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Tim stopped walking. “About that.”
Emily stopped next to her husband. My stomach knotted with dread. What if he says they don’t want us to see Piper anymore?
Liv’s hand found mine, and she squeezed tightly as we stopped also. My parents continued walking with Piper as Tim and Emily looked at us.
“We’ve been thinking about this for some time. This wasn’t the first time that Piper asked to reach out to you, but of course we were apprehensive,” Emily stated.
“No adoptive parent wants to hear that their child wants to meet their birth parents, so we were reluctant at first,” Tim added.
“That’s understandable,” Liv agreed.
Emily sighed. “But Piper was adamant.” She shook her head with a chuckle, watching Piper as she walked. “She kept asking and asking, so we finally gave in.”
“After meeting you, we’ve had some discussions about what we wanted from this.” Emily glanced up at her husband, who put his arm around her. “Neither of us has family, so it’s always just been the three of us. Piper’s never had any family other than us, and we decided we wanted more than that for her.”
Tim continued, “So we’d like these kinds of get-togethers to become a regular thing; maybe once or twice a week so Piper can have more than what we’re able to give her.”
A smile spread over my face. That was definitely not what I was expecting, but I’d be damned if I didn’t take the opportunity they were giving us. “We’d love that.”
“Thank you. You don’t understand how much this means to us,” Liv added, grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes sparkled with tears that I knew she was struggling to hold back.
“We’d like to have dinner to discuss things further and get to know each other better,” Emily suggested.
“That sounds great. Just let us know where and when,” I replied.
Tim glanced at his wife, then back at us. “We were thinking this Friday. There’s a wonderful little Italian restaurant in Morehead that we’d love to take you to.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I extended my hand to Tim, and we shook on it.
We resumed walking and caught up to my parents and Piper, who were already at the pigsty. Piper was giggling as my dad filled the pigs’ trough with food, and the pigs gobbled it up.
“They’re so messy!”
My mother chuckled. I hadn’t seen her that happy in years. “Aren’t they?”
After the pigs finished eating, Piper pet some of the piglets, then we moved to the next animal pen.
Tim and Emily walked with my parents and Piper as Liv and I trailed behind.
“This is turning out to be better than expected,” I said, linking my fingers with hers.
Liv smiled up at me. “I know. I think I’m still in shock. I’m surprised they want us to be so involved in Piper’s life.”
“Well, I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ll take what we can get.”
“Definitely,” she agreed.
After showing Piper the rest of the animals, we returned back to the field where Buttercup was grazing. “Ready for another ride, Piper?”
She clapped her hands together. “Yes!”
“How about you, city slicker?” I teased, winking at Liv.
Liv shook her head with a chuckle. “Sure, cowboy.”
I lifted Piper back in the saddle, then helped Liv get on behind her. Once they were situated, I led Buttercup around the corral.
“Have you had a good time today, Piper?” Liv asked.
