Chapter 7
7
“Daddy, watch!”
Lulu jounced hard in the saddle as Pippen broke into a trot. She’d been riding every day since they arrived at the ranch a week ago but had a long way to go. Each day he learned something new about his daughter. And himself. He was a pushover when it came to letting Lu stay up late and not limiting treats, especially Mrs. Carmichael’s peanut butter fudge brownies, but there was no negotiating chores, spending money, and daily video calls with her mom.
If Willa Leigh missed Lulu half as much as Kobe missed Willa Leigh, she was miserable.
She’d been careful to sidestep any hint of romance, never allowing herself to be alone with him after the night Cookie had puppies. The following day, the three sat around the kitchen table and worked out details for Lulu’s visit to Montana. She spent the first half of summer break in Love Beach, then Kobe had driven to South Carolina to bring her back to the ranch for the remainder of the summer. Cookie and two of her puppies—Peppermint Pattie and Macaroon—came along, the rest having already found forever families.
They hadn’t addressed the upcoming holidays nor child support, but Kobe was optimistic it would work out. If only he could convince Willa Leigh to give them a second chance. There was an empty space in his life, even when Lulu and Fraz were nearby.
He pictured them sitting on the front steps of the ranch house, watching Lulu chase after Cookie and the puppies. Or grilling steaks for a late-night dinner as the sun set over the mountains. Maybe even inviting her girlfriends for a long weekend and taking them out overnight to camp under the stars.
He wanted the whole package—Lulu and Willa Leigh.
“You expecting company?” Fraz asked. He’d started using a motorized scooter to get around the ranch. Kobe wasn’t sure it was safe for Lulu to perch on the back, hanging onto Frazier’s shoulders as he cranked it up to five miles per hour, but the look of exhilaration on both their faces made the risk worthwhile.
A dust-covered sedan slowed to a stop at the end of the long, curving driveway. Hope flared then died when Jezzy Brant exited the car.
“Aunt Jezzy!” Lulu waved madly. “I’m a cowboy!”
“Careful, Lu.” Frazier called a warning before the girl lost her seat.
“Looking good, Lu.” Jezzy, dressed in a long, flowered print dress and rhinestone studded cowboy boots, remained by the car. “Kobe. Got a minute?”
He crossed the distance from the paddock to the drive in long strides, fear mounting as he tried to fathom a logical reason for Jezzy’s surprise visit. “Is Willa Leigh okay? Has something happened to her?”
“She’s fine.”
“Then why are you here?” He hadn’t seen Jezebel Brant in ten years.
“Can we go inside? This heat is killing me.” She pulled off her sunglasses, revealing red-rimmed eyes. She looked terrible.
“Fraz, I’m gonna send Pritchard around to keep an eye on Lulu,” he called.
The old man saluted understanding.
“Bye, Daddy.” His daughter waved. “Yee haw, Pippen Giddy up.”
“She’s adjusting well,” Jezzy said.
“Did you think she wouldn’t? Is that why you’re here? To carry tales back to Willa Leigh?”
“Augh. You don’t pull any punches, do you?” She pressed her hand over her heart, feigning injury.
He held his tongue until they were inside. Mrs. Carmichael, the ranch cook, poured tall glasses of lemonade and set out a plate of blueberry lemon scones. When she left the kitchen, the only sound was the secondhand tick of an old grandfather clock.
“I came to apologize.”
That was the last thing he expected. “For what?”
“You know what.”
Hot humiliation washed over him as he remembered his final day in Love Beach.
“I had no right to demand that you leave.” She blinked but refused to give in to tears. “I was trying to protect my best friend from a broken heart. Instead, I stole her chance for happy ever after.”
“What are you talking about?” He remembered walking back to the high school parking lot for his bike. It was early; the sun was just starting to crest over the Atlantic. He’d left Willa Leigh sleeping in the backseat of her father’s car at Clements Pond, torn between staying in Love Beach and escaping his father’s abuse.
Jezzy had pulled up in a dented Toyota, tires screeching, screaming furiously. “Where is she, you bastard?”
She slammed the car into park, climbed out, and stalked over to him, planting both hands on his chest and pushing him hard.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kick your fucking ass.” She shoved him again. “Where’s Willy? I know she left with you last night.”
The rest of her accusations were a loud, indistinguishable roar. What he clearly heard was that Willa Leigh deserved better than a loser like him.
With Jezzy glaring at him, chest heaving with fury, hands planted on her hips, Kobe straddled his bike and rode out of Love Beach, never stopping to look back.
“I knew Willa Leigh had a thing for you.” Jezzy trailed her fingertip along the plate of scones. “She would have given up everything if you so much as crooked a finger at her. She had plans to get away from her parents, and I knew she’d never be free to live her own life until she was gone. I didn’t want her to swap one crap relationship for another.”
“I loved her.” Kobe had never said those words out loud. He didn’t know who he hated more: Jezzy for running him off or himself for letting her.
“Do you still love her?”
“Hell, yes. There’s never been anyone else.”
“Where’s your swear jar, Daddy? Mom says we aren’t allowed to use the H-word.” Lulu sauntered over to sit on Jezzy’s lap, her braids sprouting loose strands, thanks to her riding helmet. “Why didn’t Mom come with you? I miss her.”
“Do you want to go home, honey?” Kobe’s heart twisted. He didn’t want to be a part-time dad, but he and Willa Leigh lived separate lives.
“I want us all to be together. Mom can come to the ranch sometimes, and you can come to Love Beach.”
Leave it to a ten-year-old to figure things out.