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When we reached my parents’ house we pulled around back and parked behind my father. The first thing I saw was Chloe with Patches.
“Why does Chloe have Patches tied up to the tree?” I asked.
Wade opened his door. “I’m not sure.”
Jumping out of the truck, we headed over toward Chloe. She looked up and flashed us—well, Wade—a huge smile.
“Wade!” Running right past me, she jumped into his arms.
“Your ribs, Wade!” I said.
He lifted Chloe and did a little spin while she cried out in glee.
“Aww, this little girl weighs nothing! Besides, they’re almost all healed up.”
“Chloe, sweetie, why is Patches tied up?” I asked.
“She’s tied up ’cause she ate Grammy’s flowers so I had to put her in time out. Mommy’s here with Aunt Waylynn picking out colors for Aunt Waylynn’s dance studio.”
My mouth fell open. “Oh, hell no.”
“Oh, hell no!” Chloe repeated.
“No, shit. Chloe don’t say that!”
“Don’t say shit or hell?”
Wade attempted to hide his smile.
“Don’t say either.”
Chloe tilted her head. “But you said them both. If you said them, why can’t I say them?”
“Fuck,” I whispered as I looked away. Of course, it was still loud enough for my niece to hear.
“Hell! Shit! Fuck!”
“Chloe Lynn Parker! You do not say those words!” I said sternly as Wade put Chloe down and started toward the main barn.
“I see your shoulders moving, Wade Adams! You’re going to abandon me like this?”
Wade lifted his hand. “I see Trevor! Got to ask him…a question.”
“You’re a terrible boyfriend, Wade Adams. I can hear you laughing!”
“Hell, shit, fuck!” Chloe shouted.
I spun around and pointed to Chloe. “Now you listen here, young lady. You are old enough to know that those are bad words. Adult bad words.”
“How come you can use them?”
I opened my mouth to speak and nothing came out at first. I looked for my parents but they must have already gone into the house.
“I’m an adult. That’s why.” My hands landed on my hips. I was positive I looked and sounded more like a child than an adult.
“But if they’re bad words, how come you say them, Aunt Meli?”
Nothing. I had nothing.
“Go get Patches, and we’ll bring her down to the barn.”
“You didn’t say how come you can say bad words.”
Bending down, I looked directly in her eyes. “I didn’t answer you because I don’t have a good reason. You’re right. They are bad words, and I shouldn’t be using them. It’s just sometimes, adults get angry or super excited and they use bad words to express how they feel.”
She crinkled her nose. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sorry. Now, I don’t want you using those words, young lady. One reason is your father would be very upset with me if he knew you learned such bad words from me. The other reason is it’s not a polite way to speak.”
She nodded.
“So, it’s our secret and you promise to never say them again, right?”
Chloe crossed her heart “I promise!”
“Good! Now let’s get Patches to the barn and see what your Aunt Waylynn and mommy are up to.”
“Okay!” Chloe said, skipping over to Patches. “She wasn’t really tied around the tree! I tricked her!”
I held Chloe’s hand as we made our way to the barn. Trevor and Wade were in Trevor’s office talking about what type of grass to plant in the south pasture. Chloe and I put Patches in her stall, fed her some grain, and made our way up to the house.
The moment we walked into the kitchen, I noticed Paxton’s face. Something was off. Poor thing was two weeks overdue and the doctor was finally going to induce her tomorrow.
“Hey, what’s up, y’all?” I asked.
Waylynn looked up at us with her hair a complete mess and her mascara smudged under her eyes. Chloe and I both jumped. “Oh, my God!” I shouted. “What’s wrong? You look like hel…um. You look bad.”
Good save!
Giving me the middle finger, Waylynn said, “I can’t decide on colors.”
I sat at the table and pulled the swatches closer. “Okay, we’ll narrow it down to two you like.”
“She can’t,” Paxton said, sounding exhausted. “She has it narrowed down to ten.”
My eyes shot up. “Ten!”
Paxton frowned and slowly nodded. “Yep. Ten.”
I glared at Waylynn. “You’re making our poor sister-in-law sit here and deal with this shiiii…um…stuff?”
I glanced over to Chloe who was sitting next to Paxton, smiling all innocently.
“I’m narrowing it down to three and you’ll pick,” I said to Waylynn.
“What!” my sister gasped. “But!”
Holding up my hand, I said, “No! This is what we are doing. Waylynn, these are all green. Just different shades.”
“Aunt Waylynn, can I take dance lessons from you?” Chloe asked.
Taking Chloe’s hand, Waylynn said, “Of course, you can! You’ll be my first student!”
“Yay!” Chloe jumped out of her seat and hugged Waylynn.
Staring at the paint samples, I picked the three I thought would look best with the natural light and the wood tones in the studio. I slid them over to Waylynn.
