Page 33 of Willow Vale

He shrugged. “He saw the saddle on the stand in the stalls and really wanted to get on it. There was no horse involved, I promise. Why is that, River?”

“Because I need to ask Lila first if it’s okay. Can I? Can I ride a horse with Travis? Please?”

Travis blinked in surprise. Probably because River wanted to go on a horse with him and not Desmond, who had been with him this whole week promising he’d take him for a ride sometime. A small smile spread across his lips though, as he looked to me. “What do you say, Delilah?”

“You can ride a horse too!” River said before Travis could so much as offer. But when he nodded, I knew it was a done deal.

“I don’t know…it’s two against one here,” I murmured. I looked to River. “Are you going to be good and listen to Travis?”

He nodded vehemently, really taking this seriously. He moved to stand next to Travis so that he could face me, his green hoodie practically swallowing up his small frame. I already knew what my answer would be, but I decided to have a little fun of my own. Humming, I tapped my index finger against my lips. “Hmm, I don’t know…”

“Please, please, please!” River begged, clapping his hands together and shutting his eyes tight.

Travis tried to stifle a laugh by running a hand over his mouth before he said, “Come on, don’t torture the kid. Can’t you see the desperation on his face? If he begs any harder his face will turn as red as a tomato.”

I laughed, “Okay, you can ride a horse with Travis. So long as I’m there. I want to be able to take pictures of you.”

“Yes!” River threw a fist up in the air in victory before attacking me with a series of kisses and cuddles. Once River had his fill of giving me all the love he could offer, his attention switched to Desmond once again and he took off to hug the man next.

“Thanks, I’ll take good care of him. Promise,” Travis said as he sat up to face me.

“I know you will.” I had to focus on picking up the toys River left strewn across the rug. Anything to ignore the sincerity in his voice, the way his eyes watch me so closely. If only he knew I’d been admiring him for the way he acted around River just seconds ago.

This time I couldn’t look at him. Not when being this close to Travis threatened to unravel me. Knock down the walls I’d built around me whenever he was around. I could feel them shake a little more every day. Threatening to crumble.

Clearing my throat again, I mumbled a quick thanks before standing up and wandering into the kitchen with theexcuse to help Amelia with dinner. River was on my heels in an instant, helping me make my escape a little faster when he started pulling me away from the living room.

What I couldn’t do was ignore the way I could feel Travis’s eyes on me the entire time.

CHAPTER 14

Lila

“So,Wren. Montana everything you dreamed it would be?” Finn asked his sister as he passed me the bowl of garlic mashed potatoes that I’d been dying to get my hands on ever since the smell hit me when I walked into the kitchen.

I served River a dollop of mashed potatoes before passing it over to Amelia. I wiped his cheek as he demolished his plate like it was the only meal he’d ever had.

IswearI feed this kid.

“Probably better, though the winters are pretty harsh. You’d know if you ever bothered to come visit,” Wren retorted beside me.

“Why would I when you can come visit me here?” he teased.

Wren and Finn continued their conversation while the food was passed around the table.

I urged River to slow down before he choked on the grilled meat I’d cut up for him. The only times he’d perk up and forget all about his food was when Demond mentioned the horses or work around the ranch. There was no doubt about it, the kid had the bug.

Travis sat across from me, keeping his focus on his plate, but every now and then our eyes would meet.

“Lila, you haven’t had much to eat. If you don’t like something I can fix something else up,” Amelia said, noticing I’d barely touched my plate.

“Oh no! It’s really good. I normally eat after River does. It’s a habit, I guess.”

Amelia nodded. “Being a mother is a tough job, especially when it comes down to sitting at a table to eat. With these two”—she motioned toward the twins—“I barely had time to sit down longer than a few minutes at a time, and that waswithDesmond around.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault,” Wren pouted. “Finn was the one who always wanted to run around and do stuff.”

“Oh sure, blame me. Who had to get seven stitches because she thought climbing the tree outside would be fun?” Finn quipped.

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