Single-Dad Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Chapter Four
I think you’re wonderful. Words that inspired dreams that Nell had no business having. Zeke had flat-out told her he was a bad bet. He wasn’t in favor of Claire’s matchmaking.
That was a shame, because his warm humor as he conducted the bunkhouse tour lured her right in. The intimate glimpse of his modest but cozy living quarters increased her appreciation for the guy. Clearly he was determined to create a healthy, trauma-free life for his daughter.
By the time he led them through the kitchen and out the back door to inspect the fire pit, she wanted to challenge his claim that he was a bad relationship bet. Judging from his excellent parenting, he was selling himself short.
He turned the narration over to his daughter when they arrived at the stone fire pit with its semi-circle of Adirondack chairs. When he stepped back and gave her the floor, Nell walked over to stand beside him. Claire gave a vivid description of fire pit doings and her friends listened with rapt attention before peppering her with questions.
Nell moved closer to Zeke. “She loves it here,” she murmured. “This setup is perfect for her.”
He nodded. “Every day I thank my lucky stars that my dad told me about this place.”
“Oh? How did he know about it?”
“He…um…he travels a lot.” He offered the information as if it hurt his tongue.
When he didn’t elaborate, she let the subject drop. Claire’s grandfather must be one of the large suitcases in the baggage Zeke had mentioned.
His phone pinged and he pulled it out of his pocket. After scanning the message, he walked over toward the girls, phone in hand.
Claire glanced in his direction. “Time’s up?”
“Yes, ma’am. Uncle Matt and Uncle Garrett are wrapping up the barn tour. We need to head over there.”
“Woo-hoo!” Claire threw her hands in the air. “Now I get to show you the horses! Can I lead the way, Daddy?”
“Check with Miss O’Connor.”
“Miss O’Connor, is that okay? I know this path like the back of my hand.”
Nell smiled. “Then go for it. But no running.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Claire turned to her buddies. “If you think the bunkhouse and the fire pit are awesome, wait’ll you see the barn. It’s incredible. Come on.” She started down a wide dirt path through the trees that was clearly well-traveled.
As usual, the girls walked in pairs. Piper, the only one who wore glasses, fell in beside Claire. Delicate little Tatum had her work cut out for her keeping up with Riley, a tall redhead, but she never complained.
Technically they didn’t run. Instead they danced, twirled and skipped while maintaining a non-stop gabfest about what they’d seen and what they were about to see.
Nell glanced at Zeke as they followed behind the exuberant girls. “How far is it?”
“About a ten-minute walk.”
“Then let’s hold back a bit. This might be our only chance to finish our discussion.”
His expression tightened. “Okay.”
“Unless you’d rather not talk about it.”
“No, no. It’ll be good to clear the air so there are no misunderstandings.”
She’d take a wild guess that he wasn’t big on misunderstandings. “I get why you don’t want to discuss the intimate details of your situation with Claire. But if you can’t give her any reason that makes sense to her—”
“I’m counting on summer break and barrel racing practice to get her off this subject. I’ll take her swimming in Crooked Creek. Garrett says fire pit nights come around more often as it gets warmer. She’ll be busy.”
“Sounds exciting for her.”
“I’m hoping it’ll work. She tends to latch onto things and not let go.”
“I’ve observed that.” She took a deep breath and plunged in. “Is Claire so wrong about us? I like you and you evidently like me. I enjoyed our time building the greenhouse.”
“Me, too, but it was always going to be a one-time deal.”
“You knew that before we started the project?”
“Yes, ma’am. Had to be that way. Getting sole custody was a game changer. Claire’s the most important person in my life and I’ll never do anything to jeopardize our life together.”
That stung a little. “I would never knowingly hurt either of you.”
His voice softened. “I believe that. But Claire and I are still finding our feet. The divorce is barely a year old. Coming to the Buckskin appears to have been the right move. But adding a relationship… it’s too risky.”
“Well, if you think so, your opinion is the one that counts.”
“I’m sorry, Nell.”
“Me, too. But even if we don’t start dating, I think Claire will want to stay in touch with me. If she does, I want to stay in touch with her.”
“I won’t stand in the way of that. And maybe she will keep after me to ask you out. I’ll deal with it when and if it happens. I—”
“Hey, Dad! I hear the other kids coming from the barn!”
“Me, too, sweetheart!” He looked over at Nell and lowered his voice. “She’s never called me Dad. It’s always been Daddy.”
“She’s growing up.”
“And I want that. She’s an amazing young girl and she’ll be even more amazing the older she gets.” He swallowed. “But…”
“Part of you wants to stop time.”
“Exactly. But how do you know that? You don’t have kids.”
“Yes, I do. I have twenty-three of them in my classroom five days a week. They’ve become a big part of my life. In a matter of days, they’ll move on. I miss them already, and they’re not even gone.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I never thought of teaching like that. You spend almost as much time with Claire as I do.”
“And it’s nearly over.” The clearing was ahead and the approaching group was in sight. She was almost out of time. “So you’ll be okay with me seeing Claire after school’s out, assuming she wants that?”
“Of course. You can do stuff together. I don’t have to be a part of it.”
“But if she can figure out a way to make you a part of it, I’ll bet she will.”
He sighed. “Probably. The thing is, when it comes to me, she thinks she knows best.”
And maybe she does. “Then you two will have to work that out, won’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Would you let me know how it goes? You have my cell number, right?”
“I do.”
“No need to call. You can send me a text.”
“Okay.”
She breathed in a combination of fresh air and a faint scent of aftershave. Time to take a step back and let the chips fall where they may. She wasn’t fond of being in that position, but it sure beat leaving the table entirely.
