She was the best bonus mom and loved my daughter as fiercely as if she were her own. Grady and I never wanted her to feel left out or that she didn’t have a say in how we raised Charlie.
I pulled back, taking her in. She wore a Black Springs Ranch sweatshirt and black leggings. Her long blonde hair was tucked behind one ear, framing her face in loose waves.
“I want one of those,” I said, dropping my gaze to the cute little horseshoe embroidered on the sleeve. Cleo’s family owned the massive ranch in Texas, and ever since her sisters had taken over the day-to-day operations, they’d come up with the best merchandising ideas.
“Oh, this?” Cleo asked. “I’ll have Lennox send one over. They just got the sample stock in. Mom is thrilled at the prospect of organizing and selling merchandise. I don’t think my dad’s retirement suits them very well.”
I snorted. That sounded about right. Her dad, Doug, was one of the busiest bodies I’d ever met, and I could imagine he was likely driving his wife and kids crazy. “Don’t blame her, honestly.”
“Me either. How’s it going?” Cleo kicked off her slides near the door. “I don’t hear screaming.”
“That’s because you saved Charlie from herself with your impeccable timing. I made the mistake of asking why she was digging toward the bottom of the cherry jar instead of using the ones on top.”
Cleo smirked. “Trying to get the biggest one?”
“Don’t tell me she learned that from you,” I groaned.
“Blame your ex,” she said, shooting me a wink as she moved past me.
Fucking Grady. I should’ve known. I grabbed the food before following her into the kitchen. “Honestly, that explains so much.”
Both girls looked up from their cherry endeavor, grinning when they took in our new guest. “Cleo! You’re here!” Charlie exclaimed, abandoning her mess. She took off running toward Cleo, nearly knocking her over as she slid to a stop. “Wait… Are those for us?”
Cleo wrapped Charlie in a hug. “Well, when your mom mentioned y’all were having a girls’ night, I couldn’t resist crashing. I hope that’s okay?”
“Well, you brought cookies and pizza, so duh.” She shrugged, digging into the box and grabbing a slice of cheese.
While Cleo and the girls got settled in the living room, I stayed behind to clean up the mess. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them all together. Charlie was flipping through the movie selection, trying to find the perfect film to end the night, as she spouted off movie facts about nearly every one. Cleo, of course, was fussing over everyone’s comfort as she always did,but instead of stress or worry in her face, I only saw genuine peace. Harper sat between the two of them with the widest smile I’d ever seen, watching them banter back and forth playfully about which 2000’s romcom was better.
And me? I stood there, happier than I had in a long time, surrounded by mess and chaos, wishing Duke could see the way his daughter shone.
Despite the time,when we pulled up to Duke’s cabin the next day, he was waiting outside with a cup of coffee. Cleo left before we did, running to town for the hamburger buns Grady had forgotten to pick up earlier.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, watching Harper smile as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Duke met her at the door, pulling it open and helping her out. “Hey, sugar. Did you have fun?”
“Dad, we had the best time! Miss Olivia and Miss Cleo gave us mani-pedis,” she flashed him her fingers, “and they bought pizza and ice cream?—”
“Don’t forget the fresh cookies!” Charlie interrupted.
“Right! The cookies. They were so good. Oh my gosh. And we watched movies until, like, midnight.”
Duke’s face was alight as his daughter chattered on and on about everything that happened last night. It was literal word vomit. I found myself laughing as I got out of my seat and walked to the truck, hefting her bag over my shoulder.
The two of them seemed so relaxed, so at ease. It was a jarring contrast to the way I’d seen them interact before. Maybe they both just needed a break. I imagine living in such a small cabin probably felt like it was impossible to get out from under the others’ space.
“Damn, that does sound pretty fun.” Duke’s eyes softened as they locked with mine over Harper’s head. “I’m a little jealous.”
“Next time, you can come too, Mr. Bennett. I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind, right?” Charlie and Harper both turned to me, eyes pleading.
“Can my dad come to the next sleepover?” Harper asked, lip jutting out.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Duke said at the same time I stammered, “S-sure.” The man in front of me widened his eyes at that, clearly not impressed by my response, but what was I supposed to do? “I mean, we can figure something out,” I added quickly. “Not like we have to decide anything today.”
“Definitely not a sleepover,” he muttered.
Harper turned toward him, face scrunched up in confusion. “Why not, Dad? It’s on Uncle Lukas’ ranch. We go there all the time.”
“Maybe the boys could cook us dinner before we shoo them out, huh?” I glanced over at Duke’s hands—a massive mistake, honestly—and added, “Although, your nail beds could definitely use some help.” I was desperately trying to bridge the gap so as not to disappoint the girls, but also keep some semblance of distance from Duke. The last thing I needed to think of was having a sleepover.