“You give it a try.” I hand a carrot to her, and she takes it gingerly.
“He won’t bite me, will he?” She eyes him carefully but the smile stays.
“No. Just keep your fingers down here.” I adjust her grip. “There you go.”
She lifts the carrot up as an offering of peace to Teddy, and he takes it, chewing it while he checks her out.
“Can I touch him?” She looks to me for permission.
“Yeah, go ahead. He likes a little pat and scratch right here,” I explain, taking her hand and placing it on his neck. She’s gentle as she runs her hand over him, tentatively checking in to make sure he’s okay with it. He leans in her direction, making a happy little chuff of approval.
“Is that good?” she asks.
“Yeah. He likes you.” I grin at her.
“I think I like him too.” She looks over him. “He’s just got a friendly vibe to him.”
“That’s Teddy. He picked the wrong ranch, I think, but we love him.”
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you? Such a good boy.” She praises him as she runs her hand over him in gentle strokes. I hand him another carrot, and he takes it, gobbling up all the treats and attention.
“You need more time with Teddy? I gotta prep them for a ride this afternoon, but I can wait.” Kell checks in with me.
“Nah, it’s okay. We just came down to say hi today,” I explain to Kell.
“When Dakota and I go riding, can I go with him?” Zephyrine looks at me hopefully.
“I think we can arrange that, right, Kell?” I look to the manager of the barn.
“Of course.” He nods.
She grins at me and then back at Teddy. “All right then. I guess I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“You want to meet anyone else today?” I nod back at the rest of the stables.
“No. I think Teddy was a success. I like to start small.” She smiles as we start to head out. Her fingers brush against mine accidentally, and I reach for them with mine, letting them link with the tips of hers as we walk. She glances down at the gesture and back at me, a question in her eyes.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“When do you mean? With Teddy?”
“With Teddy. With Corey. With this plan of mine.” I stop to look at her.
“Ours. It’s my plan too. I want to help your family the same way you helped me.” Her eyes meet mine, and she’s firm when she speaks.
“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I know what I said. But turning on your father like that… That’s a big ask.” I shake my head.
“I owe it to my mother and my grandfather to get to the bottom of all of this. I need to know for myself what happened to her. Who he really is. This is my shot to do that. Besides, you’ve done more for me in a couple of months than he’s done my whole life. If I owe anyone loyalty, it’s you, Levi.”
“You don’t owe me anything. But I’m happy if I can help you get to the bottom of things about your mom. The odds of this, though, Zeph… I just want to be sure you understand them. I can take you back to the convent, and we can do this without you. We’d figure it out. Are you really sure?” I ask her one last time.
“I’m sure.” She nods, her blue eyes holding mine. “I know the risks. Rowan made the odds pretty clear at that meeting. But we’ve come this far, and I want to see it through. So if we go out like Bonnie and Clyde…” She shrugs. “Then at least we can say we tried.”
I imagine her as a little gangster, robbing banks, and wielding a tommy gun while we drive an old V8 Ford getaway car on some winding backroads. I suppose it isn't all that different from what we're planning.
“You don’t miss your peaceful life in the garden of the convent?”
“It was pretty dull compared to this. At least until a handsome bespectacled priest showed up.” I hear her soft giggle as we start to walk again.
