Page 10 of Follow My Heart

Violet tucked a chunk of her hair behind her ear. “The trick is to use real ingredients and leave tiny chunks of pie in the vanilla ice cream along with cinnamon.”

I was impressed with the time and attention she took with her product. I can’t say I’d ever thought much about ice-cream flavors before.

“I’ve had several restaurants inquire about using it for their fall menus.”

George looked at her with pride in his eyes. “You didn’t mention that. Fantastic.”

He was obviously proud of his granddaughter, and if she visited him often, it meant I’d be running into her as well. I’d have to schedule more evening walks.

“That’s great,” I said to Violet, cataloguing how she stood up straighter, seemingly soaking up the praise. I wondered why she’d moved here if her parents still lived in Florida. I couldn’t remember if George had given a reason why his family had relocated.

“Are you learning to ride a bike?” Violet asked Faith, and I was grateful she thought to include her.

I was worried that Faith would use the conversation as an excuse to head home without me.

“I know how to ride,” Faith said, even though it was clear she couldn’t. It would have been easier to learn with training wheels, but Faith said they were too babyish for a twelve-year-old.

“I used to glide down hills all the time when I was a kid. It helped me keep my balance, and then riding on even ground was easy. Everything came easily to my older sister, but I had a hard time getting it at first.”

Faith looked at her with new respect. “You have a sister?”

Violet nodded. “Danielle was a natural at everything.”

I couldn’t help but draw my own conclusions. It was similar to profiling for my job. Certain characteristics equated to personality traits. Did Violet feel inadequate because of her sister’s success? Is that why she moved home and away from her immediate family? Was her grandfather the only one who got her? Or was it her grandmother and guilt that drew her home?

“There’s a hill over here. I’ll show you.” Violet started toward the park but turned back to me. “If it’s okay with your father.”

I appreciated that she’d deferred to me. “Of course.”

Violet led the way to the park, and I was pleased to see that Faith followed.

George sidled up next to me. He nodded toward Faith. “She still giving you a hard time?”

“She’s at that age. I think they call it the tweenager stage now, not quite a teenager but not a little girl anymore.”

George nodded. “Violet has a way with people, and she adores kids.”

“I hope she can help. I want to teach Faith how to ride a bike. I learned when I was younger.”

“Yeah, but you grew up on a farm with brothers. I bet it was a competition to see who could do things the fastest.”

“You got that right. And I was the middle kid, always trying to keep up with my older brothers.” Not only that, but things came easily to Ted and Wes. When Mom died, they took over for Dad, making sure we did our homework and ate meals. “Faith has no one her age to play with. That’s hard, especially since we moved here, and we don’t know anyone.”

“There’re lots of kids in the neighborhood. The more she’s out, she’ll meet them.”

I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched Violet talk to my daughter. I assumed she was giving her directions on how to go down the hill without falling. I wasn’t worried she’d get hurt because she was on grass and wore a protective helmet. “She’s only with me every other weekend.”

“You going to try to get more time?”

“I’d like to. We’ll see.” I still wasn’t sure I was staying in Maryland. I didn’t like being so far away from Faith. Soon she’d be involved in after-school activities, and I wouldn’t be able to drop by after work. The commute was too far.

“I hope you stick around. I like having you in the neighborhood.” I didn’t share my job with many people, but I’d told George. There was something about him. I couldn’t lie when he asked what I did, although I usually said something generic like I worked for the government.

“I like it here.” Living on my own for the first time since college was freeing. There was no one telling me how I should do things. I could be the dad I always wanted to be. Stacy was always pushing me away, saying I didn’t need to be there for Faith. She’d take care of everything.

Faith pushed off the ground and started rolling down the hill. She gripped her handlebars tightly as if she was scared. She veered from side to side, but Violet ran along beside her shouting encouragement.

“By golly, she’s got it,” George exclaimed as Faith straightened out the bike and glided to the bottom without touching the ground once with her feet.

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