Return to Silver Creek: Taylor's Chance

Taylor was trying her best not to get distracted by the sight of Chance and Tucker trying to tame a wild-looking horse in the round pen. She had never been close to a horse, let alone ridden one. Seeing how the horse was behaving, she was glad she hadn’t. She was supposed to be washing dishes, but the horse’s antics kept pulling her attention away.

“Excuse me?” A sweet voice pulled her out of her thoughts. A little girl with a cute, uneven ponytail was tugging at her sleeve.

“Well, hello there. Who might you be?” Taylor asked, drying her hands so she could kneel in front of the child.

“I’m Avrily, but Daddy calls me Ava. Are you Logan’s mommy?” she asked, her fingers playing with her pink dress.

“Yes, I am. Is he not being nice? Three-year-olds can be a bit mean sometimes,” Taylor said, her eyebrows knitting together in concern.

“No!” Avrily responded, sounding surprised. “I was wondering. Your hair is so pretty, can you do mine? Please?”

“I’d love to, sweetheart, but would your parents mind? Maybe we should call to ask them. Do you know their phone number?” Taylor asked, pulling out her phone.

“I used to know my mommy’s, but she died.” Avrily’s face fell slightly. “It’s okay though, because Daddy said I was the best surprise he has ever had. He’s outside with Uncle Tucker.”

“Oh.” Taylor’s heart ached for the little girl. “I’m so sorry to hear about your mommy. I can do your hair if you think your daddy won’t mind.”

“He says he wants what’s best for me, and looking the best is best. Right?” The child shrugged.

Taylor laughed. “Okay, fair point. Come here, beautiful.”

When Taylor finished the two French braids Avrily had requested, she noticed the little girl was crying. Panic surged through her. Had she hurt the little girl? She had tried to be as gentle as possible.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” Taylor asked, kneeling on the ground and wiping a tear off her cheek. “Did I hurt you?”

Avrily shook her head. “You were nice, just like Mommy was.”

“Oh, honey.” Taylor fought back her own tears as she pulled the child into a comforting hug.

“I forgot Mommy never hurt my head. I’m a bad girl, I don’t love her enough anymore.” The little girl sobbed, sounding far older than she looked.

“No, sweetheart.” Taylor sat on the floor, pulling the little girl onto her lap. “When the people we love leave us, sometimes we forget little things. That doesn’t make us bad, it means we are starting to be happy again. Your mommy would want you to be happy, honey, and you will remember the most important thing for your whole life.”

“What?” Avrily looked up with green tear-filled eyes.

“You will always remember that your mommy loved you more than anything else in the whole wide world,” Taylor forced a smile through her own tears.

Avrily buried her head in Taylor’s chest again and continued to cry. Taylor shushed her gently as she rocked back and forth. She wished she could take away the little girl’s pain. She already knew that she loved her and would do almost anything for her.

After a minute, Avrily pulled away and gave Taylor a small smile. Her innocence shone through in her lack of shame about her tears. Taylor knew crying was natural, and healthy. But that didn’t make it any easier for her to cry in front of others.

“Can I go show my daddy my hair now?” the little girl asked excitedly.

Taylor frowned. “Let’s wait until they get that big horse in a fence. I don’t want you to get hurt. Okay?”

“Ada?” Logan asked, running into the room.

His little socked feet slipped, and he skidded across the room. He collided with Avrily and Taylor, knocking the little girl back into Taylor’s lap. The Stetson he was wearing, as well as the plastic cup half full of orange juice, went flying.

Taylor laughed after quickly checking that both kids were okay. But her laughter died when she saw the Stetson resting in a puddle of the spilled juice. It wasn’t Tucker’s tan one that Logan kept stealing. It was black, and fear gripped Taylor’s chest.

“Shoot.” Taylor groaned, standing the kids up so she could try to clean up the mess.

“Oh, Daddy got the horse put away. Can I go outside and show him now?” Avrily asked, bouncing up and down to see out the window on the back door.

“Sure, sweetie.” Taylor smiled distractedly.

“I sowy,” Logan said, walking up behind his mother.

“Oh, it’s okay, sweetheart. You just need to remember not to play with other people’s things.” Taylor forced a smile as she grabbed some paper towels, hoping she could just wipe the juice off.

Chance took a deep breath, enjoying the nice weather. He was so glad that it was officially summer. He had helped Tucker corral a stallion he was working with into the round pen.

“Daddy, look!” Avrily called excitedly as she ran down the stairs.

“Careful, Ava!” he called back, stepping down off the bottom rail of the fence.

“Look at my hair!” Avrily exclaimed with a quick twirl.

“Wow, it’s beautiful. Did Aunt April do that for you?” Chance asked before noticing that she looked like she had been crying. Kneeling in front of her, he spoke again. “Were you crying, honey?”

“Yeah, I felt sad,” Avrily said, frowning for a second before smiling. “But it’s okay. Logan’s mommy did my hair and hugged me and made me feel better.”

Chance watched his daughter with a tentative smile. He wished he knew her well enough to tell if she was really happy. She seemed to be okay, and he made a mental note to thank Taylor.

“I’m so glad, baby girl. Did you say thank you?” Chance asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oops.” She spun around and ran back toward the house.

“I need you to ask Taylor a few questions,” Chance told Tucker a few minutes later as he watched Avrily pick wildflowers outside the corral.

“Why don’t you ask?” Tucker raised an eyebrow at his little brother as he clipped the lunge line onto the gray dapple stallion’s halter.

Chance sat on the top railing of the plank fence, splitting his time between watching his daughter and his brother. He chuckled as Avrily paused her flower picking to randomly twirl, dancing to the music that always seemed to be in her head. Taking a deep breath, Chance refocused on the question.

“She knows you better, and I’m pretty sure she’s scared of me,” Chance admitted, pushing away the intrusive thoughts.

“Normally I would argue that you are being self-conscious,” Tucker sighed as he spun slowly, urging the stallion onward. “However, April said she reacted pretty strongly to you.”

“I’m a scary man.” Chance couldn’t help the bitterness in his tone.

He sighed, running his hand over his face. His fingers brushed over the scar and a wave of depression threatened to pull him under. A tiny hand patted Chance’s shin, pulling him out of his own head.

“Here, Daddy.” Avrily beamed, handing him the flowers before skipping off.

Tucker grinned then shook his head, returning to their previous conversation. “Don’t blame yourself, Chance. We don’t know what she has been through, and honestly with our family’s track record.” He shrugged with a humorless smile. “She probably has a good reason, but that doesn’t make you scary.”

Chance frowned, thinking of what Taylor had said in the bathtub. He had to admit his brother had a point. Every one of his siblings had had to fight for their love in one way or another. Chance believed that’s what made their relationships so strong. Through adversity, they, and their partners, had learned to trust each other completely.

“Yeah, I know. You wouldn’t believe what she said to me when I had to get her into that bath.” Chance frowned at the memory.

“What?” Tucker frowned; concern etched on his face.

“She begged me not to hold her under. Promised she would behave,” Chance admitted, anger flaring in his chest.

Tucker cursed under his breath. “God, do you know how much I hate humans sometimes?”

Chance hesitated before confiding in his brother. “You want to know what I think?”

“What?” Tucker asked, continuing to spin slowly in the center of the corral.

“I think this town attracts people who need the comfort of a real home,” Chance admitted, watching his daughter pick more flowers. “I think that kinda like Noah’s gift, this town itself is remarkable.”

To Chance’s surprise, and relief, Tucker didn’t laugh at him. He didn’t dismiss him as being childish or ridiculous. Instead, he studied the younger man for a long minute before shrugging.

“I think anything is possible. I just hope the people who do come can find peace here and find people to have their backs,” Tucker finally responded.