Page 86 of Saltwater Cowboy

He shook his head, chuckling. “I can’t compete with that.”

I winked. “No one can.”

Wren and Charlie pulled up to the house about thirty minutes later, the sound of their car tires crunching on the gravel driveway drawing my attention. As I opened the door, I caught sight of Wren’s grinning face through the windshield, her little blonde curls bouncing with each movement. She was practically bouncing out of her seat by the time the car stopped.

I stepped outside, grinning at her enthusiasm.

“Uncle Wells!” Wren squealed as she dashed over to him, her arms flung wide. Wells caught her up in one smooth motion, lifting her off her feet with ease.

“Hey there, kiddo. How’s my favorite girl?” he asked, his voice warm with affection as he kissed the top of her head.

“I’m awesome!” Wren giggled, her arms squeezing his neck as she hung there.

The kid outstretched her arms and I grabbed her. “Hi, Wrenny.”

“Hi, Auntie Rose.” She looked between the two of us. “It’s so cool that my favorite people live in the same house.”

“I guess we’re chopped liver?” Charlie piped up as I put Wren down.

“You and mom aren’t cool like Uncle Wells and Aunt Rose.”

Charlie put his hands up. “Fair enough. I’m gonna head out. I’ll see y’all later.”

“Bye, dad!”

Wren turned her attention back to us. “What are we doing today?”

“I was thinking maybe you could help us pick some flowers for the farmer’s market tomorrow and then we could go see Mrs. Turner.”

“She’s still alive?”

“Wren!” Wells and I scolded her at the same time.

She shrugged. “What? She’s old.”

I bit back a smile. The kid had a fair enough point there.

Wren grinned at me, her face lighting up. “Are you hanging out with us today?”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Ah, well, my name doesn’t start with a W, so I think I’m out.”

Wren’s little face scrunched in thought for a second before she shrugged. “You can be the honorary W. You just have to come hang out with us!”

I laughed, the warmth of her insistence almost impossible to resist. “You’re hard to say no to, Wren.”

“Please, please, please!” She tugged on my arm, her excitement contagious.

I glanced at Wells, who was watching us with a knowing look, and sighed. “Fine. You win.”

Wren’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yay! You won’t regret it!”

We all headed to the back of the house, and Wells grabbed a couple of baskets from the shed. Wren and I followed him into the fields where the sunflowers, lavender, and wild daisies grew in abundance. It was the perfect morning for flower picking, the air warm and sweet with the scent of fresh blooms.

Wells set out gathering a few large stems of lavender, showing Wren how to carefully clip them at the base. I crouched down beside them, filling my own basket with colorful daisies, the sun above warming my back.

“It’s peaceful out here,” I said, glancing over at Wells as he tied a bundle of flowers together with twine.

Wells nodded, a soft smile on his face. “It’s one of my favorite things about this place. It always feels like you’re a world away from everything else.”