Page 6 of Crossed Lines

“Wow.”

I shrug. “Yeah. I mean, it’s fine. Just would’ve been nice to have a bit more notice. ’Specially since she’s leaving tomorrow.” Gemma came over this morning with a suitcase of extra clothes for Jade and to say her goodbyes. Gemma cried. Jade cried a little bit but quickly got over it when she realized she’d be staying with me all summer.

“Damn.”

“Yeah. Thankfully, Sawyer’s younger sister, Willow, is in town for the summer and I guess looking for a job. She’s coming over in a little bit so we can discuss her watching Jade,” I explain.

“That’s great. Let us know if you need any other help. You know I’m always happy to take some shifts in the stables or even watch Jade if you need us to.”

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am that I found a job at such a great place. Brooks owns this ranch and took over after his parents retired. He’s the best boss we could ask for here at Moonlight Ranch, and he’s never afraid to get his hands dirty. In fact, I know he would rather be out in the stables or on the trails than sitting here behind this desk. So I know he means it when he says he’d cover some of my shifts.

“Thanks, Brooks. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime, man. You know we love that little girl.”

“Has wedding planning started?” I ask, changing the subject. I haven’t gotten to see him since the proposal last weekend.

“I’m letting Aspen do whatever she wants. So far, we’ve only decided that it’ll be here at the ranch.”

I chuckle. Of course, those two would want to be married on the ranch. Brooks lives on the property, just like I do. It’s expected that he loves this place, but I think Aspen loves it just as much. I often see them riding the trails, hiking, or even canoeing in the lakes on their days off. This place has become their own little oasis. I’m not much different, but I do enjoy going into town sometimes, too.

“I’m sure it’ll be beautiful no matter what. Have you, uh, heard from Zach at all?” I ask carefully. Zach is Brooks’s son. He dated Aspen for two years before she ended things, but it wasn’t a very clean break. As you can imagine, Zach was not happy about his ex-girlfriend and his dad getting together.

Brooks shakes his head. “Not directly, but he did talk to Aspen a few days ago. Said he still needs time, but he’s working on it. Just trying to give him space.”

“He’ll come around,” I say encouragingly. At least, we all hope he will. Zach and Brooks have never had the best relationship, but I hope they can get back to some semblance of normalcy.

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

“Alright, well, I’d better go find Jade. We need to get back to the house to meet with Sawyer and Willow, but thanks for being so understanding.”

“Beck, come on, man. You’re family. I’m always here to help.”

We say our goodbyes before I head down the hall to Aspen’s office, where I find Jade with a lollipop in her mouth and another one in her hand that she’s apparently saving for later.

She reluctantly follows me out of the lodge and into the truck. On our short drive back to our house, my daughter starts to get a little nervous about meeting someone new.

“Daddy, do you think Miss Willow is gonna like me?”

“Of course she will, honey. Everyone loves you,” I say.

I see her small smile through the rearview mirror. While I know I’m biased since she’s my own kid, I think Jade is the best. And everyone who’s ever met her instantly falls in love with her. She’s cute. She’s funny. And while she does have some sass, she’s a very well-behaved six-year-old.

“Besides, you’ve met Miss Willow before. You just don’t remember. You were really little.”

“Really? And she liked me then?” she asks.

“Yes, of course. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a few pictures of Willow holding you as a baby. I’ll see if I can find them tonight.”

“Ok!” Jade loves looking at pictures of her when she was a baby. I often wonder if it’s because she likes seeing her mom and me together, but I try not to dwell on that thought too much.

We pull up to my house, and Sawyer’s truck approaches just as I’m getting Jade out of her car seat.

Jade runs straight to the driver’s side to give Sawyer a hug. You’d think she didn’t just see him yesterday. I stand by my truck and watch her with a smile on my face. When I hear a second door slam, I turn to look at Willow.

My smile drops.

This isn’t the same Willow from three years ago. The one who wore sweatpants and baggy T-shirts almost every time I saw her, or whose hair was always pulled back or in a bun. I don’t remember ever seeing her in makeup, so her face always looked young to me, probably because I watched her grow up.