Page 26 of Single-Minded
She shook her head as if to say there was nothing to apologize for, telling me she was a good sport.
Though Sienna held my hand as we tracked down a hand-washing station, showing me first-hand how sticky two cookie dough balls could make a little girl, the other two clamored around Presley as if she was their favorite human.
My first instinct was to worry they were too enamored with her, too easily becoming attached to her. I had to remind myself that there was no danger in Presley being nice to my girls. She and I weren’t together. There was no risk of her hurting them the way their mother had. The way my ex-girlfriend, April, had. My opinion of her would, in fact, go down if she wasn’t nice to my princesses. It was easy to tell when a person didn’t like kids or was uncomfortable around them. I didn’t get that vibe from Presley.
We eventually made it to the end of the line for llama photos, which had, thankfully, gotten shorter since the last time we’d checked.
“Who knew llamas were so popular?” Presley asked.
“Not just any llamas,” I told her.
“It’s Esmerelda and Betty!” Nova said in her outdoor voice.
“The cookie thieves, right?” Presley said. “Those ladies are famous.”
“Rainbow sprinkles are their favorite,” Scarlet said.
“One time we got to go to their barn and feed them cookies,” Nova told her.
“You are lucky girls,” Presley said.
“Ben’s a friend of mine,” I said.
“The town vet, right?” she asked. “So they’re doing this to benefit who?”
“A couple is starting up an animal rescue here in town. Until now, everyone’s just taken strays and unwanted animals to Ben’s clinic. He’s thrilled to support what they’re doing.”
“Sounds like a good cause then,” she said.
“Do you have any pets, Miss Presley?” Sienna asked.
“I don’t,” she said. “I’ve never been able to have one because I was gone too much. What about you girls?”
“I wish we could have a dog,” Sienna said.
“I want three cats,” Nova proclaimed. “One for each of us.”
“Our landlord won’t let us have pets,” Scarlet told her.
“I guess we’ll all just have to settle for llama pats today then,” Presley said.
“I wanna stand by Betty,” Nova said of the less famous, less trouble-making llama as the line crept forward slowly. We neared the tent where the llamas were being pampered with multiple fans to keep them cool, plus, I was sure, all the cookies Ben would allow them to have. “She’s the brown-and-white one.”
When we finally made it to the table to pay, Presley stepped back, allowing us to go first.
“Hey, Colby,” I said to the girl collecting money. “You got roped into working on a Saturday, huh?”
“I don’t mind,” Ben’s office manager replied. “We’ve got shade, an endless supply of cookies, and we get to work outside.”
“You get to work with the llamas,” Scarlet said. “You’re lucky.”
“Aww, look at the puppies and kitties,” Sienna said. Her attention was on a trifold poster board on Colby’s table. “They’re so cute!”
“Those are some of the animals available for adoption at the shelter,” Colby said.
“I wish we could have one,” Nova said longingly.
Presley bent over to look more closely at the photos, making me wonder if there was a pet in her future. She sure had the room for one. In that house, she had room for several.
