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“Because there are dogs here?”
“And Daddy. He’s here. And since I don’t have a mom, it would be nice if I at least had a dad.”
Her cute little face scrunched up, and Peyton was afraid for a moment that she was going to cry.
She didn’t, but it was a few minutes before her hand started moving along the dog’s fur again.
Peyton wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t promise her that she would ever have parents, couldn’t tell her where she would live.
She didn’t want to tell her that she would be able to stay. Because Peyton just didn’t know. But she didn’t want to try to talk her out of it either. Especially since she thought that Bryce might actually be open to the idea of moving his daughter to North Dakota to live with him here.
Peyton’s eyes went from watching the little girl to looking at the man she’d been stealing glances at all afternoon. He moved with an athletic grace that was beautiful to watch. The way he handled the ball seemed natural and almost instinctive.
Maybe he had some natural talent, but Peyton would be willing to bet that most of the reason he looked so good doing it was because he had practiced for hours on end.
Maybe that was something that Owen would learn from him. That to be successful in anything, it took hard work and determination and persistence.
No wonder he was so upset when he lost it all.
“Daddy used to get paid to play baseball.” Kendrick’s voice cut through Peyton’s thoughts.
“I heard he was pretty good at it.”
“That’s what Aunt Carol says. I never saw him play.”
Kendrick had been cheerful and precocious all day. But now she seemed to have settled into a melancholy mood.
Struggling with whether she should try to tease her out of the mood or probe deeper to see if there was something Kendrick wanted to talk about, Peyton gave Kendrick a gentle smile. “We’re watching him play now.”
“But he used to play on TV. That’s a lot different than playing with a little boy in the backyard.”
“It is. But maybe helping people is more important than doing it for yourself.”
Kendrick scrunched up her face, like she didn’t understand Peyton’s comment. She probably didn’t. Peyton hadn’t said it very well anyway. What she meant was that a person got a lot of accolades when they were good at playing sports, baseball in Bryce’s case. But what Peyton admired more than talent on the field was character off. She had been telling Kendrick that her dad had character. Maybe Kendrick was too little to appreciate it.
“I guess I wish he wasn’t a famous baseball player. Because then he’d spend more time with me.” Her lower lip trembled. “I don’t know why he doesn’t like me.”
“Oh, Kendrick,” Peyton said, reaching out and pulling the little girl into her arms.
She came easily, but that gentle touch seemed to release her tears, and she started sobbing. “He doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. He doesn’t really love me. He hates me!”
Peyton knew the real reason Bryce had kept Kendrick in South Carolina while he was in North Dakota, but she wasn’t sure that was her prerogative to explain it. She felt like Kendrick’s dad should tell Kendrick why he hadn’t been spending time with her.
But she couldn’t just sit there and allow the little girl to think her dad didn’t love her.
“It’s because he loves you that he kept you away from him.”
“That’s not true! If he loved me, he’d want me with him!”
Peyton rubbed her back until her fresh set of sobs subsided and she felt like Kendrick would listen. “He was afraid people would make fun of you if they saw you with him.”
“Why?” Kendrick asked, backing up a little and looking at Peyton’s face as though she were curious as to whether or not Peyton was serious.
“Because of the scars on his face.” Peyton couldn’t see sugarcoating it. It wasn’t like Kendrick couldn’t see them.
“Because he looks funny?” Kendrick asked, wiping tears off her cheek with the back of her hand.
“Yes. Surely you’ve heard kids making fun of something? Your dad didn’t want to bring you here to be with him when he knows people will make fun of you when they see him. Not that it’s okay. It’s never okay to make fun of someone in a mean way. But he thought eventually you might not want to be with him because people would laugh at him. Your friends might.”
