Page 8 of Crazy In Love
“I like you how you are, too, little monster.” I kissed her cheek and pushed to my feet. “Let’s go see some pumpkins.”
I zipped her coat up and took her hand, leading her outside to walk the short distance down to the pumpkin patch. Rosewood River was getting chilly now that winter was around the corner, and every storefront downtown was decorated with hay bales and pumpkins and all that festive shit. That would be changing as soon as December rolled in.
We turned the corner, and Melody started clapping when she saw the big slide and the horses. I’d laughed last week when she’d wanted to ride the small horse in a little circle they’d set up, when I had a ranch with a stable and a horse that was all her own. I guess the excitement of riding one you didn’t know was the allure.
But today she had her sights set on going down the slide and looking at the pumpkins.
I bought a pile of tickets and stood at the bottom of the slide as she went and climbed the steps to the top. She waved at me and then came sliding down. The sun was just starting to go down, and I knew Archer would want her home for dinner soon.
I put my arms out, and she barreled into me.
“Hey, that’s my friend over there!” She pushed back and started waving. “Hi, Millie. You remember me? It’s me, Melody.”
I groaned when I glanced over my shoulder and saw Emilia Taylor standing a few feet away with some friends.
She smiled at my niece, holding a hand up as her gaze slowly moved in my direction. Her entire body language shifted as her shoulders squared. Her smile dropped when her gaze found mine.
“That’s Millie, my flower lady, Unc-ee. Can I go say hi?” Melody asked, and I blew out a frustrated breath because she was the one person I had a hard time saying no to. And now she had a fucking nickname for this woman?
“We need to grab a pumpkin and then get you home for dinner,” I grunted as Emilia moved in our direction, and I sensed her discomfort.
“Hey, Melody, I didn’t want to leave without giving you a quick hug,” she said, bending all the way down and wrapping her arms around my niece.
“Hi, Millie! You want to get a pumpkin with me and my unc-ee?”
“Oh, thank you, I, um, I’m here with some friends, so I need to get back. But you have fun. I hope you find a good one,” she said as she moved to stand, and then proceeded to step back and trip over her own damn feet. I didn’t have time to think—I acted on instinct alone and jolted forward, just as she started to lose her balance. One hand slipped behind her back and the other gripped her upper arm as I caught her mid-fall.
She gasped as both of her hands found my shoulders, and she steadied herself.
Melody clapped her hands together excitedly. “Unc-ee is the best, isn’t he?”
Emilia quickly removed her hands as if she’d just been burned, and her cheeks were bright pink. She tucked her long dark hair behind her ears and gave me a curt nod. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t want you to take Melody down with you,” I growled, because it was all I could think to say.
We didn’t like one another, that was no secret.
But I wasn’t a complete dick. I wouldn’t let someone hit the pavement on my watch.
Even if it was Emilia Taylor.
So, I’d use the excuse of coming to the rescue all in the name of my niece.
Emilia huffed out a breath. “Right. Got it. Have fun looking for pumpkins, Melody.”
She stormed away, and my eyes followed as she rejoined her friends. It irritated me the way her jeans hugged her perfect peach-shaped ass just right.
“Daddy gets me pink flowers every Saturday, and I love going to see Millie at the flower shop,” she said as I took her hand in mine, and we walked toward the pumpkins.
I glanced down to see a text from Archer asking when we’d be back, and I replied that we were heading that way soon.
“You deserve flowers every week,” was all I could think to say. “Daddy just texted, so let’s grab a pumpkin and get you home, all right?”
“Yes!” She fist-pumped the sky, and then spent the next fifteen minutes becoming emotionally attached to three different pumpkins.
All oddly shaped with marks and discoloring.
She insisted that the large, flat, discolored pumpkin was extra special because he was sitting all by himself.
