Ryan stretched. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m exhausted. It’s time for all little butterfly ballerinas to go to bed.”
Corinne nodded. “I hate to go to bed. Especially tonight.”
“Why?” Patience asked, wondering if she felt like her birthday had been missing something.
“Well, because when I wake up tomorrow, it won’t be my special day anymore. And I’ll have to be sad.”
Patience grinned. “Nope. You’ll just have to close your eyes and remember how special today was. How could you possibly be sad remembering that?”
Corinne smiled. “You’re right. How did you get to be so smart?”
“By growing up and being old!”
“You’re not old!” Corinne shook her head. “You’re the youngest and prettiest mama of all the ballet school mamas.”
Patience gave a half smile. She’d seen pictures of Brandi, Corinne’s mother. She would never hold a candle to her.
“I’m glad you think so, precious.”
“Everyone thinks so. Even the girl whose mama was the prettiest before you came along admits that you’re the prettiest now. She can’t lie about it. It would be wrong.”
Ryan met Patience’s eyes over the top of Corinne’s head. “All the girls at the ballet school have very good taste in pretty mamas.”
Patience said nothing. What could she say? She could only hope to be good enough for her little family.
After they’d tucked Corinne into bed, Ryan asked Patience why she seemed sad. “I know Corinne meant it as a compliment when she said you were the prettiest of all the ballet school mamas.”
Patience shrugged. “I guess I just never quite feel like I measure up. I want to be as good as Brandi, but I know I never will be.” She went into the bathroom and shut the door to get ready for bed. She didn’t want him to have to try to lie to her and say she was good enough. She knew it wasn’t true.
Chapter Ten
Tuesday morning was a bit chaotic at the bakery with the introduction of Rikki. She was there at eight, and she had a ready smile, and learned the cash register easily, but she jumped at the slightest thing.
“Are you okay?” Patience asked after the third time she’d jumped in less than an hour.
Rikki shrugged. “I don’t know if Valerie told you guys what happened, but I’m a bit skittish. I’ll try to do better.”
Patience shook her head. “No, what happened?” She looked at Felicity, who looked as clueless as she was, but Grace had a knowing look on her face.
“I was kidnapped and held hostage for a couple of days back in March. The kidnapper was trying to get at my sister, so he never hurt me. Valerie exchanged herself for me before shooting him.” Rikki, a tiny blonde with the bluest eyes Patience had ever seen, told them. “I’ve been through counseling, and I’ll keep going. That’s why I needed a change of scenery so badly.”
Patience wanted to hug the girl, but she didn’t want to make it worse, and she didn’t know what would trigger her. “You’re safe here.”
Rikki nodded. “I know I am. My sister speaks very highly of Grace.”
Patience understood the haunted look in the girl’s eyes. She knew Grace and her sister had been chatting on Twitter for years. “If you need anything from any of us, you’re part of the family, just by working here.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” Rikki turned back to wiping down the display case. “I’ll work hard for you.”
*****
All week Ryan tried to figure out how to let Patience know that she not only measured up, she far surpassed his first wife in so many ways. Where Brandi had always been a bit brassy and loud, Patience was classy and quiet. His first wife had thought she was better than most other people at just about everything, but Patience acknowledged her weaknesses and worked on them daily.
No, Patience was a wonderful wife to him and a good mama for Corinne. She was a much more steadying influence on his daughter than Brandi ever could have been.
As he was finally able to spend more time with her, he saw that Patience was sad. She was sad about so many areas where she felt she didn’t measure up. Should he tell her that the only thing Brandi excelled at cooking was mac and cheese? Or should he go on letting her shadowbox with a dead woman?
He worked hard to show her daily how wonderful he thought she was. On Saturday when she came home from work, he had arranged a date night. As soon as she got home, he stopped her at the car. “Get your nap and then put on something fun. We’re going to the city to go dancing.”
She raised an eyebrow, her hands going to his biceps. “Oh really? What if I don’t want to go dancing?”
He shrugged. “No choice. I made the plans. Corinne’s going to spend the night with Felicity.”
“When did you arrange that? Felicity didn’t say anything!”
“She knows when to keep her mouth shut.” Ryan caught her around the waist and kissed her softly. “Something like you wore on our first date would be perfect.”
Patience frowned. She’d borrowed that outfit from her sister and didn’t really have anything else like it. She had work clothes and play clothes. Nothing really in between.
“I’ll be ready.”
Patience called her sister as soon as she walked into the house, tapping her fingers impatiently while she waited for her to answer. “So I hear you’re sitting for us tonight?”
There was a laugh. “I wondered when he was going to tell you. He set this up Tuesday morning.”
“I don’t have anything to wear! Last time we went dancing I borrowed clothes from you!”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that. You don’t want to wear the same thing again.” There was silence for a moment. “I’m going to mute you. Grace is still here. She might have something. You can wear my boots again.” There was more silence. “Okay, Grace is going to drop off clothes at five. She has to go home and figure something out, but she said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“You should have told me sooner, so I could be thinking about it!”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll send Grace to Linda’s to pick up the boots first, and then she’ll go home and find clothes for you. Ryan said you guys would drop Corinne off at six, so if you have clothes by five, that should work out just fine.”
“Tell me next time!”
Felicity laughed as she ended the call.
Patience stared at her phone for a minute before going into the shower. She needed a nap, but there wouldn’t be time to get one now. She had to get all the flour off of her and get her hair dried before five when Grace would drop off clothes. She also had to pack clothes for Corinne for the night.
She took a long shower, ignoring the time, and just let the water beat down on her. She needed the short time to rejuvenate before she turned back into crazy busy Patience.
As soon as she was out of the shower, she pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and went in search of Corinne. She found the little girl wearing her blue leotard and tutu along with her butterfly wings. She was dancing down the hallway upstairs.
Patience couldn’t control the laughter that came out as she watched Corinne’s joy as she spun over and over, her little feet flying. She was truly made for her chosen hobby.
When Corinne stopped spinning, leaning against the wall, panting heavily, Patience broke into applause. “You get better every day!”
Corinne’s face lit up, and she ran over, throwing her arms around Patience. “I need to keep my toes pointed better, but I think I’m getting there. Will you watch me practice at ballet camp on Monday?”
Patience didn’t have to think twice. Sure, there were a million other things she needed to be doing, but nothing was more important than Corinne. “I’d love to!”
“You would?”
“Of course, I would. I love watching you dance.”
“Daddy says I’m staying the night with Auntie Felicity.”
“You are. Do you want me to help you pack?”
Corinne nodded. “
How come I’m spending the night? ‘Cuz you and Daddy want to be alone?”
Patience wasn’t quite sure how to answer that without hurting the girl’s feelings. “Your daddy thinks I’m not a very good dancer, and he wants me to be more like you. So he’s taking me out dancing tonight. Do you think he’s a good enough dancer to teach me?”
Corinne shook her head emphatically. “I’ve never even seen him in a leotard!”
Patience worked hard not to giggle at the image that conjured up for her. “He needs toe shoes.”
“Oh, that would be so funny!” Corinne put her hands on her belly and doubled over laughing.
“So what should we pack for tomorrow? Do you need to wear blue again, or will you be back to pink?”
“Tomorrow is church. I can wear my wings, but not my leotard and tights.”
“Hmm. Well, let’s look at your dresses then.” As Patience flipped through the dresses in Corinne’s closet, she realized that most were too small. “We need to take you shopping for dresses, don’t we?”
Corinne nodded. “I’m growing like a weed.”
Patience laughed. “Who said that?”
“Daddy says that every time I have to wear something that’s not a leotard and tights.”
“I’m sure he does. We’re going to have to take you shopping soon and get you all new clothes that fit. How do your new pajamas fit?”
“I like them. They’re a little big, but that’s nice.”
Patience made a face. “Maybe I’ll just order you some things from the internet. Unless you want to go shopping.”
“I love to go shopping!”
“Does your daddy let you wear a leotard and tights to school?” Patience asked, suddenly worried about school-clothes for the little girl. She’d never even had the experience of school-clothes shopping, because she and Felicity had been homeschooled. It would be something new to do with her new daughter.
“No. It’s against school rules. Daddy makes me wear normal clothes to school.” The inflection Corinne gave the words ‘normal clothes’ made it perfectly clear to Patience what the girl thought of them.
“He makes you wear things like jeans?” Patience asked with a gasp, as if she thought it was just awful.
“Yes! He does! I don’t get to wear any of my pretty pink stuff.”
“He doesn’t let you wear pink to school?” Patience found that hard to believe.
“Well, I have a pink coat, and scarf and mittens and hat. And pink shoes and boots. But I don’t have pink jeans!”
“Do you have pink shirts?”
“Well, of course.” It was as if no other colors even existed for the girl.
“So the only thing he really doesn’t let you wear are your leotards and tights?”
Corinne shrugged. “And my tutus!”
“Oh, how could I forget your tutus?”
“I have no idea.”
Together they chose her clothes for the next day for church. “You do everything Auntie Felicity tells you to do.”
“I will. I’m going to miss you and Daddy, though.”
“We’ll miss you too, sweetheart.” Patience put all of the chosen clothes into Corinne’s butterfly backpack.
“Can I wear my ballet shoes to church?”
Patience laughed at the question. “What would your daddy say?”
“He’d say ballet shoes are for ballet and church shoes are for church.”
“So what do you think I’m going to say?”
“That I can wear my ballet shoes to church?”
Patience grinned, hugging Corinne close. “Nice try. Ballet shoes for ballet and church shoes for church.”
“It was worth a try…”
There was a knock on the front door and Corinne raced down the stairs to answer it. “Aunt Grace!”
Patience hadn’t heard Corinne call any of her cousins anything before, but she guessed Aunt Grace worked as well as anything. “I brought your mama some things,” Grace said, handing a small bag to Corinne.
“Any cupcakes?” Corinne asked, looking like she was about to dive into the bag to see for herself.
Grace shook her head and pulled a bag from behind her back. “The cupcakes are in the bag I brought for you!”
Corinne squealed and gave Patience her bag before taking her own. “May I have one now, Mama?”
Patience smiled, shaking her head. “Yes, you may have one now. Thanks for spoiling her,” she said to her cousin.
“It’s my job. Just wait until my nieces and nephews start coming along. Cupcakes for everyone!” Grace spread her arms wide.
“You’re going to be a mess.”
Grace shrugged. “I’m not already?”
“Oh, you definitely are. You’ll just be much worse once the little Culpeppers start popping out.”
“Yeah, probably.” Grace nodded at the bag in Patience’s hand. “Have fun tonight.”
“I plan on it.” Patience closed the door and hurried up the stairs to get dressed. She dug through the bag and found a jean skirt, a button-down green top, and her sister’s boots.
She kept digging and found a silky nightgown with a note attached. “I didn’t have time to buy anything special for the bride. Consider this my wedding gift. Much love, Grace.”
Patience grinned at the tiny bit of material, knowing Ryan would like it. She pushed it into a drawer and quickly pulled her clothes on, then sat down and brushed out her hair, carefully braiding it into a long braid that trailed down her back. She applied lipstick and just a touch of mascara, and she was ready.
Just as she was transferring her wallet from her usual purse to a lightweight clutch for the evening, Ryan came into the room. “I’m running late. Need to shower. Done in ten!” He slammed the bathroom door behind him, and Patience just laughed.
He came out towel-drying his hair and looked at her. “You look really pretty.” It was as if he’d noticed her for the first time.
She sighed. “Thank you. I’m going to go check on Corinne and make sure she’s not wearing the cupcake Grace brought her. Hurry up.”
He grabbed her and kissed her. “That’s what I needed. Now go check on the girl.”
“Ugh. You got water on me,” she complained, not really meaning it. She liked that he just grabbed her and kissed her. It made her feel loved—even though she knew he’d never really love her.
She hurried down the stairs to the kitchen to find Corinne sitting on one of the barstools, with an empty paper plate in front of her and frosting smeared across her face. She got a paper towel and cleaned her daughter’s face. “There. Now you don’t look like you’ve eaten three dozen cupcakes instead of just one.”
Corinne just grinned. “The frosting was pink!”
“It was. But you’re wearing blue today, and it just didn’t match!”
Corinne giggled. “Fine. Next time we’ll tell her to bring a cupcake with blue frosting.”
“That won’t work, because you’re sure to be wearing pink next time!”
Ryan came down the stairs then. “Is everyone ready?” he asked.
“We’ve been waiting on you.” Patience looked at him, her eyes wide. He was wearing his dress hat and boots, along with a pair of skin-tight jeans and a button up blue checked shirt. “You look awfully good tonight, Mr. Bassett.”
Ryan gave her his sexiest wink, while she threw away the trash from Corinne’s snack. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.
Corinne jumped down and grabbed her backpack, hurrying out to the truck. She got into her booster seat and buckled up. “I’m ready for my sleepover with Auntie Felicity. She’s going to spoil me so rotten, you’ll never get the stink out of me.”
Patience burst out laughing. “Where did you hear that?”
“That’s what Auntie Felicity said she’d do the last time I spent the night.”
“Auntie Felicity needs a stern talking to!” Patience looked over at Ryan and saw he was hiding a smile.
After dropping Corinne off with Fe
licity, Patience got back into the truck. “What made you decide we needed a date night tonight?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I just know we haven’t really had any alone time since our wedding night. I thought it would be nice if we could go out for a nice dinner and dancing.” He reached over and took her hand, rubbing his thumb across her palm. “How’s the new girl working out at the bakery?”
“She’s good. It’s strange, because she’s this big television star’s younger sister, and I almost feel like we should be treating her as if she’s a celebrity, except that she’s not. She’s just as regular as the rest of us are.”
“Who’s her sister?”
“Have you ever seen the show Lazy Love?”
“I’ve heard of it. Jesse Savoy and Valerie the Virgin, right?”
She laughed. “Well, Valerie the Virgin is now Valerie Savoy and very pregnant, but yeah, that’s the show. She’s Valerie’s younger sister. She was kidnapped back in March by Valerie’s crazy ex. She’s a great worker, and I’ll think she’ll be even better when she stops jumping every time there’s a loud sound, or someone’s phone rings.”
“Valerie the Virgin married her co-star?”
“Yes!” Patience told him. “It was huge news. She’d been in a relationship with this guy for eight years. You know, the one who ended up kidnapping her sister, Rikki, who is now our employee?”
“Oh, wow. Okay, that’s different. Why did she end up here?”
“She needed to get away and Jesse and Valerie just bought a small ranch near Culpepper. Rikki is going to be their nanny as soon as the baby’s born, but for now she needed something to occupy herself. She needed to get away from the place where she’d been kidnapped, though, so she came here.”
“But she’s good at her job?” he asked.
“Definitely. We all love her. She’s great with the cash register, and really deals with customers well.” Patience shrugged. “It’s like she was made for the job. She doesn’t bake yet, but we don’t care. We’re just thrilled to have someone do the counter work.”
“But does she know how to French braid hair?” he asked. “That’s the important question.”
Trainer's Treat (Culpepper Cowboys Book 7) Page 11