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Ruby began tapping on her window, then waving madly for him to get in the truck.
“Looks like I’m being summoned,” Knox said. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours if anyone is asking.”
“Enjoy yourselves,” Rex said with a wave to Ruby.
The drive to the park was filled with about eighty-four questions about bull-riding. He thought he’d answered them all the night before when he talked with his family before coming across Jana walking to her car. Apparently, Ruby still had more.
“Do the bulls get sad?”
“What do they eat?”
“Do they like ice cream?”
“Can I pet a baby bull?”
“How old are you, Daddy?”
“What’s your favorite color?”
“Do you like sparkles?”
Okay, so not all of the questions were bull-riding related. By the time they reached the park and pulled into a spot near the swings, Knox wondered if anyone had ever been so thoroughly interrogated. He opened his door and climbed out, trying not to feel disappointed that Jana hadn’t come with him. She said she might meet him here, but Knox was positive that was a polite way of saying no.
Ruby made a beeline for the swings, and for a second, Knox wondered what she was allowed or not allowed to do on the jungle gym. What if she fell off something or got hurt somehow? A few teens were on the other side of the park throwing a frisbee, but there weren’t any other little kids around. It was just as well. Another citizen of Prosper would have asked him even more questions than Ruby.
“Daddy, push me!” Ruby called as she inched her way onto a swing.
Knox chuckled and headed over to push her on the swing, not too high, even though she kept demanding it. As a baby, Ruby had been a fussy kid, and always wanted her mom. Knox didn’t blame her. But now, she was like a little person, and his heart overflowed when he was around her, and ached when he wasn’t.
“Higher, Daddy.”
“No, baby girl,” he said. “This is high enough. I don’t want you to get dizzy, because then you’ll be too sick for ice cream.”
“Okay.” She began to sing a random song he’d never heard of.
Knox exhaled, enjoying the clear blue sky, the warm weather, the time with his daughter, and the buzzing thoughts of Jana. What was she thinking now? What was she feeling? Were things already moving too fast? Had he jumped ahead too many steps?
He couldn’t make any promises, which meant he had to be completely honest with her. If things kept moving forward, he wouldn’t mind Jana as part of his future. Heck, he’d love her to be. That thought should have scared him right out of his boots, but one could say he’d come a long way.
He’d been to hell and back, and he never wanted to return.
When a SUV pulled into the parking lot and stopped near his truck, Knox was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a handful of seconds. Then he was grinning.
Jana climbed out of the SUV, her red hair tied up into some sort of bun, her white shorts paired with a pretty red blouse, and looking like a million-and-a-half dollars.
He tried to calm down his grin as she walked to the playground, but there was no stopping it.
“Hey,” she said, her gaze flitting from Knox to Ruby, who was currently on her dozenth round of going down the slide.
“Hey.” He walked toward her and leaned down to kiss her cheek. She smelled sweet. Like fruit. He wanted to pull her close and kiss her for real. “How are you?”
Jana’s lips twitched. “Good. And you?”
“Excellent.” He winked. “Got your writing done?”
“A little.”
“What’s happening now between Ryan and Sandy?”
