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She took a deep breath and I was completely mesmerized.
“And maybe… Oh, yeah. How about if there was a play area for kids and we could teach them about all kinds of animals. How to be kind to them and take care of them. Oh, that’s perfect.” She clapped her hands, dropping a tomato on the floor, laughing as she scampered to pick it up. “Oops. I think I bruised it.”
Suddenly, she stopped talking and I realized I’d been holding my breath. I’d never seen anyone so enthusiastic about something that sounded so incredible in my life. Holy shit. I could see the location now. My mind went to some very different places as I thought about the ranch. Hell, I’d sold off most of the cattle, laid off twenty-two employees over the last few weeks because I didn’t want a working ranch. At least I’d been able to give them a year’s salary, but it had made me feel like shit.
I realized the dead air between us was awkward as hell.
“I know. That’s stupid. Just stupid.”
After clearing my throat, I grabbed my glass and gulped down the rest of my drink. “No, little bird. That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Really?” Her entire face lit up and it became painfully obvious to me that she’d never been given any encouragement to do whatever she wanted or needed to do in her life. Fuck her father. I should have beaten him to a pulp.
Calm down, big boy.
“Yeah, really.”
“I have some money, but not enough. Maybe I could get a loan.” She was still lost in the haze of being told she was a good girl.
I wanted to see that happen all the time.
Stop it. You can’t make her happy. You’ll just give her nightmares.
That was the sick truth, and I wouldn’t put her through that. However, maybe there was something I could do in order to help her make her dream come true. “I thought your father was rich.”
She burst into laughter, grabbing the bottle of wine and refilling her glass all the way to the rim. “I have a trust fund I can access either when I marry or turn twenty-eight. However, if I’m not married by then, the amount gets cut in half. Granted, even five hundred thousand dollars would be a wonderful amount to start in building my dream, but not nearly enough. Plus, Daddy knows every banker in the entire state. If I had to guess, I’d say he’d make certain I never got a damn loan.”
Now I wanted to put a bullet in the man’s head.
Before I had a chance to comment, she lifted her head, staring me in the eyes. “Thank you for indulging me in my crazy fantasy for a few minutes. That meant a lot. Let’s just stick to simple questions. Okay?”
Hmm… “Agreed.” If only I wasn’t the bad man I’d turned out to be. Maybe I could provide her with something that made her happy. Nope. That would entail remaining close and that just couldn’t happen.
“What’s your favorite color?” she asked, laughing again although I could see a new wave of pain in her eyes.
“Blue.”
“Figures. You’re a boy.”
When my cell phone rang, I growled. This damn well better not be a fire I needed to race off to. “I’ll be right back. Okay?”
“I might be here, big boy.”
Now my balls were tight as fucking drums. Shit, I’d need relief soon.
“Hello?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Riggs, but Justin is demanding he talk to you,” Betty said, exasperation in her voice.
“Don’t worry, Betty. You can call me anytime. I don’t know what I would do without you in our lives.”
“You’re so sweet. Let me get him.” I remained in the hallway, keeping my voice low. I’d never had to face telling someone about Justin. I knew it would put a wedge between us. Maybe that made me a damn coward, but I was also protective of my son. If I ever brought anyone into my life, she’d need to be special and the one, because he couldn’t take another loss.
“Sweetie. How are you?”
“Daddy. I want to come home.” He was already in tears. I could tell he’d had a tantrum.
“Soon. This is just something I need to do.”
