?”
“Good. Easy. But she told me this morning she’s looking for a summer job. Maybe she could be your nanny if you wanted?”
My eyebrows raise. “Really? You think she’d be up for it?”
“I don’t see why not. She was out all day today trying to find something, but nobody seems to be hiring. She was getting frustrated last time she texted me.”
I haven’t seen Willow Banks in the three years since she left for college.
As far as I know, she hasn’t been back since the day she packed up her car and left.
Sawyer talks about her all the time, though.
He’s so proud of her. I hate that he had so much put on his shoulders at such a young age, but he did a good job raising her.
“Will you ask her for me? I’ll pay her good.”
“Yeah, man. I’ll ask her tonight and then text you.”
“Cool. Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“What are friends for?”
Sawyer has been my best friend since grade school.
We’ve always been there for each other. He helped me piece myself back together when Gemma and I separated and I was suddenly on my own with Jade.
He’s always looking out for me, and I do the same for him.
There were plenty of times when I would help take Willow to school events or make sure she was fed if he was working late.
That’s just what we do for each other. We’re family.
After we finish our beers, he stands, kisses Jade’s head, and tells her goodbye.
Once he’s gone, I wash Jade’s plate and then usher her to her bathroom. “Time for a bath.”
“Aw, man. Five more minutes?”
“Nope. Let’s go.”
She reluctantly turns off the TV and sulks as she marches down the hall.
My truck tires crunch over gravel as I pull up to the back of the main lodge at Moonlight Ranch.
Not only is the ranch my workplace, but it’s also my home.
My boss and friend, Brooks Calloway, was nice enough to let me build my own home on the property.
It’s far enough away from the guest cabins that I have a good bit of privacy, but close enough that I can easily handle managing the stables, which sometimes call for early mornings and late nights.
I park next to Brooks’s truck, close enough to the pool to have Jade telling me that she wants to go swimming.
“Not today, honey. I’ll make sure to get you in the water soon, though.”
“Why not today?” she whines.
“Because I need to talk to Mr. Brooks.”
“Is Ms. Aspen gonna be here?” Aspen is Brooks’s fiancé.
The start of their relationship was a little rocky.
Aspen moved to Blue Haven when she was Brooks’s son’s girlfriend.
Eventually, Brooks and Aspen found their way to each other, and now they’re on their way to their happily ever after.
And Aspen has quickly become one of my daughter’s favorite people.
Probably because of all the lollipops she keeps giving her.
“I’m sure Aspen will be here,” I tell Jade as she climbs out of her booster seat.
As soon as she’s on the ground, she starts running for the lodge. I follow behind her, helping her get the door open.
Since we came in the back way, we bypassed the restaurant, gift shop, and front desk of the ranch, but that doesn’t stop me from getting a whiff of something that smells amazing. It must be BBQ night.
Jade has been here enough that she knows her way around without my help, so she makes her way straight to Brooks’s office. The door is open, so she walks right in.
“Ms. Aspen!” I hear her yell before I’ve even made it down the hall.
“Hey, princess!”
When I finally make it to the office, Aspen has lifted Jade up and is giving her a big hug.
Brooks is sitting behind his desk, beaming up at his new fiancée.
He just proposed last weekend, and I’ve never seen him so nervous.
I’m glad it worked out for him. I can only hope that one day, I can find a love like theirs.
Not that I’m planning on it happening any time soon.
I’ve got my hands full with Jade, which is all I can handle right now.
Adding a woman into my life would only complicate everything.
“Hey, guys,” I say, pulling their attention away from Jade for a brief second.
“To what do we owe this little surprise?” Aspen asks.
“Daddy has to talk to Mr. Brooks about something. I think it’s because I’m gonna be staying here all summer.”
Aspen looks up at me with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? Well, then it’s gonna be the best summer ever!” The two girls high-five. “Come on, let’s go pick out a lollipop while your dad talks to Mr. Brooks.”
“Yay! Do you still have the watermelon ones?” Jade asks.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve still got a watermelon one.”
“Yes!”
Aspen takes my daughter’s hand as they walk out of Brooks’s office down the hall to Aspen’s office, and I take a seat in one of the chairs across from him.
“What’s going on, man?” Brooks asks.
I huff a laugh. “Well, pretty much what Jade just said. Gemma is going to California with her fiancé for the summer, and she asked me to keep Jade all summer.”
“Wow.”
I shrug. “Yeah. I mean, it’s fine. Just would’ve been nice to have a bit more notice.
’Specially since she’s leaving tomorrow.
” Gemma came over this morning with a suitcase of extra clothes for Jade and to say her goodbyes.
Gemma cried. Jade cried a little bit but quickly got over it when she realized she’d be staying with me all summer.
“Damn.”
“Yeah. Thankfully, Sawyer’s younger sister, Willow, is in town for the summer and I guess looking for a job. She’s coming over in a little bit so we can discuss her watching Jade,” I explain.
“That’s great. Let us know if you need any other help. You know I’m always happy to take some shifts in the stables or even watch Jade if you need us to.”
Sometimes I forget how lucky I am that I found a job at such a great place.
Brooks owns this ranch and took over after his parents retired.
He’s the best boss we could ask for here at Moonlight Ranch, and he’s never afraid to get his hands dirty.
In fact, I know he would rather be out in the stables or on the trails than sitting here behind this desk.
So I know he means it when he says he’d cover some of my shifts.
“Thanks, Brooks. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime, man. You know we love that little girl.”
“Has wedding planning started?” I ask, changing the subject. I haven’t gotten to see him since the proposal last weekend.
“I’m letting Aspen do whatever she wants. So far, we’ve only decided that it’ll be here at the ranch.”
I chuckle. Of course, those two would want to be married on the ranch.
Brooks lives on the property, just like I do.
It’s expected that he loves this place, but I think Aspen loves it just as much.
I often see them riding the trails, hiking, or even canoeing in the lakes on their days off.
This place has become their own little oasis.
I’m not much different, but I do enjoy going into town sometimes, too.
“I’m sure it’ll be beautiful no matter what.
Have you, uh, heard from Zach at all?” I ask carefully.
Zach is Brooks’s son. He dated Aspen for two years before she ended things, but it wasn’t a very clean break.
As you can imagine, Zach was not happy about his ex-girlfriend and his dad getting together.
Brooks shakes his head. “Not directly, but he did talk to Aspen a few days ago. Said he still needs time, but he’s working on it. Just trying to give him space.”
“He’ll come around,” I say encouragingly. At least, we all hope he will. Zach and Brooks have never had the best relationship, but I hope they can get back to some semblance of normalcy.
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
“Alright, well, I’d better go find Jade. We need to get back to the house to meet with Sawyer and Willow, but thanks for being so understanding.”
“Beck, come on, man. You’re family. I’m always here to help.”
We say our goodbyes before I head down the hall to Aspen’s office, where I find Jade with a lollipop in her mouth and another one in her hand that she’s apparently saving for later.
She reluctantly follows me out of the lodge and into the truck. On our short drive back to our house, my daughter starts to get a little nervous about meeting someone new.
“Daddy, do you think Miss Willow is gonna like me?”
“Of course she will, honey. Everyone loves you,” I say.
I see her small smile through the rearview mirror. While I know I’m biased since she’s my own kid, I think Jade is the best. And everyone who’s ever met her instantly falls in love with her. She’s cute. She’s funny. And while she does have some sass, she’s a very well-behaved six-year-old.
“Besides, you’ve met Miss Willow before. You just don’t remember. You were really little.”
“Really? And she liked me then?” she asks.
“Yes, of course. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a few pictures of Willow holding you as a baby. I’ll see if I can find them tonight.”
“Ok!” Jade loves looking at pictures of her when she was a baby. I often wonder if it’s because she likes seeing her mom and me together, but I try not to dwell on that thought too much.
We pull up to my house, and Sawyer’s truck approaches just as I’m getting Jade out of her car seat.
Jade runs straight to the driver’s side to give Sawyer a hug. You’d think she didn’t just see him yesterday. I stand by my truck and watch her with a smile on my face. When I hear a second door slam, I turn to look at Willow.
My smile drops.
This isn’t the same Willow from three years ago. The one who wore sweatpants and baggy T-shirts almost every time I saw her, or whose hair was always pulled back or in a bun. I don’t remember ever seeing her in makeup, so her face always looked young to me, probably because I watched her grow up.
But now…? The Willow in front of me doesn’t look like that.
No, she’s in denim shorts that show off her long, toned legs and a small T-shirt that doesn’t hide any of her curves.
Her brown hair is down and has a slight curl at the bottom, and while she’s not wearing much makeup, I can tell she’s got on enough to make her brown eyes pop.
She certainly doesn’t look like a kid anymore.
My throat goes dry.
This Willow is a woman.
This Willow looks beautiful.
But this Willow is also still my best friend’s little sister.
Holy hell, I’m in trouble.