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She was adorable.
“I’m not angry, baby girl. I’m just thinking about something that bothered me.” I set her glass down and took the seat beside her.
“What’s you thinking about?”
“Well, remember I told you I moved back home because someone did something that wasn’t very nice to me?” I shrugged. My family was sick of me cursing the bastard’s name, so if a four-year-old wanted to hear about my woes, I had no shame in my game.
“Yep. And that’s why you’re living in Bossman and Auntie Georgie’s house, right?” Her voice was my favorite sound in the whole world. She spoke with almost a southern accent, which we all found hilarious seeing as we lived in a small town in northern California. It was all sweetness and innocence, and Gracie Reynolds was probably my favorite person on the planet.
She was my oldest brother’s little girl. Cage was raising her on his own, so in a way, she was all of ours.
“Yep. I’m living in their house and starting a new job, working for myself until I find the right magazine to work for this time. The last one wasn’t a good fit anyway. It was time for a change.”
“And you’re going to grows all your own foods, right, Auntie? And you make the magic boards now.” She looked around the small space. Piles of seeds and a few potted plants sat on the counter, while two canvas boards with magazine clippings and a bottle of Mod Podge sat on the coffee table.
What can I say? I wasn’t used to having this much time on my hands. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.
So, I’d grow my own food.
Spend time on my vision boards and decide what my dream job looked like now that I had the time to do so.
Originally, when I’d been hired byAthlete Centralright out of college, I’d been thrilled. But working for a complete asshole had been uninspiring.
And being fired by him had been humiliating.
“Yep. They aren’t magic boards; they are vision boards. They hold all my dreams,” I said with a chuckle.
“I love my dreams. You knows what my teacher says? Mrs. Appleton’s a real smart lady.” She smacked her lips together after she took a big sip of lemonade and smiled at me. “This is so yummy.”
“It is good, isn’t it? Soon, we’ll be making it with our own lemons from the garden.” I had no idea how long that would take. Hell, I’d never planted anything in my life. But right now, I was going to enjoy this time away from the long hours and do things I’d never had time to do. I was channeling my inner Martha Stewart. Tapping into a new side of myself. “Tell me what your really smart teacher says.”
She pushed back in her chair and moved to her feet before holding her arms up for me to lift her onto my lap. Gracie lived with my brother, who was a self-admitted grump, yet he’d managed to raise the absolute sweetest kid on the planet. Her hands found each side of my face as she settled on my thighs.
“Nobody’s perfects. If they say sorry, just give them a hug.”
Riveting advice, Mrs. Appleton. Perhaps you’ve never been publicly humiliated.
“Hmmm… that’s great. But what if the person did something really mean to you?” I asked, looking down at her giant chocolate-brown eyes that studied me like this was the most serious conversation she’d ever had.
“She said you give hugs, Auntie. Nobody’s perfects. All the peoples makes mistakes.”
Was her teacher seriously quoting a Hannah Montana song? I swear I’d heard lyrics that saidsomething very similar to this before. I called bullshit on Mrs. Appleton, but I wouldn’t burst Gracie’s bubble.
“Well, I’ll think about it. But in the meantime, we’ll keep planting and hanging out, and next week, I’ll help you make your own vision board, okay?”
“Yay. My own dreams board.”
“Yes. Never stop dreaming, baby girl.”
“I loves the dreams,” she sang out.
I laughed and kissed the top of her head just as the knock on the door had us both pushing to our feet.
“Daddy’s here!” she shouted and ran to the door.
Cage walked in and scooped her up, glancing around the house with wide eyes.
“Wow. I thought you were going to take a break. You’ve already submitted one article and planted multiple boxes full of fruits and vegetables, and do I even want to know what those boards are for?” He pointed at my craft area a few feet away.
