Page 143 of Forgotten Desires

“Well, that stinks. We need to find them some for tomorrow.”

Layla looks at me. “Do we have more green beans?”

I burst out laughing. “Yes, sweetheart, we have more that we can give the chickens.”

“Good, because they like them.”

Crew comes closer, leaning down to give me a kiss. “You feeling okay?”

“Yes, honey.”

He snorts. “Like you’d tell me anyway.”

I ignore that one. “How did your meetings go?” I ask. He left early this morning saying he needed to take some meetings outside of the house.

“Good. Everything went as I hoped.”

“That’s good.”

“Daddy, do we have to go back to the other house?” Layla takes his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

“Yes, we do, but we’ll stay here for another night.”

She pouts her lower lip, looking so damn cute. “Okay.”

He sighs heavily. “It’s late, Ladybug.”

“I’m not tired.”

He eyes her warily. “Still, it’s bedtime.”

“Can I run for just a minute? Please,” Layla pleads.

He places her down. “You sure can, we’ll be right behind you.”

I love Layla. She’s truly the most amazing little girl in the world. I’m so blessed I get to be her bonus mom and love her with my whole heart.

The two of us walk at a slow pace, I feel the weight of the day starting to come down on me. Once we’re inside the house, Crew and I get Layla cleaned up and in bed.

I head into the kitchen to do the dishes. As I’m standing there, I feel Crew’s arms snake around my stomach, his head on my shoulder. “I missed you all day today.”

“You were gone three and a half hours.”

“They were much too long.”

I smile, turning my face to see him. “I missed you too. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad we’re going back to the city tomorrow.”

“You are?” he asks with surprise in his voice.

I turn the water off and face him. “Yeah, I have a lot of work to do, and Layla needs to get settled in the house. So far, since we’ve gotten custody, her life has been in upheaval. I want her to be comfortable.”

While she seems to be thriving on the farm, it’s not what she’s used to. The back and forth isn’t fair. The sooner we get her on a routine, the better. Plus, Jacqueline will start her visitation soon.

Crew kisses my nose. “What if we settled here?”

Now it’s my turn to be shocked. “What?”

“What if we were in the city less than we were here?”

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