Chapter 19
Harlow
“What do you wanna dotoday?” I ask Rosie as I comb her hair. When Cass asked me to watch Rosie for the weekend, I jumped at the chance. Evie is in charge of the club while I get to have a sleepover with my favorite, little lady.
The guys left after supper last night, and Rosie and I spent the rest of the night playing barbies and watching movies until we both passed out in Cass’s bed. Rosie was a little sad to be away from her dad after being with him consistently for so long, so I asked if sleeping in his bed would make her feel better, being surrounded by his things. She loved the idea and settled down after that.
We woke up, ate some breakfast, and now we are getting ready for the day.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “Can we leave the house?” she asks.
“Yeah, I think a bit of fresh air would do us some good,” I nod and check my phone to see if anything is going on in the area. Just my luck, there is a little community fair. The little flyer on the website states there are mini rides, games, and a petting zoo; perfect for a four-year-old little girl.
“How about we go to a fair?” I ask.
She spins around, her eyes going wide with excitement. “Really?! Yay!” she shouts and jumps up from the bed and races out of the room.
Chuckling, I follow her, finding her in her bedroom. “I want to wear these!” she says, holding up a pair of sparkly, ruby red cowgirl boots.
“I like your style, little lady; let's see what else we can find to go with those stunning boots.” She nods as if this is a very serious issue that needs to be fixed. I giggle and head to her closet, throwing it wide open.
My eyes skim the line of dresses, she has hanging, and stop on a dress that is a white tank top connected to a frilly, red skirt.
“How about this?” I ask, holding it up to show her.
“It’s perfect!” she cheers.
I help her change out of her PJs and into the dress and boots. She looks at herself in her little, pink mirror on the back of her door.
“It’s missing something,” she says, tilting her head to the side, then looks around the room until she finds what she is looking for. “That's it!” She races over to a big teddy bear in the other corner of her room and plucks a brown cowgirl hat with glittery red gems off its head and places it on hers, then rushes over to her make-up table, grabbing her black kitty cat sunglasses.
I grin as I watch this little ball of energy race around the room, trying to put together a perfect outfit. My arms are crossed, and I bite the side of my thumb, holding back a giggle as she grabs the last thing to make her ensemble complete.
“Now I'm ready,” she says, stopping in front of me.
“Well, now I need to change,” I huff jokingly.
“How come? I think you look very pretty,” she says. I'm dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a black crop top that crosses between my breasts before wrapping around to the back, my hair in a high ponytail.
“You think?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
She gives me one firm nod. “Like a Queen.”
“Alright then, I guess we're good to go,” I say, holding my hand out.
“HOW YA DOING BACK THERE, kiddo?” I ask, as I pull her down the sidewalk in a wagon with a canopy top. Very fancy if you ask me.
“Good! Are we there yet?” she asks, just as we round the corner to the field, a few streets over from where the guys live.
“Yup, we're here,” I say.
Rosie’s eyes fill with wonder as she takes in the sight before her. Food vendors of all kinds, carnival games, rides, and the petting zoo fill up the big space.
“What do you want to do first?” I ask, helping her out of the wagon.
“Everything,” she breathes, her eyes wide with excitement.
Laughing, I take her hand in one of mine and pull the wagon along with the other. “How about we ride a few rides first, games, food, then zoo before we head back home?”