Rumor Going 'Round (Lyrics and Love #3) - Lind, Samantha Page 0,2

Mom calls out to me a few minutes later.

“Just letting the three of you have a moment,” I tease her as I join them on the porch. “Smells amazing, Mom; whatcha got cooking?” I ask as the aroma from the house reaches us.

“Meatloaf is in the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy are on the stove.”

My stomach picks that moment to rumble, which, in turn, causes Paisley to laugh at the noise it makes. “Daddy, you’s hungry!” she exclaims.

“Sounds like it,” I agree with her. I reach out, opening the screen door and holding it for all of us to walk through.

“Wash up now. Supper will be ready in just a few minutes,” Mom tells all of us. I follow Paisley into the hall bathroom, where we both wash up.

“We’s all clean, Nona,” Paisley calls out as we enter the dining room. She heads right for the table, taking a seat in her “special” seat right between my parents.

“Good, I don’t let no dirty birds at my table,” Mom teases her.

“I’s not a bird, Nona,” Paisley states matter of factly. Once again, the sass on this one.

“Oh, child.” Mom chuckles at her as she sets down a baking dish with the meatloaf. She makes quick work of cutting it into slices then serving all of us one. I pull Paisley’s plate over in front of me so that I can cut things up for her. She hasn’t quite mastered the use of knives just yet.

“How was your shift?” Mom asks once we’re all sitting down.

“Pretty good, just a couple calls,” I tell her between bites. My mom is one hell of a cook, and I take advantage anytime the offer is on the table to come over for dinner. When Paisley is with me, I make an effort to eat a well-balanced meal, but when it's just me, I’m a little more lenient on what I make myself, since it’s a pain to cook for only one sometimes.

“That’s good.”

“They were spaced out just enough, though, that I didn’t really get a good night’s sleep. Just a few catnaps, so I’ll be calling it an early night tonight.”

“Do you need us to keep her?” Dad pipes in to offer.

“That’s okay. I figure after a quick episode on Disney Junior, she’ll be ready to hit the hay.”

“If anything changes, you know she can stay here with us,” Mom reiterates.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” I say to appease them both, but don’t have any plans on pawning my daughter off on my parents for the night.

“Paisley.” My mom says her name once the table has been cleared.

“Yes, Nona.”

“Papa and Nona need some ideas about what you want for your birthday in a few weeks. Do you have any ideas yet?”

“Yes!” she exclaims, bouncing up and down in her seat. “I’s wants a puppy, a Disney princess, a bike, and a pink dress,” she tells mom matter of factly, like she’s been making her list for weeks.

“Wow, you’ve got quite the list,” Mom says as she pulls out a pad of paper to write down what Paisley told her.

“Yep,” Paisley agrees with her, and I can’t help but laugh at how serious she is about this conversation.

“You ready to go, P?” I ask her once she’s done talking to my parents about her upcoming birthday. “Daddy is tired,” I tell her, yawning again.

“Sure,” she agrees, hopping off the stool she’d sat down on. I watch as she runs off toward the door, stopping to slide her shoes on before she goes to give my parents both a hug and kiss goodbye.

“Thanks again for dinner, Mom,” I say as I hug her myself.

“Anytime, honey. Get some sleep, and we’ll see you later in the week.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I tell her as I wave goodbye to my dad.

“So, you want a puppy, huh?” I ask Paisley once we’re on the road to my house.

“Yes!” she says excitedly, but then immediately sticks her bottom lip out in a pout that I almost don’t see in the quick-second look at her in my rearview mirror.

“What’s that look for?”

“Mommy said no puppies,” she pouts, adding in some crossed arms as she really sells her disappointment at Lilly telling her no to a dog.

“Maybe not at Mommy’s house, but there's always Daddy’s house,” I tell her, not really thinking about what that is going to mean to her.

“Really?” she questions, her voice picking up in excitement.

“I’m not saying yes for sure, but it's something we can talk about, and