Page 50 of Wilde Hearts

Crouching down to get to his level, I smiled. “I don’t know. Can you tell me the names of your papa and minnie, cowboy?”

“Rhett, Jimmy, Katie…Papa and Minnie are right there at the table. Remember what your mom told you?”

I glanced up to see Ensley standing before me. She looked so beautiful, even with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face.

All three kids looked chagrined before the little girl finally spoke. “They said don’t wander off.”

“And you wandered off, didn’t you?”

Three heads bobbed.

“Do I need to walk you back to the table, or do you think you can get there without getting lost?”

The little boy who’d tugged on my sleeve smiled. “We can get there, Aunt Ensley.”

She motioned with her hand and said, “Then get on getting!”

The little girl giggled as she grabbed the two boys by the hands and tugged them toward the family table.

I stood and smiled wider as I watched them scamper off. “And who do they belong to?”

Ensley was smiling fondly at the three kids. “Levi and Emeline.”

Confused, I looked at the kids, then back to Ensley. Then I remembered what she’d told me about her sister adopting.

“Rhett, the one who asked where my parents were, is Levi’s son from his first marriage. Katie and Jimmy are the kids of Jim and Lori Mills.”

“Wait—Jim and Lori passed?”

She nodded, sadness filling her eyes. “Emeline and Levi adopted them.”

Confused, I looked at her. “I had no idea they’d passed.”

Her brows drew down. “Your parents must not have mentioned it. Jim and Lori died in a boating accident, and there was no other family to take in the kids. They were at the orphanage, but once Levi moved back, and Rhett became best friends with them, Emeline and Levi fostered them for a while, before deciding to adopt them.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Man. I’m so out of the loop.”

Ensley shrugged. “That’s what happens when you never come back home.”

Deciding to ignore that, I caught her gaze. “You look beautiful, Ensley.”

Her eyes moved slowly down my body, then back up. “You don’t look half bad yourself. Even with the gray in your hair.”

I drew my head back in surprise and resisted the urge to touch my head. “I do not have gray in my hair.”

Leaning in closer, she made a low humming sound as she glanced at my hair. “If you say so.”

I narrowed my eyes as she drew back and gave me a sugary-sweet smile.

Pointing, I said, “Must be nice having light-colored hair; it’s harder to see your gray.”

Her smile instantly faded. “Why are you here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be here? I want to support what your family does for the kids in the community, just like everyone else.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right. Or you’re trying to gain favor with my family, maybe?”

I tried to ignore the way that hurt. “You really think that little of me, Pippa?”