Page 103 of Deal Breaker
My chest tightens, but I nod. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
She smiles—small, hesitant—but it still knocks the wind out of me. We walk outside into the warm afternoon air, the sun is slanting just enough to cast golden shadows across the patchy lawn. Poppy’s sitting cross-legged in thegrass now, collecting tiny rocks like they’re treasure. The backyard is small but inviting. There’s a herb garden near the fence, two plastic Adirondack chairs, and a set of fairy lights strung haphazardly above the deck railing. I make a mental note of the fact that there’s no swing set. Later. I’ll get her one later.
Landyn settles onto one of the faded chairs, tucking her feet underneath her. I take the one beside her.
“She plays out here a lot?” I ask.
“Every day that the sun’s out. Sometimes even when it’s not.”
“What was she like, Landyn…as a baby?” I ask quietly.
Her face softens and she smiles. “She was serious. Alert from the start. Didn’t cry a lot. Always watching… like she was studying the world before she decided what to think of it.”
“That tracks,” I murmur, looking back at Poppy. “She’s smart.”
“Too smart,” Landyn agrees. “She picked up on everything. Emotions, energy. When she was a toddler, when I had a hard day, she’d just curl up beside me and hum. Like she was trying to soothe me before she could even talk.”
There’s a lump in my throat I can’t quite swallow. I missed all of it.
Landyn shifts beside me, her voice gentle. “She has this one stuffed animal she never let go of—a bunny named Cinnamon.”
“Cinnamon?” I chuckle.
“She named it when she was three. She still has him. He lives on her bed.”
I nod, committing all of it to memory. “She’s…” I exhale. “She’s kind of perfect, Lan.”
Landyn doesn’t answer right away. Just stares down at her hands in her lap. “She really is.”
Before I can say more, Poppy is suddenly standing right beside me. “Hey! Ford!”
I blink, turning toward her. “Yeah?”
“Do you know how to kick a soccer ball?”
I grin. “I’ve been known to kick a ball or two.”
She disappears around the side of the house and returns with a slightly deflated pink soccer ball. She drops it between us like a challenge.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” I ask, standing up.
Poppy puts her hands on her hips. “Ready. Show me what you got.”
Landyn laughs behind me as I follow Poppy into the yard.
We start slowly—just passing it back and forth, her little foot darting out with precision. She’s got good instincts. Light on her toes. Before long, I’m jogging after her as she chases the ball down.
I can feel Landyn watching from the deck, and when I glance up, she has a look on her face that just about undoes me. Happy. Proud. A little bit broken.
I’d give anything to go back in time, but I can’t. All I can do is be here now. So, I chase the ball again, and when I finally steal it from Poppy and she falls to the grass in giggles, I think—maybe this is what healing looks like.
We kick the ball around for a little while longer, the warm afternoon sun beating down on us. Poppy is about to take a shot when she stops suddenly, eyes wide with excitement.
“I’m gonna go inside and get you something really cool,” she announces, already turning toward the house. “Don’t leave, okay?”
“I won’t,” I promise, watching her dash toward the back door, her braid swinging behind her.
I walk back up the slope toward the deck, where Landyn sits with her knees pulled up, sipping a glass of iced tea. Her eyes track Poppy’s little figure until the door closes behind her, and then they shift to me. I sit beside her, a comfortable hush settling into the space between us.
