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Any other day I’d have laughed. All the ruined clothes were precious mementos of the little lives that brought me such joy. But today, I was irritated. At Daniel. At Stone.
“You can’t be here.”
He fished a badge out of the pocket of his flannel shirt and flashed me his most devastating grin. “I stopped by the office. Got a visitor’s pass.”
“Vivian,” I muttered under my breath.
“She said it would be fine for us to eat together. That the kids have recess. It was drizzling when I came in, so we can’t have lunch outside.”
I straightened, ready to argue, then I thought better of it. “Lunch number two.” I checked my watch. “Give me ten minutes.”
“Muriella,” he said as I stepped around him, “this isn’t the second date.”
“Then you should go.”
He glanced down, looked uncertain for a second. “The ranch is in trouble again.”
He’d figured out how to get to me. At some point when I hadn’t been paying attention, the well-being of that place and all the people there had become my concern. “I thought you had it in good financial shape.”
“It’s not money.” He shook his head and held the back of his neck. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have bothered you at work. Maybe we could meet up for a drink later?” He scratched his neck. “Shit.” He winced. “Man, I’m really fouling this up.”
“Vivian asked me if she and Daniel could come over for dinner,” I blurted, desperate to ease his worry about his home.
“She asked?” His voice was incredulous. Vivian rarely asked for anything.
“Yeah.” I chewed on my lip. “I told her I’d think about it.”
My routine was off. I hadn’t seen them this morning. Vivian wasn’t here for lunch. I wasn’t sure if we were having dinner together. The imbalance made me itchy. Giving Daniel the silent treatment felt wrong.
But I wasn’t over what he’d done. Not even close.
“Want me to come for support?”
“I haven’t even agreed to have them over.” That sounded wrong. Like they needed an invitation to my home when they didn’t.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt.” One of the mothers from the eight-year-old class rushed up to us. “Can I have your autograph?” she asked Stone while she dug in her tote bag frantically. “I’m your biggest fan.”
Her phone lit when she pressed a button on the side. She held it out for him to see. Stone nose-to-nose with a horse was her wallpaper.
“That’s a beautiful mare,” he said.
She blinked at him, almost as if she didn’t realize the animal was in the photo with him. “Oh.” She pointed a pen at him. “That’s funny.”
Her tinkling laughter was like nails on a chalkboard as she produced an envelope and shoved it at Stone.
“Want it personalized?” he asked.
I folded my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall.
“Yes. That would be great,” she tittered.
“You sure? It won’t be worth as much.” He flashed her a grin.
“I’m sure.”
“Who should I address this to?”
“Oh my god, you’re so funny.”
