Page 13 of Crossed Lines

“Yes, please!”

“Come on, you two.”

We follow Aspen down the hall to the staff offices: one part of the lodge I’ve never been to. She takes us to an office where she pulls out an entire bucket full of Dum-Dums. While Jade digs through the bucket to find the best flavor, Brooks Calloway walks in.

“Darlin’, have you seen the guest report for August?” he asks before he realizes Aspen isn’t alone. Unless he calls all of his staff darling, I can only assume the two of them are together. Brooks is an attractive older man, so I can see why Aspen fell for him. I was a few years behind his son in school, and let’s just say Zach Calloway was nothing like his father. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you had guests.” He looks from Jade to me before realization sets in. “You must be Sawyer’s sister.”

“That’s me. Willow.”

“It’s been years since I’ve seen you. How’ve you been?”

“Good. Going into my senior year of college, but thought I’d spend the summer here with Jade before I have to really buckle down.”

“That’s great. Good for you.” The way he smiles and gently puts his hand on my shoulder makes me miss my own father. Sawyer took care of me the best he could, but he was always my older brother. Never a dad. You can tell that Brooks is a father. I should ask him how Zach is doing, but for some reason, I can’t get the words out.

“These two were on their way to the stables to see Beck. Just grabbing a lollipop for the road,” Aspen explains. She extends the bucket to me, and I take one off the top. I’m not one to turn down candy. Even if I did just have a huge milkshake.

Jade and I pop our lollipops into our mouths before we say goodbye and head out to the stables. It’s a short walk out to the two large barns on the property. When we enter, a younger guy I’ve never seen before is locking one of the stalls. He turns to greet us with a smile. “Can I help y’all?”

“We’re here to see Daddy,” Jade says.

The guy looks at me, and I chuckle. “Daddy is Beck.”

Realization crosses his face. Even if he has met Jade before, I imagine he sees a bunch of little kids working at the ranch. It’s probably hard to place them all. “Right. Beck is just finishing up with a group. If you wanna wait, I’ll tell him you’re here.”

“That’d be great. Thanks.” Once he’s gone, I ask Jade, “So, which horse is your favorite?”

“Sparkly Tutu,” she says, like it’s obvious.

“Sparkly Tutu?” I fail at holding in my laugh.

She nods. “Mr. Brooks let me name her. Daddy calls her Sparkles, though.”

“Ah.” I nod in understanding. “Which one is Sparkles then?”

She walks to a stall in the corner with a beautiful brown horse in it. The horse pokes her head over the stall door and leans down toward Jade. Jade reaches her hand up and rubs her nose. I hope Sparkles doesn’t mind sticky hands.

I’m so busy watching her that I don’t realize Beck is standing beside me until he says, “She’s cute, isn’t she?”

I jump. “Oh, you scared me.”

He chuckles. “Sorry.” His eyes drop to my mouth as I pull my lollipop out. I’m not sure why, but I run my tongue along my bottom lip. Maybe just to see if he’ll watch. He definitely does.

“Sorry to bother you at work,” I say, pulling us both out of whatever blip that was. Beck quickly looks away. “Jade wanted to come see you.”

Beck takes a step away from me. “Not bothering me at all. I love visits from my favorite girl.”

Jade moves away from the horse and gives her dad a big hug. It’s so cute watching the two of them together. When Beck told us he was going to be a dad, I couldn’t believe it. He still acted like a kid most of the time. But now, seeing him as a dad, it suits him. In fact, it actually makes him more attractive. I’m surprised he’s still single. At least I assume he is. Neither he nor Sawyer has mentioned anything about a girlfriend.

Jade excitedly tells Beck about the book we got for him to read to her tonight at bedtime. It had horses on the cover, so she thought he would love that. Beck listens attentively and smiles the entire time, even though I know he must be tired. His T-shirt is smudged with dirt, and the ends of his hair are a little damp, so it’s safe to assume he’s been sweating today. With the summer season ramping up, the heat does too.

When Jade finishes telling him all about our morning, he turns to me. “I’m actually glad you stopped by. I might be a little later tonight. Had a last-minute booking. Are you able to stay a little longer today? Maybe ’til around six?”

“Yeah, that’s not a problem.” It’s not like I have anything else to do. Might as well get paid a little extra. Plus, I really do like hanging out with Jade. She’s a fun kid.

“Thanks, Willow. I appreciate it. If she gets hungry, she can tell you what she’d like for dinner. The fridge and pantry are pretty stocked.”

I nod. “Got it, boss.”