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“Dad, what is it?”

“Ava is going to pretend to be my girlfriend to get the ladies to back off.”

“Oh, cool. I can get down with that!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well, if seeing us together makes you uncomfortable, just let me know.”

“What do you mean together?”

“Like if I put my arm around her or…hold her hand.” Why am I so uncomfortable talking about this? It must be because I’ve never asked my daughter to be complicit in a lie before.

“Sure, that’s no big deal.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, Dad, I’m sure.” Mia rolls her eyes. “But I don’t know how believable it is.”

“How believable what is?”

“That Ava would go for a cranky old man like you!”

“Ouch!” I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. “Would an old man be able to do this?”

“Dad! Put me down!” She laughs.

“I may be an old dad, but I’m still a good catch! Say it!”

“You’re still a good catch. Now put me down.” I set her down on the ground. “For an old man.” She laughs and runs toward the house.

“Hey!” I chase after her. I catch up to her in a few big strides, but she’s getting fast. “You’re going to be able to outrun me soon! But not today!” I laugh.

“I wasn’t going my fastest. I’m famished.”

“Roberta has your afternoon snack ready. Go on in and refuel. The ladies need more riding lessons before they’re ready to take the horses out on a trail, so instead, we’ll go for a little hike before dinner.”

“Oh, great! I’ll come!”

“Do you have homework?”

“Yes, but not that much. I can easily do it after dinner.”

“I don’t know..maybe you should stay in and do it.”

“Da–aad. Exercise and fresh air are important, too! I’ve been sitting inside the school, breathing stale air all day.”

“You’re right. Plus, I could use your help wrangling these ladies…making sure no one gets lost.” I pull her in for a side hug. “Go grab a snack and meet us on the porch in half an hour.”

“Ok.” Mia bounces inside and calls out for Roberta.

I look around. So much to do, so little time. I still haven’t had a chance to look at the water problem at Pony Cottage. Ava will just have to sleep in the main house tonight. I go inside to look for Roberta but run into Trina instead. “Hey, can you make up another room for Ava? Pony Cottage is out of commission.”

“Sorry, but there are no more rooms. The ladies have filled them all.”

“Really? I thought they only booked six rooms?”