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We didn’t talk much on the way there, content to be near each other for the moment. Even little Kadie was quiet but wore a smile on her face.
“We’re here,” I said, pulling in front of my house.
Kadie clapped, her face lighting up with excitement. “Yay. I want to play with Daddy’s blocks.” She held up a doll she’d brought along. “She wants to play.”
I laughed. “Sure thing, sweetie.”
“I hope you washed those things,” Aspyn said, a hint of disdain in her voice. “Those blocks have probably been sitting in a closet since the World War II.”
I laughed. “The McMillians aren’t that old.”
“Just saying.” She shrugged.
“She played with them before and didn’t get sick,” I said with a grin as I stepped out of the truck. “I hate to think Tennessee kids are so soft these days, they can’t handle a few wooden blocks.”
“I like blocks!” Kadie shouted.
Aspyn rolled her eyes and pushed back her seat to help our daughter out of her car seat.
I still planned to do what she wanted. I didn’t care much about washing some old, dusty blocks. But I hoped this didn’t mean the start of too much prissiness.
Even if she didn’t end up moving in with me anytime soon, she was still going to be staying with me, and I was a rancher. I was going to be the kind of man who came home sweaty and dirty, not in a nice suit.
As we walked to the front door, my gaze cut to Aspyn. Did she want the guy in the nice suit instead? I furrowed my brow at the thought.
After all, even though she’d never left Livingston, she wasn’t exactly working at a ranch either. She worked in city hall on a computer.
Even in high school, she’d been more of a girly-girl sort. As far as I could remember, she’d ridden a horse a couple of times her entire life, and she didn’t like it.
It didn’t matter. Kadie would learn to love the outdoors, and she
could make her own choices.
I almost laughed at the thought. I’d gone from not even knowing I had a kid to worrying about her choices 20 years in the future.
Soon, we were all inside. I grabbed the box of blocks from the other room and then led mother and daughter upstairs to Kadie’s bedroom.
I carried the box into the empty playroom next to it and placed them in the center. I figured she couldn’t hurt herself too much considering all the furniture was still boxed up.
Kadie happily tore into the blocks, her doll at her side.
I stepped back into the bedroom, where Aspyn was looking around with a slight frown on her face.
“This is a lot of stuff,” she said.
I laughed. “What? Regretting agreeing to help? It’s not so much. We just got a toddler bed, a crib, a dresser, and some shelves. I have some chairs and a desk coming, but that’ll still be a few days.”
I would have loved to take Aspyn into the master bedroom for a little fun, but not much we could do with Kadie awake. As much as I loved my daughter, I was quickly learning how kids could be a major cockblock.
“A toddler bed and a crib?” Aspyn said.
I shrugged. “She’s still sleeping in the crib at home, but I figured she’s gonna be out of it soon.”
Aspyn’s lips pursed for a second, and she nodded. “What about the other room?”
“Oh, just some shelves and such. I still need to order a little couch for her. I wanted her to pick it out.”
Aspyn crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “That’s a lot of money.”
