For The Love of Easton : A Single Parent Romance and Sequel to For The Love of English

by A. M. Hargrove

  “But why?”

  “You’ll find out when we get there.”

  Her puzzled expression brought a grin to my face, but I didn’t give anything away. I wanted her to see the horses first. She’d be so excited.

  She dressed in the jeans, sweatshirt, and sneakers I handed her. Then I went and did the same. When we were ready, I texted Landry to let him know we were headed out the door, but that Easton had no idea where we were going.

  He sent me the upward-pointing thumb. This was going to be so much fun for her. I made sure to bring a jacket, as he requested, and then I grabbed her bike helmet out of the garage. Off we went.

  Her chatter filled my ears all the way. She informed me about the puppies she’d seen yesterday.

  “Did you see any you liked?”

  “I liked them all, but Geepa said we had to pick it special so it wouldn’t grow very big.”

  “That’s right. He has to be small.”

  “Like small enough to fit in a tiny cage?”

  “No, honey, he can be bigger than that, but not as big as Boonior was.”

  “How big was Boonior?”

  “Bigger than you are.”

  “Wow, he was a giant dog. Did he sleep in your bed?”

  “No, he wasn’t allowed.”

  “Why not, Mommy?”

  “He was too big, goofball. There wouldn’t have been room for me. He had his own doggy bed.”

  “Did he have a pillow?”

  “Nah, I gave him a pillow once, but he ate it and pooped out the feathers.”

  Her giggles filled the car. “He pooped feathers?”

  “Yeah and he ate my ballet slippers too, plus lots of other things.”

  “Will my puppy eat my shoes?”

  “I hope not, or Geepa will have to buy you new ones.”

  “Mommy, why do they eat shoes if they don’t taste good?”

  “Who knows? Dogs just like to chew things up.”

  We rounded the final curve before the long turn-off to the house.

  “Are we almost there?” Easton asked.

  “We are.”

  “Josie at school peed her pants yesterday when the teacher made her sit down.”

  “Why did the teacher make her sit down?”

  “Because she was walking around the room when she wasn’t s’posed to.”

  “Did she ask to go to the bathroom?”

  “I don’t know. She got up and went to the door, but the teacher told her to sit at her desk. Then she said no, because she peed her pants.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “Ms. Michaelson took her away. She came back later.” Ms. Michaelson was the teacher’s assistant.

  “Honey, if you ever have to go to the bathroom, just ask Ms. Michaelson or Mrs. Leonard if you can go.”

  “Okay.”

  We pulled in front of the mansion and Landry walked out.

  “Mommy, who is that man?”

  “That’s Tristian’s brother, so I guess he’s your new uncle.”

  “I have an uncle?”

  “You do now.”

  I got out and waved before I pulled my daughter from her booster seat. Then we walked hand-in-hand up the steps.

  “Hey, it’s great to see you again.” Landry hugged me.

  “Landry, meet your new niece, Easton.”

  Landry knelt down and said, “Hello there, young lady. I think you and I are going to be great friends.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll see.” He winked and said, “How about we go this way to see what your surprise is.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, hang on.” I ran back to the car and grabbed her bike helmet and jacket. “All ready now.”

  Landry held Easton’s hand as we walked to the stables, which were not too far from the main house. I didn’t know much about horses, but these stables were beautifully kept. There were about ten horses kept in stalls and all their heads poked out as we walked in.

  “Horses! Look, Mommy!” Easton turned back to look at me with rounded eyes.

  “I heard you like them,” Landry said. “How would you like to ride one?”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I have the perfect one in mind. Come on.” We went a little further down and there was a pretty white horse toward the end. “This one is named Sally. Would you like to meet her?”

  Easton’s hands were clasped together as she stared at the animal. “Oh, yes!”

  Landry opened the stable door and, after taking the reins, walked the horse out. Then he pulled out a carrot from his pocket and asked Easton if she wanted to feed her.

  “Will she bite?”

  “Not if you hold the end of the carrot in your fingers.”

  “Okay.”

  He handed her the vegetable and she held it out for the horse. Sally took it from her fingers and munched away.

  “She likes it!”

  “Yes, and think about that the next time I give you carrots to eat,” I said.

  The horse already had a saddle on it so Landry asked Easton if she wanted to sit on it.

  “Can I?”

  “I think she’ll be happy to give you a seat, since you gave her a carrot.”

  “Okay.”

  He lifted her up and walked the horse outside.

  “Look, Mommy, I’m riding a horse.”

  “You sure are. But one thing first. I want you to wear your helmet.”

  “But I’m not on my bike.”

  “I know, but you’re higher up and if you fall off, I don’t want you to hurt your head.”

  Landry said, “Your mommy is right. No helmet, no ride.”

  Easton held out her hand and put the helmet on. They continued walking toward the outside. When we went in, I hadn’t noticed the riding ring nearby. Landry headed there, leading Sally and Easton. I stood on the outside and observed while he went through some exercise with Easton.

  A voice startled me when it said, “Isn’t this a cozy picture?” Ravina stood next to me in riding gear.

  “Not sure ‘cozy’ is a word I’d use.”

  “Don’t get used to it, sister.” Venom coated the word. “Tristian is not in this for keeps. He used you to satisfy the terms of the will and to keep the family business,” she sneered.

  I wasn’t about to let her score a victory. “Old news, sister. If you want to shock me, come up with something else.” I turned my attention back to Easton, who laughed at Landry.

  Ravina scoffed. “So you married him for his money then. It figures. Trailer trash like you wouldn’t care if he dumps you in a year or two. Out of curiosity, how much?”

  Giving her my evilest grin, I said, “Wouldn’t you love to know? But that is between Tristian and me. And one thing, Ravina. I’m not trailer trash. I was raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. But unlike you, I’ve worked my entire adult life and not sat on my ass, wasting my life away.”

  She slammed her hands against the fence. “You’re going to regret ever meeting Tristian. I’ll make sure of it. And you’re going to regret marrying him.”

  “Is that a warning?”

  “No, it’s a threat.”

  “You forget something. I’m in control of the money in Tristian’s absence.” Then I leaned a bit closer and with a smug grin I added, “If I were you, I’d be extra-nice to me or you might find yourself living in said trailer.”

  She stomped off in a huff, but then came back. “Don’t bring that brat of yours here. She’s not welcome.”

  That really pissed me off. “That’s where you’re wrong. You’re the one who’s not welcome here.”

  She reared back and yelled, “This is my home.”

  “And how much rent have you paid? Do you have a job yet?”

  “That is none of your business.”

  “Think again, Ravina, before you say anything else and never, ever, threaten my daughter.” I watched her stomp away. This confrontation left a sour taste in my mouth. It wasn’t my place to take up the battle
for Tristian, yet here I was doing it. That woman brought out the worst in me.

  Landry came over, leading Sally by the reins. “You all right? I saw Ravina and you, um, talking.” A nervous laugh flew out of his mouth.

  “Mommy, was that lady mean?”

  “She wasn’t very nice.”

  “Who was that?” Easton asked.

  “That mean lady was my sister,” Landry said.

  “Why is she mean?”

  “Good question, tiger. She was born mean and never changed.”

  “Maybe I’ll draw her a picture to put her under the rainbow.”

  “As much as I hate to say it, I don’t think she knows what a rainbow is,” Landry said.

  “Then I’ll teach her,” Easton said very firmly. “Maybe that’s why she’s mean. Cuz no one ever showed her a rainbow.”

  Leave it to my daughter to try to make things right. But who knew? Ravina had been raised here too, without much love from a mother who didn’t have time for her children. Maybe Easton was right and she needed a rainbow after all.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Tristian

  Was it right for me to leave English so soon? That idea wouldn’t leave me as I flew thirty-thousand-plus feet in the air. Being in first class was nice, but this time it didn’t help at all with sleeping. The sleep aid I took did nothing and for hours on end I stared at the ceiling of the plane with my noise-canceling headphones on.

  Thoughts of my sister and mother and how they’d treat English and Easton kept me awake, along with the idea of Stuart or his father smashing down her front door and kidnapping the little tyke.

  Christ, I needed to get my shit together. If this kept up, by the time this plane landed, they’d have to wheel me into a psych hospital.

  Two movies later, I finally conked out, only to be shaken awake by the flight attendant. We were landing soon and I needed to get my seat in the upright position.

  Beck met me at baggage claim and said, “You look like shit. Was the flight that bad?”

  “No, it was me. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “At least you can go to bed in a couple of hours. Maybe you’ll catch some zzz’s then.”

  “I hope I can. That twenty hours did me in.”

  All the luggage arrived and our driver loaded everything in the car like pieces of a puzzle. I had to sit with one duffle on my lap.

  The hotel was gorgeous. At this point, I didn’t care. All I wanted was a shower and a good meal. Even though the food on the plane had been fine, I hadn’t had much of an appetite as my troubled thoughts of home multiplied.

  Beck took us to a fabulous restaurant, but I wasn’t much of a conversationalist. “I’m sorry I’m such a dud tonight.”

  “Hey, no worries. I’m used to being alone so it’s fine. Is everything all right though? You look a bit glum.”

  “To be honest, I miss your daughter.”

  “Can’t say I’m unhappy about that, but you didn’t answer my question. Is my father okay?”

  “From what I’ve seen, he’s doing well and so is the rest of the family.”

  His eyes pierced mine. “I get the feeling you’re holding back something.”

  “Not really. It’s my family that’s on my mind. Specifically my mother and sister. They aren’t the nicest people on earth so I’m hoping in my absence English won’t have any problems with them.”

  “I raised her to stand on her own two feet. I wouldn’t be so worried if I were you.”

  “And what about the McLure men? They have me concerned too.”

  “That’s true, but with what they’re facing, it would be idiotic of them to further their problems with the law.”

  My gut settled a bit, but dread still hung out there.

  “Look, you’ll be able to speak to her almost daily and English knows she can stay at our place. I don’t want this trip to be spoiled for you because of that.”

  If he wasn’t worried about the situation, I supposed it was fine for me not to be too. “I’ll take your word for it. I am looking forward to getting out on some of the planned shoots.”

  “Wait until you see one of the places we’re staying. It’s a nature lodge.” He told me it was high in the tree canopy where we could set up cameras and take some shots from there.

  “Excellent. When do we leave for there?”

  “Day after next. I wanted to give you time to adjust to the jet lag.”

  “I appreciate that.” A huge yawn escaped before I could stop it. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. This trip is brutal. Let’s get back to the hotel so you can sleep.”

  I crawled into bed and slept around the clock. I was shocked at how many hours of sound sleep I got. The Do Not Disturb sign on the door helped keep the hotel staff away.

  After I showered, I texted Beck, and he was down in the hotel restaurant. I joined him and chowed down on an American breakfast of eggs, bacon, and hash browns, with four pieces of toast.

  “Glad to see your appetite is back. How about some sightseeing today?”

  “Sure. I’d like to call English first.”

  It was getting late back home and she was already in bed when I called.

  “I’m sorry. This time change is going to be difficult for communicating.” I filled her in on everything so far and she did the same. When she told me about her conversation with Ravina, I didn’t know whether to laugh or shout.

  “You two had it out. I’m glad you told her off, but be careful around her, English. Other than taking Easton out there to ride, I’d rather you stayed away until I got back. I don’t trust her at all.”

  “Seriously, Tristian, what can she do?”

  “I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t put anything past her. Just stay away except for Easton to ride. Promise me.”

  “I promise. But I want you to promise me something in return.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re headed out in that jungle tomorrow. Promise me you won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

  “You’ve got it, starshine.”

  “Goodnight, and call or text as soon as you can.”

  “I will. Sleep well and hug Easton for me.” I missed my wife. A lot. I missed her body, her words, her voice, everything. And I missed the little tyke too.

  I gave my teeth a quick brushing and met Beck in the lobby.

  “There’s that glum face again. What’s going on?” he asked.

  “I miss English.”

  He stepped back and slanted his head as he stared. Then he asked, “Are you in love with my daughter?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  English

  The bed was awfully lonely without Tristian. For all his cockiness when we’d first met, he’d sure toned that down since. I missed him, and not just for the sex, although that was the cheese on the burger—he’d been great so far. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hadn’t. Things only kept getting better and better.

  Maybe I ought to pinch myself because this was too good to be true. Could this really last? I’d never thought my feelings would be involved so quickly, but here we were. This was going to be a long three weeks without him.

  The first week dragged by. Landry called on Friday and wondered if we were coming out for the riding lesson on Sunday. Easton had talked about the horse non-stop so I agreed.

  Sunday morning, we left for mansionville. On the way Easton said, “Mommy, I drew the mean lady a rainbow. Can I give it to her?”

  “You can if she’s there. If she isn’t, Landry can give it to her.”

  “Okay. Can I get a horse?”

  “Where would you keep it?”

  “In the garage. We could let it out in the backyard to play every day.”

  “Don’t you think it would get tired of the garage? And who would shovel up all the poop?”

  She laughed from the back seat. “Horses don’t poop. Only doggies.”

  “Peanut
, all animals poop.”

  “Huh-uh.”

  “Yes, baby, they do.”

  “Even fishes and turtles?”

  “Even fish and turtles.”

  “I didn’t see no poop from Sally.”

  “Any poop. You didn’t see any poop.”

  “I know. Sally didn’t have no poop.”

  “She did. You didn’t pay any attention.”

  When we pulled up to meet Landry, Easton was still babbling about horse poop.

  “Hey, Landry. Does Sally poop?” Easton called out as she hopped down from the car.

  “That’s quite a greeting, sport, but yep, I’m afraid she does.”

  “Will you show me?” She skipped to where he waited.

  “You wanna see Sally’s poop?”

  Easton nodded.

  I added, “She has this notion we could get a horse and keep it in the garage. Then for play, we could let it out in the backyard, but I asked her about cleaning up the poop.”

  “Got it. Easton, let me show you something.” We followed him to the back of the stables where there was a big pile of horse manure.

  “What’s that?” When she got a whiff of the stuff, she pinched her nose.

  “Horse poop.” Landry nodded as she looked at him. Her eyes were comical as they grew.

  “Wow. Did Sally make all that?”

  “Not all but most.” Landry winked at me.

  “Told ya, peanut. Do you want to scoop all that out of the garage?”

  “No way, Jose. That’s wayyyy too much poop. Why does she gotta poop so much?”

  “It’s a ton because she’s so big,” I said. Maybe she’d circle back to getting a dog.

  “You ready to ride, Clyde?” Landry asked.

  “My name’s not Clyde.” She giggled.

  “Yeah, but it rhymed and I like it. Come on.” He held out his hand and she latched on.

  Once she sat high up on Sally, off they went. I was primed and ready for Ravina, only she never showed. It was probably for the best. I didn’t need any of her nasty conflict.

  When Easton and Landry were finished, he walked us to the car.

  Easton pulled the picture out of her pocket. “Will you give this to that mean lady? I drawed her a picture so she could know what a rainbow was.”