“They’ll bite me.”
“What? Like this?” he asks, then moves in close making num num noises as he pretends to eat her all up.
She squeals and squirms. “No, Uncle Jackson! That tickles!”
“That’s the idea, squirt. Okay, ready to try again?” His eyes flick up and he sees me. For a moment, I feel like I’m intruding, then his smile widens to include and welcome me.
I come over slowly, because Ronnie has gotten with the program and I don’t want to accidentally scare off one of the goats as she thrusts her little hand out, then giggles as goat lips brush her palm.
When I finally arrive, Jackson stands and puts his arm around me. “Do you know who this is?” he asks Ronnie.
“Sylvie!”
I squat down so I’m eye level with her. “Very good. How did you know that?”
“’Cause Uncle Jackson said you’re pretty.”
I tilt my head up to see him. “Oh, he did, did he?”
“Yup. Who am I?”
“You are Ronnie.”
“Yes!” She holds out a hand covered with goat spit, clearly wanting a high five.
I happily oblige.
“More food?” Having finished the greetings, she’s ready to get back to the goats. I stand and slide into Jackson’s embrace. “She’s darling.”
“She really is.”
From a few yards away, I hear a woman calling, “Jackson! Finish up, okay? The taxi’s waiting.”
“That’s Megan?”
“Yes. Stay with Ronnie a minute?”
“Sure.” I take the bag of goat food and join the little girl.
And though I’m honestly not trying to eavesdrop, I can’t help but overhear bits of their conversation, which consists of Megan insisting they have to go, and Jackson asking her to reconsider, promising to bring Ronnie to the hotel in plenty of time for them to catch their evening flight.
Megan sticks to her guns, though, and after a moment, Jackson calls me over, indicating that Ronnie can stay at the pen. I join them, and as he introduces us, I try to form an opinion of this woman. I know she’s a friend of Jackson’s, I know he cares about her, and I know she’s dealing with a lot of problems. But I’m also seeing a woman who seems overly harsh, problems or not. After all, the poor kid has only been to the petting zoo and the grounds are practically a fairground of children’s activities today. So my desire to like her is tempered by my feeling that she’s being unreasonable.
And, yeah, that whole jealousy thing still lingers.
After the introductions, Jackson goes back to gather Ronnie, and I hang behind. “If you’re worried about him watching her while he does the community service thing, you don’t need to be. I’m happy to help.”
“No. That’s not it. She just needs to come with me.”
“But if he’s willing to watch her and bring her—”
“That’s not his job.” She snaps out the words, and I decide that I should probably keep my nose out of this.
I go with Jackson to put them in the taxi. I give Ronnie a big hug and get a sloppy kiss on my cheek in return. Jackson does the same, and is similarly rewarded. He hugs Megan, and we stand back as the taxi pulls out, watching the little girl waving at us from the window.
“God, I adore that kid.”
“I’m not surprised. She’s pretty adorable.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t meet Megan at her best. She’s under a lot of stress.”
“I get it,” I say. “Single parenting must be hard. What about Ronnie’s biological dad?”
Jackson hesitates, then shakes his head. “He wasn’t in the picture.”
“That’s a shame.”
Jackson leads the way down a stone path, and I walk beside him, holding his hand.
“Is it?”
I look at him, confused. “What?”