Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
The Ranch
“Are you sure I’m allowed to be here?” Lenni asked.
I raised my brows. “Poet invited you.”
“Yeah, I know.” Lenni sighed. “But isn’t this weird? Everyone else is an adult.”
“Adults who fall asleep at eight thirty,” Hadley called out from the living room.
“Speak for yourself,” Salem stated. “I’ll make it ‘til nine.”
“Just you wait,” Hadley muttered. “Your time will come.”
“Don’t think of it as a bachelorette party,” Poet said as she peeled the bananas and placed them into dishes. “Think of it as a cool-girl gang hang out.”
“I’m a cool girl?” Muddy asked as she opened the freezer and pulled out tubs of Hawthorne’s ice cream.
“The coolest girl,” Jane said with a smile. “We all want to be you when we grow up.”
“I’m not grown up,” Muddy stated. “If I ever grow up, someone shoot me.”
“So, what happens at bachelorette parties?” Lenni asked. “I’ve never been to one.”
“We eat junk food, watch movies, paint our toenails, and talk,” Poet said.
“How is that different than any other Friday night?” I asked in amusement.
“What movie are we watching?” Lenni asked.
“The Sound of Music,” Poet said.
“No way!” Lenni exclaimed. “That’s my favorite movie!”
“What a small world,” Poet said, shooting me a wink when Lenni wasn’t looking.
“Help me with these sundaes,” Muddy said to Lenni.
We trekked into the living room. Hadley and Salem were already on the couch, their feet propped up.
We’d blown up an air mattress and threw pillows on top of it to make a pile.
After passing around the banana splits, Muddy settled into her chair while Jane, Lenni and I took the air mattress.
Poet sat in the ottoman chair that had been brought into the room just for the occasion.
Mildred slithered her way between me and Lenni while Fig and Tempest curled up next to Hadley and Salem. Lottie, true to her animal stereotype, went around to everyone in the room, clearly hoping for a sweet treat.
“Okay, are we ready to get it going?” Poet asked.
“Yep,” Salem said, her spoon clinking against her bowl.
Muddy picked up the remote.
A few moments later, the misty Swiss Alps appeared on screen. And when the French horns started to play, I couldn’t help the tears that filled my eyes.
Lenni looked at me. “Wyn, are you okay?”
“It’s my favorite movie too,” I said to her. “And I cry every time.”
She shot me a smile full of understanding, but then she returned her attention to the screen.
The first pee break happened just as Maria bowed in the empty ballroom.
“I love how he’s so grumpy at first,” Lenni said while Hadley was using the bathroom.
“I love that you find out he fell in love with her when she sat on the pinecone,” Poet said.
“That ridiculous pinecone,” Lenni recited.
“Let me guess, you know all the lyrics to ‘The Lonely Goatherd’, don’t you?” I teased.
“Heck yes,” Lenni said with a smile. “We have to sing along. It’s what I used to do with . . .”
“Your mom?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She nodded, her eyes dimming. “With my mom. This is her favorite movie. Was her favorite . . .”
I glanced at Poet who mouthed shit.
A somber pall settled over the room. Hadley came back and glanced around, taking in the scene. Lenni’s upset face. The quiet.
“Who’s painting my toenails?” Hadley asked.
“I’m not getting near your feet,” Salem teased.
“You’re one to talk. You were the one who used to run around barefoot walking in creeks without shoes. Her feet were always cut up,” Hadley said to Lenni.
“And then I traded bare feet for heels,” Salem said with a wink.
“Ick, heels,” Poet said.
“Right?” Jane commented with a shake of her head. “I had to start wearing orthotics when I was about Lenni’s age.”
“What’s that?” Lenni asked as she stroked a hand down Mildred’s back.
“You go to the foot doctor and they take these molds of your feet and they make these shoe inserts,” Jane explained. “I have no arch. So, my feet roll inward. It caused a lot of knee problems when I played sports.”
“I used to have braces,” I announced. “All through high school.”
“But look at that smile now,” Poet said.
I beamed at Lenni, who mimicked my grin.
“You have pretty teeth,” I said, poking her tooth, causing her to laugh. “What color do you want your toes?”
“Can I do red?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “Not until you’re fifteen.”
“Why?” she asked in confusion.
“Because that was the rule my parents made for me,” I said with a shrug. “At the time I thought they were strict. Now I’m starting to understand.”
“Understand what?” Lenni asked.
“Understand that they had the hardest job in the world.” I tugged on a strand of Lenni’s hair. “So, pick another color.”
“I’m doing this one,” Jane said, holding up a bottle. “It’s pink, and it shimmers.”
“That sounds fun,” I said to Jane, taking the bottle from her and examining it. “What do you say, Len? You want to be matchy-matchy with me? Or are you too cool for that?”
“I’m too cool for a lot of things,” she informed me. “But yeah, we could be matchy-matchy.”
“It’s pink,” I reminded her.
She smiled. “I like pink.”
Hadley was conked out by the intermission of the movie and Salem struggled to keep her eyes open. Lenni was wired thanks to the sugar, so she helped Muddy clean up the remains of the ice cream bowls.
My phone buzzed somewhere from underneath Mildred. I had to roll her over to get it out from under her. She took that as a sign to show me her belly, her tail wagging.
I ran a hand down her chest as I read Archer’s text.
Archie
Riddle me this. I’m with three masculine dudes playing poker and all I want to do is come home to my woman.
Smiling, I texted back.
Me
I bet they feel the same way, even if they won’t admit it.
“What’s got you grinning?” Jane asked.
I shoved my phone into a pile of pillows. “Nothing.”
“Not nothing,” Salem said.
“Can’t really talk about it right now,” I said.
Every day that week, Archer had come back to the house during his lunch break. We’d spent the hour in bed laughing, talking, and other things . . .
We still hadn’t told Lenni about us yet.
But she hadn’t asked about why I was still hanging around when my two weeks’ notice was long over.
I wanted to wait for the right time to spring it on her.
Archer didn’t think there was going to be a right time.
But he respected my need to wait until I was fully ready.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready. But the longer it went on in secret, the harder it became to level with Lenni.
She wasn’t a normal eleven-year-old. She was perceptive and highly intelligent in a way that was hard to put a finger on.
And she’d been through the loss of a parent.
That was hard at any age, but she was so young.
Even Hadley and Salem had been a few years older than Lenni when their mom died. And it had screwed Salem up for years.
I didn’t want to be another person that screwed up Lenni. That’s what I’d been telling myself anyway. But it was true I’d been using it as an excuse to have one foot in and one foot out.
Lenni and Muddy came back to the living room and Lenni plopped down onto the air mattress.
“Hey, Lenni, can I ask you something?” Poet inquired.
Lenni turned to Poet. “Sure thing. What’s up?”
“I’m getting married,” Poet said.
“Uh huh.” Lenni nodded.
“So, here’s the thing. I have three bridesmaids, but I don’t have a flower girl. Do you think your friend Summer would be willing to do the job?”
Lenni blinked.
Poet laughed. “Just kidding. Will you be my flower girl, Lenni?”
Lenni shot up and launched herself at Poet, wrapping her arms around her neck. “I’d love to be your flower girl!”
“Oh no,” Jane murmured as she brushed her eyes.
“Hang in there,” I said, my own throat tight with emotion.
I met Poet’s gaze and placed my hand on my heart.
Poet smiled as she patted her soon-to-be niece’s back.
“I don’t have a dress.” Lenni pulled away and looked completely horrified.
“Don’t worry about that,” Poet said. “We’ll get you a dress.”
“Nothing too frilly,” Lenni announced. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Poet agreed.
Hadley let out a loud yawn and cracked her eyes open. “What did I miss?”