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I mouthed, “Sorry,” to Sarah, but she smiled and shook her head as if it wasn’t a big deal.
Navigating things with her daughter would take some getting used to, but I didn’t want to mess anything up. I wanted to take her lead as the parent.
“I don’t go out with Grace often. Or with anyone, for that matter. So, it might be a while before that will happen.”
“Maybe you should go out more often. If you had a reliable sitter, you could enjoy yourself with friends, or maybe pick up a hobby.”
She laughed. “What’s that?”
“I enjoy gardening. Emmett builds furniture. Talon has his art. There has to be something you enjoy doing.”
“I like to read. And since I’m usually editing in my spare time, I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like to.”
“There you go. I’ll watch Addy while you take a few hours to yourself. You could go to a spa, take a bath, and just relax while you read a book.”
“That sounds nice. Decadent, even.”
“It shouldn’t be something you do once in a while. You should recharge more often. It doesn’t take away from your role as a mother. I’d imagine it would only enhance it.”
Sarah sighed. “I know people say that it does.”
“Self-care. Isn’t that what people call it these days?” I asked her.
“Yeah, I think so.”
We were quiet for a few seconds, enjoying the scenery and the sound of the horses. There was something about being in nature that I’d always enjoyed. But it was only heightened when I was with Sarah and Addy. “When it snows, I’ll have to take you out on the snowmobiles, and we can go sledding. The farm is beautiful when it snows.”
“Where do you sled?” Addy asked, and I went through all our usual sledding hills. “The best one is at the main house. There are no trees on that hill, so you don’t have to worry about running into any.”
“I can’t wait for it to snow.”
“We had that one storm on Thanksgiving, so it’s possible.”
“Sometimes, one big snow is all we get around here,” Sarah said.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping for a white Christmas,” I said to Addy.
“Me, too,” Addy said, her voice filled with excitement.
“What are your plans for the holidays?” I didn’t think they’d have any time for me, but I was curious.
“We do our own thing in the morning. Addy opens her presents, and we take our time making breakfast and watching the parade. Then we head over to my parents’ in the afternoon. It’s a full day.”
I wanted to ask if Addy saw her dad but didn’t want to bring it up in front of her.
“If you have time in the evening, you could come over to the farm. I’m planning a little surprise. But we could just as easily do it the next night.” I hoped Talon came through for me.
“That’s my birthday,” Addy said.
“Your birthday is the day after Christmas?” I asked her.
She nodded eagerly. “I get lots of presents.”
I chuckled. “I bet. You’re a lucky girl.”
Sarah laughed. “At Christmas, she thinks so. In the summertime, not so much.”
Addy pouted. “I have to wait a whole year to get presents.”
