“Probably not long enough,” Kinsley admitted.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, a lot of people choose their careers early in life. For example, when did you decide you wanted to be a cowboy?” Kinsley looked over at me, almost shyly.
“Hmm, that’s hard.”
“He always knew,” Bailey said.
“I wouldn’t say always.”
“I would,” Bailey nodded. “Grandma told me. She said that ever since you were a little boy, you wanted to ride horses and chase cows and be a proper cowboy. That’s what she told me.”
“That’s an interesting assessment,” I said. When had my mother and Bailey talked? I didn’t remember always wanting to be a cowboy, but the idea that it was in my blood was pretty accurate. Working with animals was something that made my heart happy. I loved being able to train horses and to ride them. I loved the land I owned, and I spent plenty of time exploring every nook and cranny. One of the coolest things about being a cowboy was just getting to explore the land and finding hidden treasures like creeks or tiny waterfalls.
“Well, I didn’t always know what I wanted to do,” Kinsley said. “When I was young, I went to college to be an accountant. I did that for a few years, but it was a stressful job.”
“I can imagine,” I nodded.
“Later, I decided to work at a restaurant just as a way to slowly shift careers. From there, I ended up working at a candy shop. I was there for a long time, and I liked it a lot. Working with candy was fun.”
“Was it a candy shop here in town?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she nodded.
“Did you work at Lollipop?”
“Yeah.”
Was it just me, or did Kinsley cringe a little when I asked? Okay, so maybe there was a story there. Perhaps working at the local candy shop wasn’t as fun or interesting as I assumed it probably was.
“What was that like?” Bailey didn’t seem to notice the way Kinsley had cringed when I asked about the shop.
“It was interesting,” Kinsley explained. She leaned back against the kitchen counter as Bailey reached for a cupcake. Bailey let her teeth sink into the frosting, and she grinned as she quickly devoured the rest of the cupcake. Kinsley just smiled. “There was a lot to learn.”
“So, you quit that job and went to Savored, and now you make cupcakes?”
“Pretty much,” Kinsley nodded.
“Cool!”
Just then, we heard a honking sound from out front.
“Who’s here?” I asked, stepping toward the living room. Kinsley was the only person I’d been expecting that day.
/> “Oh, it’s Liam,” Bailey said.
“Liam?”
“He’s a boy in my class. You know his mom from the feed store.”
Kinsley looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, as if to ask who Liam’s mom was. The problem was that I didn’t know. I thought about it for a second.
“Tina?”
“Yeah,” Bailey grabbed a backpack I didn’t know she’d packed. “I hope you don’t mind, but Liam invited me to come hang out and watch anime. Tina said it was okay, and since I figured that you knew her, it was fine. Besides,” Bailey wiggled her eyebrows, “this way, you two can have some alone time.”
I laughed and shook my head. Normally, I wouldn’t be okay with Bailey just going over to someone’s house, but Tina was kind and friendly. I told Kinsley I’d come right back inside, and I walked Bailey to the car. Sure enough, Tina was there with the aforementioned Liam.