Page 40 of One Kind Goal

Chapter Seven

Sawyer’s arm ached a little, but other than that, Nia was right. They were having the bestest time. He loved playing hockey. He enjoyed traveling around the country with his teammates. He soaked up the attention being a professional athlete gave him. He liked chilling at home when he had down time.

But hanging out with Nia filled him in a way nothing else did. Having Morgan with them added another layer that made Sawyer feel as if he might burst from happiness. Currently, he and Morgan were seated on a beautiful sleigh with Nia sandwiched between them. A red and black flannel blanket was draped over their laps as two gorgeous black horses pulled the sleigh. The driver sat on a bench ahead of them and had been a real sport when Nia had asked if she could pet the horses.

“Why, of course,” he’d said. “They love to be petted.” He’d proceeded to drag over a little step stool. After guiding Nia onto the stool, he’d held one of her hands to keep her steady as she’d run her free hand along one of the horse’s sleek sides.

“What are their names?” Nia had asked.

“This one you’re petting is Coal,” the driver had said. “The other one is Night.”

“Who’s a good horsey?” Nia had crooned to Coal.

The horse had let out a puff of breath and bobbed its head.

“Oh, she likes you,” the driver had said.

Nia had given him one of her classic, full-wattage smiles, immediately putting the driver under her spell. She really was a little charmer.

“Daddy, these horses work hard,” she said now as the sleigh shushed through the snow on a path that veered off into the woods of Brenton Park. “Do you think they get tired?”

“I’m sure they do,” Sawyer said. “But I’ll bet their owner takes good care of them after they’re done working for the day.”

“They get royal treatment,” the driver said. “These horses are a part of my family. I make sure they aren’t overworked.”

“It’s nice of you to be concerned about the horses, Nia,” Morgan said. “Do you have any pets? You seem to like animals.”

Nia shook her head. “I wanted a cat, but Mommy is allergic.”

“We found that out the hard way,” Sawyer said. “Carina busted out in hives when I bought Nia a kitten.” He held up a hand. “For the record, I did ask first if getting Nia a kitten for her birthday would be okay. Carina agreed, but then she had a reaction to the kitty.”

“We had to give the kitten away,” Nia said sadly.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Morgan rested her hand on Nia’s.

“When I grow up, I want to own a bunch of animals,” Nia said.

“Like on a farm?” Sawyer asked.

“Yeah, Mommy’s friend, Alan, lives on a farm. He doesn’t have any cats though.”

Sawyer looked at Morgan over Nia’s head, hoping she’d ask about this Mommy’s friend, but she asked something else instead.

“What is your favorite farm animal?”

Sawyer tuned out a little as Nia and Morgan chatted. Snow sprayed up as the horses clopped through it. Was Carina seeing someone? He was fine if she was as long as the guy treated Nia right. Considering how specific Carina was about Nia’s upbringing, Sawyer had to imagine she’d thoroughly vetted this Alan guy.

“What do you think, Daddy?”

“Huh?” He’d completely missed whatever she’d asked him.

“She asked if the horses were cold.” Morgan gestured to the horses ahead of them, but her gaze asked him if he was okay.

Nodding, he said, “I don’t think they’re cold.” He craned his head, pretending to check out the horses. “They have on their invisible winter coats.”

“I want an invisible winter coat too!” Nia shouted.

“Nope,” the driver said. “They only make those for horses.”