Page 17 of More Than a Little Spark

“I’ll meet you up there.Where’s Fred’s bag?”

Poppy walks up to the door, backpack in hand.“Here it is.He did great.Respectful.Followed instructions.Really well behaved.Thanks for letting him spend the night.Mason was so excited.I thought they were never going to fall asleep.”She laughs.

“But they were still up with the sun.”Kent jingles his keys.“Be back in a few, sweetheart.”He gives Poppy a kiss.

“Thanks for letting Fred stay.”I hop back in the truck.As I drive to the main house, a text pops up on my phone from the ranch foreman.

Clint:Rain expected overnight.They aren’t predicting severe weather, but there is a chance of flooding.Just a heads up.

He sent the message to all the ranch hands.We need rain.But too much can be a problem in some areas.Hopefully, we don’t have any issues with flooding.That would be inconvenient.

Kent parks next to me at the main house.After sliding out of the truck, he glances at his phone and says, “Let’s wrangle these boys and get home before it starts to pour.”

“Easier said than done.”I’m the first one through the door.“Fred, let’s pack it up.Rain is coming, and I want to make it home without getting pummeled.”

Parker stands and rubs his hands together.“Thanks for hanging out, guys.”

Mason grins.“That is a fun game.Can we play again tomorrow night?”

“Not tomorrow, but soon.”Parker pats his shoulder.“Looks like your dad is here too.”

Mason springs up out of his chair.“Dad!This game is so cool.”

“I won one round.”Fred beams.“And this was my first time playing it.”

I love that he’s getting the opportunity to do fun stuff, enjoy time with a good friend, and have a ranch full of adults that shower him with kindness.It’s the opposite of what Fred’s life was like before living with me.

“That’s awesome.”I give Fred a high-five.“Did you thank Parker for letting you play?”

“Yeah.I did.And I told him to tell Ms.Bluebonnet thanks too.She brought us snacks.”He adjusts his ball cap and turns to face Mason.“I’ll see you in the morning.I had fun.”

Mason shakes Fred’s hand.“Me too.Let’s see if they’ll let us sleepover every weekend.”

Kent chuckles.“That is a conversation for another day.”

“Agreed.”I flick the bill of Fred’s cap.“But I’m glad y’all had fun and that Mason lives so close.”

We all walk to our trucks, then drive in separate directions.

“What did y’all do today?”I make my way to the row of houses where many of the ranch hands live.The housing here is part of the reason I took the job.It’s the first time for both Fred and me to live in a three-bedroom, single-family home.After spending the majority of my life moving from apartment to apartment, living here feels like a luxury.

“Lots of fun stuff.We went fishing at the creek, and Mason taught me how to skip rocks.Have you ever skipped rocks?”

“I haven’t.”

“I’ll teach you.Bailey is really good at it, and she’s just a girl.So you can do it.”

“Just a girl?”I lift an eyebrow, hoping he realizes how his words sound.

He crinkles his nose.“She’s better at it than I am.But if I practice…” He bobs his head with determination.

“Were you kind to Bailey?”I pull into our drive and shift into park.

Bailey’s been a topic of conversation more than once over the last year.Fred came to the ranch with a strong belief in girl cooties.And having Bailey tag along has challenged his preteen beliefs.

“Yeah, Uncle Car.I was.She’s not so bad.I used to kind of ignore her, but Mason told me that it hurt her feelings.I don’t want to be mean, you know?”

“I know.Come on inside.Do you have any homework that needs to be finished?”I try to get him to tackle homework early in the weekend, but with the sleepover, things didn’t work out that way.

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