Page 87 of Chasing the Sun

She gasped, eyes going wide with amusement. “Iamsmall!” She grinned and turned to Elodie, tugging on her shirt. “Aunt Ellie, does Mr. Cal look bigger to you?”

Elodie bit her lip, her eyes full of laughter. “Hmm ... I guess that’s how growing works, Win. If we’re not paying attention, Mr. Cal might just keep getting bigger and bigger.” She gestured toward me. “Especially that big old ego of his.”

Winnie turned back to me, inspecting me with the same level of scrutiny she probably gave her stuffed animals when she decided they needed a checkup. “I think you could pick up a whole cow.”

“Really?” I smirked. “A whole cow?”

She nodded, very serious. “Abigcow.”

Selene chuckled from where she was kneeling a few feet away. “Careful, Win. If you tell a man he’s strong, he’ll start lifting random stuff just to prove it.”

Elodie grinned up at me, eyes full of mischief as she spoke to her precocious niece. “I mean, now I kind of want to see if he can pick up a whole cow.”

I shook my head, amused. “That’s not happening, Darling.”

Winnie gasped dramatically, her little hands flying to her cheeks. “You called her darling!”

I stilled, glancing down at her with a crinkle of my nose. “I did.”

Her little mouth twisted. “But that’s her last name.”

Elodie scoffed, pressed a hand to her heart, and looked at her niece. “Rude, isn’t he?”

Winnie giggled, twirling a curl around her finger. “Darling is also Mama’s last name. She let me pick and I wanted it to be mine, too. She even let me get a brand new middle name!”

I watched the tiny tornado as we followed the dancing trail of her thoughts. “Is that so?”

Winnie straightened her shoulders and put out her hand. “Winifred ElizabethAmaryllisDarling. Amaryllis means sparkle.”

My eyes popped to Selene who was smiling at her precocious daughter. “That’s right.”

I shrugged. “Maybe Elodie needs a cool new name, too.” Personally I’d thought of several choice names any time Elodie had popped into my head:Trouble. Pain in the Ass. Irresistible.

Elodie waggled her eyebrows at Winnie, then tilted her head at me. “I guess I’ll have to think about that.”

I gave her a slow, deliberate once-over, fighting a smile as my gaze landed on the streak of soil across her cheek. “You do that.”

She rolled her eyes at my intensity, but I didn’t miss the way her lips curled at the corners, the warmth in her gaze.

Winnie, satisfied with our attention on her, beamed up at me. “You’re staying to help us.”

Selene snorted. “It’s polite to ask first, Win.”

I winked at Winnie. “If the boss says to stay, I’ll stay.”

I huffed a quiet laugh, shaking my head at the easy, lighthearted exchange. As Elodie met my gaze, something shifted in my chest. I got to my knees and started filling holes with the flowers from the crate.

We fell into a rhythm, our hands moving in tandem. Our shoulders brushed too many times for it to be accidental. She smelled like lavender and earth and summer heat, and I tried not to think about it.

Winnie had gotten bored, so Selene took her for a walk around the farm. Mr. Darling was working with a crew to create new walking paths, and Mrs. Darling had taken the role of foreman, gently giving directions and suggestions on how to make the walking paths more inviting for guests.

We finished the last of the planting, and a smudge of dirt remained streaked across Elodie’s cheek. Without thinking, I reached out, swiping my thumb over the smear.

Her breath hitched.

I froze.

Her skin was warm beneath my touch, the faintest flush dusting her cheekbones. I couldn’t hold back and let the moment pass. My thumb lingered, just a second too long, my pulse a steady drumbeat against my ribs. Her lips parted, her breath catching, and for one reckless moment, I wanted to feel her soft mouth against mine again.