Charlie sighed as she burrowed deeper into the pillows. “I don’t want to.”
“Why’s that? Aren’t you excited for camp tomorrow?” I leaned forward and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And for those cookies you apparently love more than my cheesy mac?”
She gave me a sleepy smile. “Yeah, but tomorrow means it’s almost over.”
“You still have two full days, sunshine,” Liv said. “That’s so much!”
“I still don’t know how to ride a pony, though. And if I don’t know how to ride a pony, then I can’t get a pony.” Charlie’s bottom lip wobbled, and a tear slipped free, a clear sign we were dangerously close to an exhaustion crash out.
My stomach dropped as Liv tossed a nervous glance my way. I knew what she was going to suggest before the words ever left her mouth. “What if we asked for private lessons? Surely, they have someone at the ranch who could do it, right?”
Charlie’s impending tantrum cleared almost immediately. “Really?” She looked my way. “You think we can ask Miss Cleo tomorrow? You think she’ll say yes?”
Goddammit, Liv. How the hell was I supposed to get out of this now? Sure, I could tell Charlie no and stand my ground, but I didn’t want to. Not when she’d been so happy the past three days. Liv knew that. She knew I’d do anything to see my daughter smile.
Fucking hell.
“I don’t know, sunshine. They may not be able to. I don’t know what their schedule is?—”
“Surely it can’t hurt to ask,” Liv interrupted. “Worst thing they can say is no.”
That wasn’t true. Not at all. The worst thing that could happen was Cleo thinking I was using my daughter to spend more time with her and telling me to fuck off. The temporary truce was just that—temporary. Despite my overwhelming desire to go all in, I was worried doing so would scare her off faster than I could blink.
“Yeah, Daddy! You tell me that all the time,” Charlie reminded me. “That’s why I ask so many questions.”
Well, shit. I did say that, but I never expected her to throw my words back in my face. It was inspirational at the time. Were all the women in my life determined to test my patience? How was this fair?
“Why don’t I teach you?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck. “I did my fair share of riding when I was a kid.”
Charlie and Liv both shared a look. “When’s the last time you were on the back of a horse?” Liv asked, hiding a laugh.
“It’s been a while,” I admitted.
“Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen it,” she continued. “Like ever.”
Charlie giggled. “Daddy, you can’t teach me if you don’t know how. I want Miss Cleo.”
“I can ask?—”
“Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Charlie shot up and wrapped her little arms around my neck. I glared at Liv over her shoulder, making sure she knew we would absolutely be having a conversation about this later. She just shrugged, completely unbothered.
“Just don’t get your hopes up, okay?”
“I promise,” she said, hopping back beneath the covers and closing her eyes. “Love you so, so, so much.” Based on the smile on her face, I knew the chances of her keeping calm about it were slim to none. She was probably already riding off into the sunset on her imaginary horse.
“Alright. Goodnight, sunshine.” I pressed a kiss on her forehead.
“Sweet dreams,” Liv cooed.
Charlie mumbled something that sounded like “goodnight,” but it came out as an incoherent jumble of sounds. I grabbed my phone and snuck out of her room, leaving the door cracked as I made my way to my own.
Since Dad had been determined to stay here, Liv and I helped renovate the house a bit. It was getting hard for him to keep up with everything by himself. Before the updates, Mom had left my childhood bedroom untouched. It looked completely different now, but somehow still felt like mine.
“What the hell?—”
“Well, would you look at the time?” Liv interrupted, staring at the smartwatch on her wrist. “It’s so late?—”
“Nice try,” I deadpanned. “You’re two hours behind us. It just turned seven.”
