Make a Wish (Spark House #3)(23)

“In this case, it was me always sneaking Peyton the treats when her granny wasn’t looking.” And getting lectured on my parenting when I didn’t do things the same way Karen did.

“Mm.” She nods knowingly. “That must have been a tough line to toe, what with how involved they’ve been.”

I nod. “It could be stifling at times. All I was doing in Boulder was working and being a father. I didn’t have time for a social life, and most of my friends were still here. In some ways I feel bad for taking Peyton away from everything familiar again, but Colorado Springs has always felt more like home. It’s still a lot of change for both of us.”

“Change is always supposed to be uncomfortable. It’s how you know you’re making the right choice,” Harley says thoughtfully.

“You’re too wise for someone your age,” I say.

She laughs. “I’m not twenty anymore, Gavin. And I had to grow up fast. So did you.” She blows out a breath. “Anyway, I’m always here to help if you need it.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that. I appreciate you.” I shake my head at how awkward I’m making things. “I mean, I appreciate you making yourself available for Peyton, especially with how busy you already are.”

“I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t have the time.” She props her chin on her fist. “How was your emergency meeting? You said it went better than expected?”

“Oh yeah, it was just about getting approval on a couple of tweaks on a design.”

“Oh? What are you designing?”

“A park, but it’s a much larger scale than the ones I’m used to working on, which has been an amazing challenge.”

“Do you have drawings?”

“I do. They’re on my computer. Do you want to see them?” I can’t quite tell if she’s just being polite or if she’s genuinely interested.

The way her eyes light up gives me the answer. “Absolutely! But only if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. They’re in my office, though.” I give her an out if she wants one.

“Lead the way.”

She falls into step beside me, and we stop when we pass Peyton’s room so I can check on her. It’s a habit I doubt I’ll be able to break anytime soon. She’s curled up on her side with Hoppy tucked under her chin. I pull the door closed and we continue past my bedroom to the end of the hall.

I push through the door to my office, which looks out over the backyard. A trail of lights leads to a pergola where I often work on weekend mornings with coffee.

“Your backyard is amazing. The view of the mountains in the distance is picture-worthy. Peyton and I sat out there and ate dinner tonight.”

“You’ll have to come back another time and have dinner out there with me,” I say as I drop into my chair, then rush to add, “I mean with me and Peyton.” I cringe internally. The way that came out made it sound like I’m asking her on a freaking date. Not that I would be completely opposed to that, but Peyton is already attached to Harley, and complicating this with things like dates probably isn’t the best plan. Especially when I’m still getting my feet under me after this move, and Harley and I are just getting reacquainted.

“We can make bunny pizzas again since they were such a winner this time around.” Harley stands behind me, hand resting on the back of the chair as I pull up the designs and show her the three-dimensional rendering of the park. It’s huge, over a square mile of land with trails, a skate park, and a children’s play structure, along with several open green spaces lined with trees.

“This is amazing, Gavin. You’ve really got an incredible eye for this. I’ve visited some of the parks you designed around here before you moved, but this is really above and beyond.” Her fingers brush my shoulder as she leans in to get a better look, and she quickly drops her hand, moving around to stand beside my chair. I inhale the scent of her perfume or whatever she uses that makes her smell the way she does. Like vanilla maybe. Something sweet.

I clear my throat. “Thanks. I’ve been working my way toward this for a long time. And my dad dangled it like a carrot as a way to entice me to come home.”

Harley chuckles. “Obviously it worked.”

“Like a charm,” I agree. “I was a little daunted by the scope of the project at first, but when you’re given this much space to work with and a huge budget, it really lends itself to creativity.”

“I can see that. Can you zoom in on the play structure?” She points to the center of the screen. “I want to take a closer look at that.”

“Sure. Of course.” It’s been a long time since someone other than the people I work with have shared my excitement about a project. My dad obviously loves landscape design. He’s spent more than thirty years in the field, built his own business from the ground up, and expanded. My in-laws couldn’t understand how I managed to get lost for hours in a project and wouldn’t even realize I’d miss lunch until my alarm went off signaling it was time for me to pick up Peyton.

“This is really cool.” Harley points to the castle-like structure. “What are the chances you could put a rock-climbing wall up the side? Just the first six feet or so, to avoid it being too high and reduce the chances of someone getting hurt, and here”—she points to the wooden bridge connecting the two towers—“you could do a rope bridge, which would be great for balance.”