Page 88 of Follow My Heart

Had I just blown everything up? Was I pushing Stacy too hard? I wasn’t prepared for a long custody battle. I didn’t have the money for it, and I didn’t want to put Faith through something like that. I hoped I hadn’t gone too far with Stacy.

CHAPTER 19

VIOLET

Ifocused on the customers in front of me, but I was worried about Ryder. I knew he was talking to Stacy. I’d seen her name pop up on his screen.

Why was she calling when it was his time with Faith? I thought they talked when they did the exchanges. Had something come up?

Ryder’s shoulders were tense, his brow furrowed. I noticed he kept one eye on Faith who was playing with his brothers.

To me, it seemed like there was a storm cloud hanging over his head. Could anyone else see it, or was it just me?

When he lowered the phone, his gaze flicked from Faith to me. Then he closed the distance to the cart. I handed the woman standing in front of me her credit card, then thanked her and her son before they walked away.

“Hey, is everything?—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Ryder was kissing me. When he finally pulled away, my cheeks were warm. “What was that for?”

“I’m just happy to be here spending time with you.”

Another customer came up to us before I could ask about the phone call. It wasn’t the time, but I was worried about what happened.

For the rest of the morning, he helped me show Faith how to scoop ice cream. He was tense even though he tried to cover it with a smile.

Faith nodded toward the line at the barn. “Can we go see Santa?”

I raised a brow at Ryder, still unsure on whether Faith believed in Santa.

A real smile finally covered Ryder’s face. “She wants to see her uncle as Santa.”

My lips curved into a smile. “Ah. Teddy?”

Ryder squeezed my shoulder. “The one and only. We’ll be back.” Then he followed Faith into the barn where Charlotte stood at the entrance in an elf costume.

Daphne appeared at my side. “I can’t believe Charlotte convinced Teddy to be Santa.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Fiona said.

“I think it’s great if she did.” If Charlotte wanted to create interest in the farm, including Teddy as part of it was a good move. She was smart.

“I’m going in,” Fiona said.

“Let us know how he’s doing,” I said with a laugh, and Daphne added, “Take some pictures for us!”

“On it,” Fiona called over her shoulder.

I giggled. I couldn’t help it. I was having fun here with the Calloways.

When the line died down, Daphne asked, “How are things with you and Ryder?”

The phone call was still on my mind but I said, “Good. And I love Faith.”

“She’s a sweetie. I’m just sad we had to wait so long to spend this kind of time with her. Izzy adores her.”

“I know things have been tough for her with all the changes. First her parents separating and now her mother dating someone new.”

Daphne sighed. “It was hard enough when our mother died. I can’t imagine going through a divorce.”

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