“Bay Bay,”Daisy says, standing on the picnic bench beside me and resting her head on my shoulder.
“You gonna miss me?”
When she nods, I set my fork down and swallow thepotato salad I just shoveled into my mouth. Wrapping my arm around her, I kiss her chubby cheek. “I’m going to miss you, too.”
Beckett finishes chowing his corn on the cob and sets it down. “When can I come visit?”
While Daisy makes herself at home on my lap, I reply, “Anytime, buddy. I heard you still keep in touch with some of your friends from school in the city.”
“We play games online together.” His upper lip is stained red from Kool-Aid, always a telltale sign of summer on the ranch. His hair is lighter than it’s ever been, another sign. But he’s looking more like his dad every time I see him.
“Maybe you can see them when you’re up there.”
He looks at Tagger, who nods his approval. His dad asks, “That’d be fun, right?”
“Yeah. I’d need different clothes, though.”
That catches my sister’s attention from where she’s sitting at the end of the picnic table in a lawn chair. “Why is that, Beck?”
He shrugs. “I like my clothes, but they’re not for New York.”
I set a wiggly Daisy down, who’s quick to run to her mother, and say, “They’re for whatever you want them to be for. You be who you are. It will all work out how it’s supposed to.”
I’m not sure by the indifference on his face that he’s convinced, but he at least nods to give me some assurance. “We’re starting on the fort when you visit next. Right, Uncle Baylor?”
“You have your design ready, and we’ll get the wood next time I’m here.”
“I’ve already started.” Popping up, he asks, “Can I beexcused? The team is forming at five. If I’m late, I don’t get to play with them.”
My dad says, “You did well finishing that meal. I’d say you can run along if it’s okay with your folks.”
You’d think he was about to pee his pants by how antsy he is when he looks at them. Christine says, “All good. We’ll let you know when we bring the cobbler out.” He’s already running when she adds, “Have fun.”
Tagger reaches over and takes Daisy from her mom and situates her on his shoulders as he stands. “You up for a walk, Baylor?”
We don’t get much guy time like we used to, so I have to take the offers when they come. “Sure.”
I come around the table when he leans down to kiss Christine on the head and whispers something that tickles a grin onto her face.
Following him when he trails toward the fence line, I have a feeling this is more than just hanging out. The moment he sets Daisy down, she beelines right back to her mom, leaving him laughing. “Wherever she ends up in life,” he says, “she’s going to be running the place. She’s the sweetest kid, but she’s got fire in her.”
“Like her mom.”
His laughter comes heartier. “Just like her.” We walk farther and eventually round the bend toward the equipment barn. The sun is still high in the late May sky, so there’s no relief walking along the gravel road that leads us there.
“This morning?—”
“We don’t need to rehash anything said before the sun rose.”
“How about finishing it?”
How do I talk about who I was with without outing Lauralee? “Get whatever it is off your chest then.”
“You’re asking me about long-distance relationships like it’s a possibility. You and relationships aren’t usually a mix. What gives?”
I kick a rock, then scratch the back of my neck to see if something pops into my head that doesn’t give everything away. Nothing except the truth appears. “It’s not unheard of. It’s just not something I had much interest in. You know how much I work.”
“I also know how much you play.”
