Page 53 of Roping My Rival

Jesse boops her nose before backing out of the backseat. “I do. It’s beautiful.”

After settling behind the wheel, Jesse backs out, and we head towards the school. Maise remains quiet while Jesse asks her questions about what she ate for snack time and what she made for crafts. It’s cute. She keeps staring at me, though, and perhaps isn’t as chatty because she doesn’t know who I am yet.

When we pull into the rodeo school lot, she wiggles and seems extra excited.

“Is Uncle Bunny here!?”

“Yeah, Peanut. You can help him while I finish doing some adult stuff, if that’s okay?”

“Yay!”

I gather up the stuff in the back while he takes care of his daughter. When we get to the office, Maise makes a beeline straight to Warren.

“Uncle Bunny!”

She hurls herself at Warren, and he catches her, hauling her into his lap with a giant smile. “What are you doing here little miss? Are you lost?”

“She had to get picked up.” Jesse gnashes his teeth together behind Maise’s back, and Warren frowns. “I was out with Dane to get supplies to fix the gate. He’s giving me a hand, and once we’re done, I’ll get her off your hands. You okay with that?”

Warren has already moved with the kid on his hip like a pro to the coffee area and opens a door. “We have snacks, Maise!” He gives Jesse a thumbs up, and we head back to the ring without another word.

“She loves Warren. He’s the only one she never seems to have an issue with, and that comes in handy for days like today. I can’t have her out here while we weld.”

“No, I wouldn’t want that either.”

For the next hour, I show Jesse how to set up the machine and explain how it works. He watches from a safe distance while I first repair one rung and then fix the broken hinge. We chat about the rodeo schedule and how he’s not overly committed to the circuit this year because of the issues with his daughter.

“I can take her to some events if my dad isn’t my hazer. He loves taking her around the rodeos.” Jesse smiles as we test our work. “But if he’s competing with me, he can’t focus on her, and it’s the same with Warren. So until I know if this manny will stick, I’ll just do a few rodeos when I can.”

“You’re a good dad, Jesse.”

His breath leaves his lungs in a whoosh. “Do you really think so? Sometimes I feel so selfish just wanting to find someone to help so I can compete.”

“I don’t think that’s selfish. It’s a balance, and it’s not like you’re leaving her with people she hates. You’re doing great.”

My smile is genuine because he is doing great. He reminds me a lot of my mom.

“Thanks, Dane. Help me carry this to the storage room, and then I’ll relieve Warren of his duties.”

When we arrive back at the office, the scene we stumble into is one that stops me in my tracks.

Maise sits on the floor in front of Warren while he expertly works at braiding her hair. She holds his phone while it plays cartoons, and when he prompts her to hand him an elastic, she does.

“Okay, kiddo, all done. Just in time for Dad.”

“Daddy! I have a braid!”

“You do, Peanut. It’s so pretty. Uncle Bunny is good at that.”

I let the three of them say their goodbyes and catch up. Maise clearly adores Warren, and that shouldn’t make my heart pound so hard. Nor should watching him braid her hair, just like I do with Darla.

But it does.

When it’s just me and Warren, I lean against the desk with a grin.

“So…Uncle Bunny?”

He snorts. “She loves my rabbits. Just started calling me that, so I let her.”