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“Yeah,” Lainey said quietly. She glanced up the stairs, making sure that Phoebe had gone into her room and closed the door, then threw her arms around him and kissed him. He wanted more, and he suspected he’d always want more when it came to Lainey. But instead of pressing, she pulled away. “As much as I’d like to sleep with you tonight, I can’t. I’m afraid Phoebe might have nightmares and come looking for me.”
Brody sighed, disappointed but not surprised. Lainey’s skittishness after they’d made love had set alarm bells ringing, but now wasn’t the time to talk about it. “I get it. I’ll survive.” He smiled. “Barely.” His smile vanished. “I’m taking the middle of the night patrol tonight, so it’s probably for the best. I’ll see you in the morning.”
With another kiss that curled his toes, Lainey finally eased away from him and ran up the stairs, as if afraid that if she lingered she’d change her mind about sleeping in his bed. He waited until his jeans weren’t too tight to walk comfortably, then followed her up the stairs. He’d get a few hours of sleep before his shift patrolling the ranch.
* * *
After an uneventful night, all three of them were back in the truck late the next morning, heading for Bozeman. Brody listened to Lainey and Phoebe chattering about which stores they wanted to visit, debating about which place to go first. Fortunately, most of the stores on their list were relatively close together, so he was comfortable dropping them off before he went to visit Rose.
At a lull in the conversation, Phoebe cleared her throat. “Since we’re going to be shopping for clothes for me, I want you to know that I’ll pay you back for anything we buy. Including the clothes you got me at Target.”
Brody opened his mouth to tell the girl not to be ridiculous, but Lainey squeezed his leg before he could speak. Her message was clear -- please let me handle this.
“I appreciate that, Phoebe, more than you know,” Lainey said carefully. “I already knew you were an honorable young woman who’d do her best to pay me back for the stuff we bought. But I don’t want you to worry about the money we spend, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay,” Phoebe said stubbornly. “You’ve already spent a lot of money on me. You opened the account at school so I could buy lunch. That was huge.” She stared out the windshield, her jaw working as if trying not to cry. “Last year, I brought a PBJ to school for lunch. An apple or an orange. That was it. Some of the girls made fun of me, but I didn’t care. I was just happy I had food to eat. Now, buying lunch, I’m just another kid in the food line. And that means a lot to me.”
“Has anyone bullied you or made fun of you with your new clothes?” Lainey asked, her voice careful.
“A few.” Phoebe shrugged. “But I don’t care because I know I look good.”
“Good for you,” Lainey said, her voice fierce. “We’ll get more things today, then you can strut past all of the bullies and ignore anything they say.”
“That sounds great, but I want to pay for what we buy,” Phoebe insisted.
Lainey slipped her hand over Phoebe’s. “Maybe at some point. But catching up at school has to come first. And then, if you still want that job at the veterinary clinic, you can work a few hours a week. We’re not going to talk about you paying for your clothes, or paying me back, until then.”
Lainey swiveled so she faced Phoebe. “I want to do this, Phoebe. I can afford it.” She smiled at the girl as she released her hand. “I didn’t have a sister to shop with. I only had two brothers, and no one wants to shop with their brother. And I don’t have any daughters to take shopping. So I’m enjoying this as much as you are. And I’m really looking forward to it. There’s plenty of time to figure out how you can pay me back.”
Brody cleared his throat. “If it would make you feel better, Phoebe, you can do some chores around the house. I’ll pay you an allowance, then you’d have some of your own money.”
“I’ll be happy to do chores,” Phoebe said immediately. “But you don’t have to pay me to do them.”
“I’m not paying you to do chores,” Brody said. “You’d do chores because everyone who lives on a ranch has to pitch in. But every kid should have an allowance so they can go out with their friends for pizza, or buy something that catches their eye. I’ll do some research and find out what’s an appropriate allowance for someone your age. And we can figure out together what chores you’d like to do. There are plenty of things to choose from.”
Phoebe stared at Brody for a long moment. Swallowed hard. Then studied Lainey. Her eyes were bright, as if she were fighting back tears. When she turned to look out the window, Brody heard a tiny sniff. Finally she said in a low voice, “Why are you guys being so nice to me?”
Anger rose in a hot wave inside of Brody. Anger at Art Larsen. At the disease that had taken Phoebe’s mother. At the way Larsen had neglected his daughter since his wife died.
Before he could frame an answer, Lainey squeezed his leg again, as if she’d read his emotions. Agreed with them. “We’re treating you exactly how we’d treat any child who came to us the way you did. The way I’d hope your mother would treat you if she were still alive.” Lainey’s voice was soft. Gentle. “The way we’d treat anyone we cared about. Because I care about you, Phoebe. I’m sure Brody does, too. We both want you to be happy. Comfortable. We want you to do well in school, because I know how important that is to you. And if you feel good at school, you’ll do better. Okay?” She shifted in her seat. “We both know it’s hard to accept gifts, especially when you haven’t known us for a long time. Neither of us wants you to be uncomfortable. But it makes me happy to be able to do this for you, and I’m sure it’ll make Brody happy to give you an allowance.”
She glanced at him, and Brody nodded. “We’ll figure that out together, Phoebe. Okay?”
Phoebe’s gaze shifted from her to Brody. Back to her. “I don’t know what to say,” she said, clearing her throat.
“Say you’ll think about what we said,” Lainey replied. She sounded bright and cheerful. Happy to be able to help Phoebe. But Brody knew her well enough to hear the pain beneath her words.
Phoebe nodded slowly. “I’ll think about it,” she promised.
“And you won’t be picking clothes based on their price rather than whether or not you like them,” Lainey added firmly.
Phoebe stared at her hands, twined together in her lap. “I’ll try not to.”
“Don’t worry,” Lainey said. “I’ll have no trouble telling you if I think something you want isn’t worth the cost.” She smiled again. “That’s the accountant in me.”
Phoebe smiled back, then turned to stare out the window. Brody wondered what was going through her head. He was glad they’d had this conversation. But it underlined that they needed to have a different one, and soon. The conversation about Lainey or Brody becoming her guardian.
He’d ask Rose about that today. Get her input.
