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Chapter Twenty-One
Ted stood in the kitchen next to the refrigerator, hoping to stay out of the way during this luncheon. He’d tried to get out of coming, but Nate had deliberately come out to the river to get him, saying, “You can’t avoid her forever.”
“I’m not avoiding her,” Ted had said without looking at his best friend. “How did you find me?”
“I brought Ursula.”
Ted looked down at the German shepherd, and Ursula looked up at him. “Traitor,” he said, and Ursula whined.
He looked at Nate, who’d raised his eyebrows. “Fine,” Ted said. “But I’m only staying for ten minutes. She doesn’t want me there.”
“Yes, she does.”
Ted didn’t want to argue with Nate. They’d had this conversation at least daily for the past five days, and Ted didn’t have the energy to do it again. So he’d walked back to the West Wing with Nate. He’d accepted a bottle of water from Ginger. He’d put a smile on his face.
And he’d been waiting for Emma to show up with her daughter for fifteen minutes.
Five more minutes, he told himself, and then he was leaving. In the very next moment, the back door opened, and voices preceded Emma into the kitchen.
She entered first, her eyes full of apprehension. She brought a little girl behind her, their hands pressed together. “Hey, everyone,” Emma said. She glanced around the room, smiling at the group gathered there.
Another couple entered after them, and Emma edged out of the way and drew in a big breath. “So this is Missy. She’s my daughter.” She beamed at the little girl, and the girl beamed at her. They clearly loved each other, and the bond between them was palpable.
She looked at the couple, and they seemed well-dressed and sophisticated. “And this is Fran and Matt Black. They’ve been taking care of Missy for me for…they’ve been taking care of Missy. They’re her mom and dad.”
“Oh, no,” Fran said, shaking her head.
“Yes,” Emma said, meeting Fran’s eye. They had a special friendship too, Ted could tell. “So Missy, come meet everyone.” She started taking her around to all the women who lived in the West Wing and introducing her to the cowboys who worked the ranch.
Ted tried not to track her, and he tried to get himself to leave before it was his turn to meet the dark-haired girl who looked so much like Emma.
“And this is Ted,” Emma said, finally getting to him.
“Oh, he’s the one with all the dogs.” She looked up at Emma and then Ted. “Can I meet them?”
“The dogs?” Ted asked.
“Yes, sir.”
He grinned at her. “Sure thing. Let’s go.” He reached for her hand, and Missy slipped her fingers into his. He looked at Emma, so much he wanted to say. The words felt trapped though, and he didn’t know how to let them come out.
“She wants to see the horses too,” Emma said, her voice a type of forced casual Ted didn’t like. He needed to figure out how to talk to her. How to tell her how he really felt, and that he wanted to take her out again, that it really didn’t matter to him what had happened a decade ago.
Yes, he’d wanted her to be truthful with him. She’d struggled with that, but he’d pushed her hard in a short amount of time.
And she’d called him when she needed help.
They’d been dancing again for the past several days, and he was still trying to find some sort of solid ground to stand on with her.
“So let’s go see the horses,” Ted said. “I have a couple of favorites I can introduce you to.”
He glanced at Emma again as he walked away, and he couldn’t judge how she felt about him going with her daughter. The fresh air outside was a relief, and Ted drew in a deep breath of it. “So, Missy, here are the dogs.”
The heelers picked themselves up and came toward him. Ted crouched down to pat them, and added, “This is Simon. And Paula.” He stroked her head. “And Ryan, and Randy.”
Randy licked Missy’s hand as she reached to pat him, and she giggled. “What kind of dogs are they?”
“They’re blue heelers,” he said. “They like to herd things. Cattle, usually.” He glanced over at Missy. “But they’ll keep our horses together. And I’ve heard they drive the wild pigs around here.” Ted straightened, and Missy did too.
