Love Inspired June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Patricia Johns

  Being a dad wasn’t an easy job. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, so he did. And then he told her she was grounded from her horse for the next few days. Her expression was crestfallen and made him doubt the wisdom of his decision.

  After all, what did he know about this parenting business?

  * * *

  Avery probably broke some laws getting to Grayson’s in record time. She ignored all the speed limits, didn’t come to complete stops. She couldn’t help it. She had to get to Quinn. She had to know why her daughter had left the house without telling her. When she got out of her car at Grayson’s, she schooled her features. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Quinn to death.

  Quinn approached her, hands behind her back, head down. Contrite. Good, that was a start.

  “Quinn...” Avery said.

  “I’m really sorry, Mommy. I just wanted to see my horse and I thought you would say no. I didn’t think you would want to come over here because we were here all week and you just wanted to be at home.”

  “You’re right about all of those things, except if you’d asked, I probably would have brought you over here. Maybe not the second you wanted, but we would have made a plan.”

  “Dad said I’m grounded from Flash for a few days.”

  “Did he really?” She shot Grayson a look and he raised his hands, unsure, questioning. She nodded because, yes, that had been the right thing to do.

  She hugged her daughter. “You have to be honest with me.”

  Quinn nodded against her shoulder. “I heard you tell Nan that he won’t be here much longer. It scared me because I know California is a long way. We can’t just drive there or anything.”

  Avery pulled Quinn closer. “It is a long way but there are these things called planes, you know. You’ll get to see him. I’ll make sure of it. We’ll both make sure of it.”

  Grayson approached from behind her. He put a hand on Avery’s shoulder and she fought the urge to turn to him for comfort, for support.

  “Quinn, I won’t be gone forever and I’ll make arrangements for you to visit me, as long as your mom is okay with it.”

  Quinn nodded, stoic and trusting. “Okay.”

  “Could you go in the house and check on the judge for me?” Grayson asked.

  “Sure.” Quinn gave him a suspicious look but left them alone.

  “Since Nina is here, she obviously doesn’t need to check on the judge. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Tucker asked me to help him haul some bulls to the arena and he wants me to try out a horse he might buy. I know Quinn is grounded, but I’d really like for the three of us to do this together.”

  “Together.”

  “You’re repeating what I’m saying,” he teased.

  Yes, she was repeating him. She didn’t know how to respond to something that sounded like a date. Since she’d become a mother, she’d aimed to end the cycle of single parenting, abuse, neglect. She had ended it. And now here was Grayson and he wanted to be in his daughter’s life. It seemed he also wanted to be in her life. She realized she wasn’t so far removed from the teenager.

  He wasn’t like her father, walking away and never returning. But she had to admit that was always in the back of her mind as a possibility.

  “You’re overthinking this,” Grayson told her. “It’s just a rodeo. We’ll watch Tucker fall off the new horse of his and I’ll feel a little vindicated. We’ll have a burger and maybe something fried in too much old grease. Quinn will have fun because the two of us will make sure she has fun. And we’ll make sure she’s protected. Because I know what you’re thinking. I know how small towns gossip. I’ve been the subject of enough of it to write a book.”

  “I think they did write a book,” she teased. “Or at least a few newspaper articles.”

  He chuckled and she dropped her gaze, needing a moment of not being trapped in the emotions he stirred in her.

  “Let’s take our daughter to the rodeo, Avery, and let her chase a calf and try to win some money. Maybe you can talk me into playing cards in the arena until a bull chases me down.”

  “I might like to see that,” she said.

  She nodded, agreeing to the plan. She would go with this man who had always been too handsome for his own good. She would laugh at his jokes, share some junk food with her daughter, and for tonight, they would work at being parents together. For Quinn.

  Maybe if they did this often enough, it would become natural for them, to work together sharing her.

  “Wait a second.” She halted midway back to the house. “What do you mean, vindicated if Tucker falls off a horse?”

  He pretended he didn’t have a clue what she meant. She had no intentions of letting him off the hook.

  “Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go tell our daughter the good news.”

  “Not until you explain what you meant.” She planted her feet and refused to budge, even though his hand wrapped around hers in a possessive way that she shouldn’t welcome.

  “Fine,” he said after a moment. “I... I’m maybe the tiniest bit jealous of you and Tuck. He’s always been a good, decent person. In our friend group, he was the conscience. He told us when we’d gone too far. And he probably gave me a black eye our senior year, when I called you ‘the trailer park.’”

  Heat bloomed in her cheeks and she dipped her head so that he wouldn’t see her embarrassment. He hooked a finger under her chin and raised her face to his.

  “That hurt,” she admitted.

  “I know, and I’m sorry. You were always better than all of us. You and Tuck, the two of you make sense.”

  “We’re just friends,” she assured him. “That’s all we’ve ever been.”

  “That’s more than I’ve been,” he said as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. “But I’m going to make up for that.”

  The promise in that statement left her unnerved and she didn’t know how to respond. She’d come so far from the girl who used to dream of his love, his acceptance. Now she was a woman with a life that was whole and complete. She had a daughter who was everything to her.

  Dreams of Grayson didn’t fit into the life she’d built for herself anymore. She didn’t need him to complete her happiness.

  Quinn raced across the lawn in their direction. Avery took a step back, distancing herself from the tangled emotions that Grayson stirred up. In that way, he hadn’t changed. And she guessed she hadn’t, either.

  “I’m sorry.” Quinn spoke as she threw her arms around Avery. “I messed up. Big time.”

  “Thank you for apologizing but more importantly, don’t do it again.” Avery kissed the top of Quinn’s head, then smoothed back her dark brown hair. Her daughter looked so much like Grayson that over the years it had sometimes been painful to see the similar expressions, to witness tiny bits of personality that she’d gotten from him, even though she’d never met him.

  “I love you, Mommy.” Quinn hugged even tighter.

  Avery and Grayson’s gazes met over the top of their daughter’s head. Avery hugged Quinn and then laughed.

  “I love you, too. You’re still in trouble,” she assured Quinn. “Your grounding will start tomorrow. But tonight we’re going to take you to the rodeo.”

  “All three of us?” Quinn jumped back.

  “Yes, all three of us,” Avery said. “We need to go home and get ready. Will you pick us up?” she asked Grayson.

  “Yes, I will. Probably about six. Is an hour enough time for you all to get ready?”

  “Plenty of time,” Avery answered even as Quinn was tugging on her hand.

  “Can I stay?” she asked.

  “Nope, you’re going home with me. Remember, you’re grounded.”

  “Right, grounded. But we’re going to the rodeo, so that’s awesome.” Qu
inn’s face glowed as she looked from Avery to Grayson. The look of a girl whose dreams were coming true.

  The look frightened Avery. She didn’t want Quinn to get the wrong idea about her and Grayson. She didn’t want her own heart to get sidetracked, either.

  For tonight, though, they would be a family, and she didn’t want to ruin that for Quinn.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  When they arrived at the rodeo grounds Grayson parked his truck and the trailer of bulls he’d hauled for Tucker. That had been a last minute thing. He’d picked Avery and Quinn up shortly before six and then they’d driven over to Tucker’s place to hook up the trailer of bucking bulls.

  They exited the truck cab, and Tucker headed their way. Tucker was old-fashioned country, a big guy, tall and broad across the shoulders. Grayson was man enough to admit that Tucker was the kind of man that a woman would want to date, probably marry.

  “Thank you for hauling them over here,” Tucker said. “They’re about to start the opening ceremony. Quinn won’t want to miss that. If you trust me with your keys, I’ll unload the bulls.”

  Grayson handed him the keys. “Do you need help?”

  “Nah, I’ve got Shay, not that she enjoys helping, and I’ve got a high school boy that I hired.”

  “Yell if you need anything.”

  “Sure thing.” Tucker tossed the keys up in the air, caught them and dropped them into his pocket. “Catch up with you all later.”

  Grayson steered Quinn and Avery toward the risers where spectators were seated. Some people had brought lawn chairs and were seated in the grass; others stood to watch. The emcee announced the opening ceremonies were about to begin. A young woman on a flashy palomino entered the arena and took a few laps with the Missouri state flag. The crowd came to their feet with a cheer.

  The next rider came out on a dark bay, an American flag held high. She circled the arena and came to a stop next to the palomino. Both riders took a lap around the arena together and then returned to the center as the national anthem began to play.

  Still standing, the crowd sang along with the young girl performing from the emcee box above the livestock pens. It was a moving experience, even for Grayson, who had experienced it often during his youth. He hadn’t appreciated it back then. Today as he stood and really listened to those lyrics, he felt a connection with his country and this community. When the song ended, and a different singer began to sing “God Bless America,” he might have teared up a bit.

  Then they were asked to bow their heads for the prayer.

  “Who knew?” Avery whispered after Pastor Wilson finished praying.

  “Who knew what?” he asked as he cleared his throat and they all sat down.

  “That you’re a sap.”

  “I’m not a sap, I’m patriotic,” he defended himself, but he saw the twinkle of humor in her expression. “By the way, did you notice we’re the talk of the town?”

  A flush of pink rushed into her cheeks. “I’d rather not be the talk of the town, thank you very much.”

  With that, she motioned for Quinn to sit between them.

  He grinned at the move and allowed her to do as she pleased. If it meant she stayed with him instead of hightailing it off to sit somewhere else with someone else, he was okay.

  As the barrel racing event started, Quinn captured his hand and squeezed it briefly before letting go.

  “I love barrel racing so much. Dad, do you think I could barrel race with Flash? Would he be able to do this?”

  Avery gave him a bit of a smirk. She knew he couldn’t deny Quinn. But he had to be honest. He couldn’t just go out and buy her a barrel horse. That would be foolish. She’d be spoiled.

  “I don’t know that Flash would be much of a barrel horse,” he answered truthfully. “He’s been trained for pleasure classes.”

  His daughter seemed slightly disappointed with that response.

  “Oh,” she said.

  “But we could try,” he went on. “I’ll get some barrels.” He looked to Avery. “Is that okay?”

  He guessed from her expression that he should have asked her first.

  “It’s okay,” she agreed.

  “I’m going to go get a burger.” He stood as he said it. “Anyone else hungry?”

  “Me!” Quinn said with enthusiasm.

  “I thought you all might be ready to eat. Avery, want to help me?”

  “Help?” she said.

  “Carry food.”

  Grayson motioned her to go on ahead of him down the steps of the risers. On the way, a few people called out to them, greeting them as if it wasn’t a surprise to see them together. They made their way around the arena to the cook shack where burgers were sizzling on the grill outside and a few members of the saddle club worked inside the concrete block building, taking orders and making up the sandwiches.

  He spotted Tucker parked a short distance from the cook shack. With a wave Tucker left the group he was with and headed in their direction.

  “What do you think, Quinn?” Tucker asked. That’s when Grayson realized their daughter had followed them.

  “I think Flash should be a barrel horse,” she said with all the enthusiasm of a ten-year-old.

  Tucker arched a brow and then inclined his head in the direction of the window where they needed to place their order. “You’re up. And I can help her out with the barrels. I think Flash will do anything she asks.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Grayson admitted.

  Grayson got distracted from the conversation by Avery. She’d asked for something and the woman inside the cook shack giggled and took her money, giving her a form to fill out in return.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  She wrinkled her nose at him. It was about the cutest nose he’d ever seen. He thought she might be all he ever wanted in his life.

  “Calm down and just be glad you didn’t wear your shiny boots tonight.” She gave his dusty work boots a pointed look. “As a matter of fact, tonight you actually look like a boy from Pleasant and not a city slicker with no idea how to tell the front end of a bull from the business end.”

  Tucker guffawed. Loud, noticeable, attention drawing. “Every end of the bull is the business end. Even Grayson knows that. What are you up to?”

  Sugar was sweet but the look on Avery’s face was sweeter. Her eyes sparkled as she gave the form back to the woman inside the building.

  “I knew you wouldn’t sign yourself up and I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss your opportunity to play cards with a bull.”

  “You really want to get back at me, don’t you?” he asked her.

  “Here’s your burgers, chips, drinks and fried cakes.” The woman inside the cook shack pushed a couple of boxes their way.

  “I mean, I don’t want you hurt,” Avery said. “But I do want the fun of watching you run from the bull.”

  Tucker pounded him on the back. “Godspeed, my friend. Godspeed.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?” Grayson asked the other man as they started to part ways.

  Tucker grinned. “Run fast.”

  They left Tucker and returned, with food, to their seats in the bleachers. Quinn had hurried ahead of them and a friend had joined her. They had a brief conversation but at their arrival the girl hurried back to her own family.

  “Who’s your friend?” Grayson asked.

  Quinn gave the most subtle roll of her eyes as she thanked him for the food he handed her. She immediately popped a crinkle-cut French fry into her mouth. “That was Sara,” she said between bites.

  “Oh,” he responded, not knowing what he was now required to do with the information he’d sought.

  “Sara goes to our church but her family doesn’t live in Pleasant,” Avery informed him.

  “Parenting isn’t for the
faint of heart,” he whispered. “Am I not supposed to ask about her friends?”

  Avery lifted a slim shoulder. “It’s definitely good to know your child’s friends.”

  “Thank you,” he answered. “I’m glad I have you to show me the ropes. You’re a good mom, Avery.”

  “I try very hard,” she said. “It isn’t...”

  She stopped talking, and pretended she was busy eating.

  “Isn’t what?” he prodded.

  Quinn asked if she could go sit with Sara for a few minutes. Grayson answered for Avery. “Go right ahead. But stay where we can keep an eye on you.”

  Quinn took her food and climbed the few steps down to the end of the row of bleachers to sit by Sara.

  “Now that we’re alone...” he said. “Isn’t what? If you have something to say, Avery, say it.”

  “Parenting isn’t easy, Grayson. It isn’t rodeos, horses and fried cupcakes. It’s being there when she’s having a bad day, staying up all night when she’s sick, losing sleep when you know you can’t pay the bills and still buy groceries. Parenting is tough.”

  “Have you ever lost sleep over unpaid bills?” he asked. Had Avery and Quinn gone without groceries?

  “When I was in college things were tight.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I didn’t tell you that to make you feel bad about the past. I’m telling you because I don’t want you to think parenting is always fun and games.”

  “I know it isn’t. I also know that you still don’t trust me. I’m doing my very best to change your mind about me. Give me a fighting chance. Please.”

  “I’m trying,” she said with a look that made him wonder if he’d ever win her heart. And he wanted to. He wanted her to trust him enough that he didn’t have to beg for, borrow or steal her love.

  He was working on it.

  * * *

  Avery ignored Grayson for a few minutes so she could get her equilibrium back. He’d always been able to charm her with a look or the right words. The trouble with Grayson was that he’d rarely meant the things he said.

  She knew that this Grayson wasn’t the same person. He’d grown up. He’d changed. He deserved a second chance, or at least a chance to have a relationship with his daughter.