Pounding down the stairs of the Sambora house, Ava rushed into the kitchen to pick up an apple and took a bite, still standing. Rosa raised a questioning brow at the young girl who was clad in light jeans, flip flops and a peach colored top. “Good morning Miss. Ava, you seem in a hurry?” She asked her as she made Mr. Richie’s daughter her favorite breakfast smoothie.
Swallowing a bite of the apple Ava nodded enthusiastically. “Sure am Rosa. Lynn is taking me shopping for the horse show next weekend.” A spark lit up her eyes at the thought of shopping for show clothing without her dad present to decline everything because it made her look mature.
Rosa laughed at this and shook her head as she poured the smoothie in a to-go bottle. “You take this then and meet up with Ms. Jocelynn. I saw her come back from the barn a couple of minutes ago so I assume Oliver and Dylan have been fed.”
The foal had arrived two weeks ago and Ava had spent every waking minute with him, whenever she wasn’t practicing with Oliver of course. The Samboras and Jocelynn had spent an entire afternoon debating over a suitable name since his given name was mainly for the papers and not very affectionate. The two horses got along instantly and Oliver set out to teach the young man some manners too.
Ava grinned and took the bottle from Rosa. “Thanks Rosa, you’re the best!” Waving as she exited the kitchen she took off towards the guest house only to find Jocelynn already outside. “Hey you all done? I’m so excited!” She exclaimed in joy.
Jocelynn pushed the sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose and smiled. The shopping trip was a wonderful excuse to finally wear one of the sundresses she had brought along with her. This one, a pale blue matched with a faded denim jacket, was one of her favorites. Seeing Ava’s flip flops she grinned and pointed. “Good morning Ava. I see that we match today,” eliciting a giggle from the girl. “I’m glad that you’re excited, so am I. Now let’s get going.”
An hour and a half later they were in another shop, this time trying on different hats. “How about this one Lynn?” Ava asked as she looked in the mirror.
Since it was a summer show she could wear a straw hat and had already tried on at least six of them in all shapes. Jocelynn was looking through a rack of belts and as she looked up she smiled and nodded. “That’s gotta be the one. It looks beautiful on you. Put that on the counter, I think I found a great belt too.” Picking it up from the rack she circled it around Ava’s petite waist and smiled that the size was right. The black leather belt was decorated with silver dots and pale pink Swarovski stones. The color scheme Ava had chosen was fairly popular, as she found a great hair clip in the store where they had also picked up some neat looking black jeans.
“I love this!” Pulling the belt through the loops in her jeans she studied it in the mirror. “Daddy won’t know what hit him when I show him!”
Jocelynn smiled and nodded at the comment. “You’re gonna blow him away. Let’s check out and go find you a blouse and chaps.” Turning towards the cash register they left the store with another large bag. Heading down the street the conversation flowed easily. At only fourteen, Ava was nothing like a child anymore. Her views on life and her passion for Oliver was admirable.
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“Daddy we’re back!” Ava yelled as they entered the main house, carrying bags of clothes. The girl had convinced Jocelynn to buy some new jeans and a couple of shirts in the last store.
Richie turned the corner and found the two females in the living room, surrounded by their purchases. “Is my credit card blocked now?” He asked with a grin. Ava huffed but hugged him nonetheless. “Did you have fun babygirl?”
She nodded happily. “It was great, want us to model what we’ve bought?” Her eyes sparkled with joy and a smile spread over her face.
Nodding, Richie looked at the amount of bags. “You both change into what you bought and I’ll make myself comfortable here.” Patting the couch he slid down onto it and smiled at Jocelynn. She had been watching his interaction with Ava with a smile on her face. Now blushing as their eyes met. “I’m curious to see what you got.” Another grin and Ava pulled Jocelynn upstairs to her room to change.
Only a few minutes later Ava was the one who descended the stairs first. Wearing her entire show outfit and a dazzling smile. Richie looked up at the sound and sucked in a breath. Looking her over he frowned slightly. “Babygirl you look wonderful.” That much was true, it was mostly the form fitting jeans and blouse that had him worried as they showed off her rapidly blossoming feminine figure. Using his hand he motioned her to twirl. Which she happily did. “That looks great, you and Lynn did a great job.”
“Thanks Daddy.” She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck before taking a seat next to him and waiting for Jocelynn to come down. “Lynn, hurry. We wanna see what you got.” Ava near yelled as she heard the first steps on the staircase.
Richie eyed the doorway and felt the air leave his lungs and his mouth run dry. Jocelynn was standing in the middle of the room in tight dark wash jeans and a form fitting short babydoll made of purple cotton and the hem made of black lace. “After your daughter’s persuasion I just couldn’t leave these. What do you think?” She knew damn well what he thought, she thought the same thing whenever he was strutting around in his tight t-shirts.
After clearing his throat he eyed her again. “That looks great on you Lynn.” He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. Turning his gaze from her and to his daughter he smiled. “You made a good call there Babygirl. You’ll both look great at the show, gonna take all the attention from me.” His hand settled over where his heart was, he feigned hurt.
Ava glanced at her father and grinned, knowing exactly what was going on. Her plan was going well. Scooting over she wrapped her arms around his torso. “You’re the big rock star daddy. You’ll get your share of attention.” She grinned as her father tickled her sides.
“Brat!” Ava’s squeals of laughter could be heard throughout the house and Jocelynn quickly got over to help the little girl from the grip of her father. Only to get him turn his attention to her and chase after her as she set off. Leaving Ava on the couch to cross her arms and raise an eyebrow as she gave a coy smile.
