The ache to catch a glimpse of her keeps growing, but it needs to stop because she has way too much on her plate to deal with my bullshit. Her crying the other morning made that clear as fuck.
It also made it clear that a part of me still aches to comfort her, to reach for her, to soothe her pain. But I’m not the guy who plays that role in her life anymore. I lost that right.
And I have to keep reminding myself of that fact.
“Daddy, did you know Levi is Leia’s uncle?” Wren asks from the back seat, and I glance at her in the rearview mirror.
“I did. Her mom and Levi are twins.”
“She said her uncle is going to bring her to the ranch to ride. Can I meet her there?”
“We’ll see.”
Her legs swing back and forth while she watches the fields blur past the window. “She said her uncle is taking her to a rodeo. Can we go?”
Levi’s been in the circuit since he was young. He and Nash are saddle bronc riders with a mutual addiction to adrenaline.
“You’ve been before. We went and saw Nash, remember?”
“That was, like, two years ago. I was just little then.”
She pouts, and I can tell she’s gearing up to ask again. She’s been on a mission to hang out with Leia since she and Kayla named her their fellow best friend.
But now that I know Leia is Delaney’s daughter… I can’t pretend it doesn’t make it complicated—at least for me. What if Delaney doesn’t want to be anywhere near me? What if Leia being friends with Wren is already a sore spot for her?
“Maybe I’ll ask her mom when they plan on going.” I say it to appease Wren, but some stupid part of me wonders if I could just… accidentally run into them there.
God, what am I thinking? I torched any hope for a future with Delaney back in California.
“Yay!” Wren’s feet kick in excitement as I pull into the school lot. “There’s Leia! Do you see her, Daddy? Kayla too!” She reaches for her seat belt.
I’m too distracted by her trying to unbuckle herself to see the two girls she’s referring to as her best friends. I look at her in the rearview mirror again. “Wren, stay seated until I park.”
“But I don’t want to miss them!”
I find a spot, park, and before I can blink, she’s unbuckled and throws her door open—right into the truck next to us.
“Wren!” I snap, my tone harsher than I intend.
I’ve been shorter tempered than normal lately because of these feelings that won’t leave me alone now that Delaney is mere miles away from me. That I could spend my entire day in the shop with her but be unable to touch her, to talk to her. That her smile and laughter might never be pointed at me again.
“Sorry.” She leans back in her seat as Principal North steps out of the truck.
I get out, round the side, and immediately see the dent in the principal’s truck.
“In a rush there, Wren?” he says with a laugh. “Me too. Dentist appointment this morning.” He takes her hand and helps her down.
“I’m so sorry, Principal North.”
He waves me off. “Please. This truck’s old and beat up. I think the new ding adds character, don’t you?”
He winks at Wren, and I’m reminded why he’s the beloved principal of an elementary school, and I am not. He has the patience of a saint and the heart of a damn hero.
I grab Wren’s backpack and hand it to her. She puts it on, but her eyes keep darting toward her friends. I remember being eager to see my friends at her age.
“I’ll call my insurance.”
Principal North shakes his head. “No, you won’t.” Then he turns to Wren. “There’s Leia and Kayla. Let’s go before we’re late.” He waves to the crosswalk guard. “Cindy, let Wren catch up to her friends!”
