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“Did you fix it?” Saryn asked, handing me a dish to dry. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Liliana sitting down at her little table, drawing, Rus laying right at her feet.
I focused back on Saryn. “Did I fix it? I built a new chicken coop.”
She busted out laughing. “You did?”
With a nod, I chuckled. “I did. I was ticked off at my father, and it was more to prove a point than anything else. But from that moment on I found myself building anything and everything.”
I placed the last dish in the cabinet and took another look at Liliana.
Saryn handed me a glass of wine. “Let me just say I’m impressed you found the wine I liked.”
“I can be resourceful when I need to be.”
Her cheeks turned a slight pink as she took a sip. Liliana was now in full-on story mode as she held up her picture and explained to Rus what it was all about. He was her captive audience and even appeared to be listening.
We sat down on a sofa in the living room as Liliana pulled out more paper to draw on. She informed Rus he needed to sit still so she could draw him, and the damn dog did just that.
“He really is such a good dog, Truitt,” Saryn stated as we watched the two of them.
I scoffed. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s wants you to think he’s a good dog.”
Rus looked my way, thumped his tail a few times, then looked back at Liliana. We both laughed.
“So, tell me what got you into building playscapes.”
I smiled as the memory came to me. “It started on a dare. A friend of mine was building a playground for his daughter. Mind you, she was only two months old at the time.”
Laughing, Saryn took a sip of her wine.
“He really was just so happy to be a father. He was engaged to his high school sweetheart and was honestly madly in love with her. The baby wasn’t planned, but both of them were over the moon. He was home on leave from the Air Force, he’s a test pilot, and he wanted to make his little girl something. The guy can do anything, I swear…with the exception of build a playground. He was having a hard time of it, and I, of course, made a smart a-double-s comment about how I could do it better.”
Saryn shook her head and grinned.
“So, Nolan challenged me. I drew up some plans and asked my father if I could use part of his shop back at the ranch. I designed that playground in the shape of a plane, since he was a pilot and had always loved flying. He used to help his daddy with crop dusting.”
She gasped. “Nolan Byers?”
“Yeah. Did you know him?”
Slowly, she replied, “No, but I was friends with Linnzi. She was older than me, but we met at the stables.”
I smiled. “Yeah. Linnzi loved her horses, just like you did.”
Sadness quickly filled the room. “How is Nolan doing?”
With a shrug, I replied, “He never talks about it. Hasn’t been back to Boerne since Linnzi moved.”
She reached for my hand. “I’m so sorry, Truitt. I totally forgot about you being such good friends with Nolan. Ryan doesn’t much talk about him.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I miss him.”
Her hand squeezed mine.
“Anyway,” I said, “I built the playground and impressed a lot of people with it. It was actually Nolan who encouraged me to start a career in it. So that’s how Imaginations Unlimited was born.”
“From another dare.”
I laughed. “Yep.”
“You truly are talented, Truitt. It’s clear you love what you do.”
Liliana walked up to me, Rus following closely behind. “I dwew this for you, Twuitt.”
She handed me a drawing that had a stick person on it and what looked like a dog next to him.
“Is this me and Rus?”
Liliana looked proud as all get out. “Yep!” she said, jumping in excitement.
“I love it, Liliana. I can’t wait to hang it up in my house.”
That statement earned me another brilliant smile.
“How about we go outside and let Rus run and fetch his favorite ball? Want to do that before it gets too dark out?” I stood and set my wine glass down, looking to Saryn to make sure it was okay.
“I think heading outside sounds like a great idea.”
So the three of us, with Rus in tow, headed outside and played fetch. Saryn and I laughed as we watched Liliana run and chase Rus, rolling around on the ground while Rus attempted to do the same. By the time the sun was nearly gone, Liliana and the pup were both worn out and I realized I’d had the best evening I’d ever experienced in my life.
Saryn picked up a very exhausted little girl and started back toward the house. “Want to help me get her ready for bed? Then we can sit in the living room and have another glass of wine if you want.”
