Page 43 of More Than a Helping Hand

“Want to learn how to saddle a horse?” I’m happy to have Bailey in the barn, but I like to keep her where I can see her.

She nods, her gaze bouncing between me and Dallas. “Why doesn’t he smile?”

“Not sure. Maybe we should ask him.” I’m joking, but that’s lost on Bailey.

Tugging on my hand, she moves closer to Dallas. “Excuse me.”

“What’s up?” Dallas manages to temper his usual gruffness.

She cocks her head, studying him. “You don’t smile. Why not?”

The question catches Dallas off-guard, and when he forces his mouth into a smile, I do not bite back my laugh.

Bailey shoots me a scolding look, one she clearly learned from her mother. Then she returns her focus to Dallas. “You should smile more. But not like that. A real smile.”

His eyebrows shoot up, and his plastered smile falls away. “Okay.”

“Then you won’t look as scary.” She waves at him, then runs to the door. “I can’t wait to tell Mom about saddling a horse.”

“We’ll have to get some pictures so you can show her what you did today.”

Dallas hangs back, watching. I’m sure he’ll bring up this conversation later. Hopefully, he wasn’t offended by her comment. To me, it’s clear that there was nothing malicious about it. She’s just an eight-year-old without much of a filter.

I walk her through the steps of preparing a horse, then show her how to put the saddle on correctly. While she is tightening the tie straps, I snap a couple of pictures. “Remind me to show these to your mom.”

“I will.” Bailey grins. “She’ll be happy.”

I tousle her hair, then give the horse one more check before calling Dallas over. “Ready to go.”

He walks over and completely shocks me when he stops in front of Bailey. “Just so you know, I’m nice. You don’t have to be scared of me.”

She tilts her head to the side, then nods. “Okay.” She sticks out her hand. “I’m Bailey.”

He shakes her hand. “I’m Dallas.”

“Are you his friend?” She points at me.

“I am. Anderson is a great guy.”

Admiration glows on her face when she looks up at me. “Yeah.” Then she faces Dallas again and waves. “Nice to meet you. Have fun riding the horse.”

Primrose will be shocked. I know I am. Both by BaileyandDallas.

* * *

I’m finishing up dinner,listening as Bailey tells Bluebonnet all about saddling the horse. That whip-smart kid parrots the steps without missing a thing. Then she yanks out her Rubik’s cube and shows how she can solve two sides.

She’s been practicing, and soon, she’ll be able to solve it as fast as I do.

Parker walks over and drops onto the bench beside me. “Primrose was held up at work. Any chance that you could keep an eye on Bailey? Bluebonnet and I were planning to go see her dad this evening. If you can’t, we can postpone.”

“I’ll handle it. If that’s cool with your sister.” Given the circumstances, I want to make sure she is comfortable.

Parker taps on his phone. “I’ll check, but…” He grins. “I think we both know the answer.”

“Let me know what she says.” I clean up my dishes and grab another helping of dessert. When I drop back into my spot, Parker gives me a thumbs-up. Then he leans down and talks to Bailey.

Her head bobs up and down, and she turns and smiles at me.

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