Falling for the Single Mom

by Mia Ross

  After lunch, the kids recruited Bailey to help with the dishes, and she happily went along as they made it into a game. Being the oldest of the three, Parker finished first and tossed his towel on the counter like a gauntlet. “First one to the pond gets the big inner tube!”

  He dashed upstairs, Abby close on his heels. Then, to Heather’s amazement, the girl came back to take Bailey’s hand. “Come on. I’ve got an old bathing suit that doesn’t fit me anymore. You can borrow it and go swimming, too.”

  Bailey cast a hesitant look at Heather, and she felt her own heart fall in disappointment. “Thanks for thinking of that, Abby, but we’ll have to pass this time. Bailey hasn’t learned how to swim yet.”

  “No problem there,” Josh assured her as he stood up from the table. “I’ll be there, and I’m a certified lifeguard.”

  “Joshua,” Maggie scolded in a horrified tone, glaring up at her much-taller son. “Don’t tell me you were wearing your swim trunks under your church clothes.”

  He flashed her a shameless grin, and she shook her head at him. But judging by the fondness sparkling in her hazel eyes, she had a very soft spot for her youngest child.

  “I’m not sure what to think of this,” Heather teased, which was very unlike her. The heavy responsibilities she carried made her see things much more seriously than most people did. Something about this easygoing farmer made the little girl in her want to come out and play. “Are you really a lifeguard?”

  “Scout’s honor. And yes,” he added before she could test him, “I was a Boy Scout.”

  “Why do I have no problem believing that?”

  Mischief twinkled in those warm blue eyes. “Maybe ’cause I’m so dependable and all. Whataya say?”

  “Please, Aunt Heather?” Bailey pleaded, as much with her eyes as her voice. “It would be so much fun, and I promise to be careful.”

  “All right, but I’ll be out there, too. Just in case.”

  Letting out a delighted whoop, she trailed after Abby, pounding up the wooden steps as if she’d grown up in the rambling farmhouse instead of arriving only a couple of hours ago.

  “That was really nice of Abby to invite her,” Heather commented to the girl’s parents. “You’re raising a thoughtful young lady.”

  “So are you,” Lily responded while she finished wiping down the butcher block island top. “It can’t be easy under the circumstances, but you’re doing a great job.”

  “Thank you.”

  They traded smiles, and for the first time since she’d become Bailey’s guardian, Heather felt like an actual parent. It was a terrifying sensation, but also immensely satisfying, and she liked knowing that she was becoming friends with other women who shared her dedication to family.

  Heather knew better than most people that when you reached the end of your life, all you had left were the people you loved and who loved you in return. She could have refused her brother’s request to be named as Bailey’s legal guardian, but it had never even occurred to her. She deeply regretted the tragedy that had turned a workaholic veterinarian into a stand-in mother, but despite the sacrifices of energy and sleep, she had no second thoughts about the path she’d chosen.

  If Craig’s death had taught her anything, it was that there was nothing in the world more important than family.

  Chapter Six

  “Look at me, Aunt Heather!” Bailey called out from the center of the small pond. “I’m swimming!”

  “I see that, bean,” Heather replied, adjusting the video camera on her phone to follow Josh and her through the water. “I’m taking a video so you can see for yourself how well your first lesson is going.”

  Josh thought their enthusiasm for the very basic skill was cute, and he chuckled when they paused for a rest. “Before too much longer, you’ll be having races with Abby and Parker.”

  “My daddy was going to teach me,” Bailey confided quietly. “But he can’t now ’cause he’s up in heaven with Mommy.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes, and Josh felt the same reaction he did whenever he saw a pretty girl cry: panic. Anxious to comfort her, he searched for a way to distract her from the sadness he understood all too well. Losing his own father had been tough for him, and he could only imagine how difficult it was for a child to handle that kind of grief.

  Recalling his mother’s comforting words on the subject, he said, “Y’know, they can see us from up there. And I know your daddy’s looking down on you right now, proud as anything.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “Yeah, I do, but don’t take my word for it. My mom told me that when my father died, and she knows just about everything.”

  He hadn’t meant to share quite that much, and he chided himself for upsetting her. He really had to learn to think first and speak later. Another of Mom’s lessons he hadn’t quite mastered yet.

  Bailey pinned him with a thoughtful stare. “Is that why you’re so nice to me? Because you know how sad I am?”

  “I’m nice to you ’cause you’re a cutie pie.” Giving her a smile, he ticked the end of her nose with his finger.

  “My aunt’s a cutie pie,” Bailey continued, deftly changing the subject like a pro. “She’s really smart, too. Do you like her?”

  All on their own, his eyes drifted over to where Heather was sitting on the nearby dock, dangling her bare feet in the water. Wearing a flowery sundress, she looked as if she was ready to grab a basket of sandwiches and head out for a picnic somewhere. The sundress was nothing like the classy, professional clothes he’d seen her in until now, but it suited her perfectly. When she gave him a questioning look, he couldn’t help grinning back. “Yeah, she’s okay.”

  “Please,” Heather simpered, fanning her face with her hand. “If you don’t stop, I may faint.”

  Having seen her tolerance for gruesome things that would stop most folks in their tracks, Josh couldn’t envision her fainting over much of anything. Just another quality that made the cautious city girl unlike any other woman he’d known. Hoping to keep the conversation from getting too personal, he picked up one of Bailey’s hands. “I think you’re just pruney enough, sweetness. Time for a towel.”

  He scooped her up and waded over to the dock, lifting her up to where Heather was holding a striped beach towel open wide. Wrapping her niece inside, she gave her the kind of quick hug he’d noticed so many times when they were together. It was obvious that although their new vet wasn’t a biological mother, she had a strong instinct for it that extended from her niece to all the animals she’d been treating at the center.

  And to him, he realized suddenly. Heather had been a lot more concerned than he had about his injured hand and the bumps and bruises he’d gotten while rescuing Bailey. Over his protests, she’d made sure he was tended to properly. Even more surprising, he’d let her do it. He had to admit he kind of liked her fussing over him. It made him feel...

  From out of nowhere, Charlie came bounding toward him in his usual crazy way. Unprepared, Josh lost his balance and flew back into the water with seventy pounds of golden retriever on top of him. As his head went under, he heard Mike bellowing at the dog while Drew laughed from the bank like a maniac. Coming up sputtering, Josh wiped his eyes clear in time to notice Heather hiding a smile in Bailey’s towel.

  “I saw that, Doc,” he said as he swam back in. “Maybe you’d like to see for yourself how funny a dunking is.”

  “No, thank you.”

  He hauled himself back onto the dock and took the towel she offered him. It came along with a smile as warm as sunshine, and it struck him that when this very serious woman allowed herself to loosen up, she was by far the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

  Bad, he warned himself firmly. Very bad. Admiring her wasn’t a problem, but letting himself slide toward anything more than that would be foolish, at best. A
side from Erin’s warning, Heather was miles out of his league. While he’d never been opposed to having a little fun, his instincts told him that Heather wasn’t the kind of woman you messed around with.

  She was the kind you married and built a life with. And since he had no intention of doing that, the smartest approach was to keep their connection nice and light. That way, neither of them would get hurt. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with his solution, but since the only other option was to avoid her entirely, he’d have to make it work somehow.

  Leaning back on his elbows, he dropped his head back to drink in the warm, breezy day. It was a rare afternoon off for him, and he planned to make the most of it. The sound of bare feet in the grass alerted him that rug rats were about to invade, and he opened one eye to make sure he was prepared for whatever was coming.

  Fortunately, it was Abby, who didn’t pounce on him the way Parker would have. “Bailey, Grammy’s getting us some Popsicles. Do you want one?”

  “Yeah!” As an afterthought, she checked with Heather, who nodded.

  As the two girls skipped toward the house, Heather sighed. “I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. I can’t thank you and your family enough for making us feel so welcome.”

  “I’m glad she likes it here. Having a place where you can relax makes things better for both of you.”

  “Speaking of making things better,” she went on in a conversational tone, “the girls and I were chatting earlier, and Lily came up with a great idea to raise the money we need for repairing the playground.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me. If it wasn’t for her, Mike never would’ve even thought about starting the Gallimore Riding School that brings in so much business for the farm. What’d she come up with this time?”

  “A committee that can work well together and brainstorm ideas for raising money quickly. She and the others rattled off a list of people they thought might help us out, and Cam offered to let us use the snack bar at the Oaks Café for our meetings.”

  “And you’re telling me this why?”

  “You’re already doing the construction, and the new market you’re pursuing for the farm is inventive and practical. I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you’ve got more where that came from.”

  Josh considered the idea and decided it couldn’t do any harm—and would in fact do plenty of good for the families in town. “Well, since you put it like that, how could I say no?”

  “Thank you!” With a delighted squeal, she hugged him and jumped to her feet. “I’ll go tell the girls. They were split fifty-fifty on whether or not I could convince you to agree.”

  As he watched her run over to join the others around the picnic table, he couldn’t keep back a smile. In the end, it wasn’t her logic that had swayed him to say yes, or even the niceties she’d been laying on thick enough to hold up a brick wall.

  It was how she’d talked about the effort, referring to “we” instead of “they,” the way she had when they were first discussing the fund-raising with Erin. Bailey wasn’t the only one still reeling from the loss of her father, he knew, although as an adult, Heather was more skilled at hiding her grief behind a cheerful demeanor and a busy schedule.

  Still struggling to adapt to her new life, she seemed to be searching for a place where she and Bailey could find some calm and catch their breath. Being involved in a grassroots event was a small thing, but it was a start. And if she believed that he could do something to help that along, he was happy to oblige.

  Footsteps came up behind him, and he wasn’t surprised when his brothers dropped down to sit on each side of him.

  “Fund-raising committee?” Drew scoffed. “Since when do you do stuff like that?”

  Josh shrugged. “The lady asked me to help raise some money for the playground, so I’m going along.”

  “And getting more time with her in the bargain,” Drew filled in the painfully obvious blank. “I thought Erin warned you to stay away from Heather so we don’t have to worry about any complications at the rescue center.”

  “This is different. It’s for Bailey and the other kids. Like your daughter,” he said, aiming his retort in Mike’s direction.

  That got him a long, uncomfortable look from his savvy big brother. “So you’d be doing this even if Lily was asking you instead of Heather?”

  “Sure. I don’t get why it’s such a big deal to have me there, but if the girls think that me being involved will make a difference, I’m game. Besides,” he added with a grin, “no one in their right mind says no to your wife. Getting people to cooperate is her superpower.”

  “He’s got a point there,” Drew admitted, chuckling again. “She’s got a way of making it sound like you’re doing her a personal favor.”

  “Yeah, she does,” Mike agreed with a grin of his own. “That’s how we ended up together in the first place.”

  “On that note, my wife looks like she’s ready to drop. I’m gonna take her home and get her off her feet. Catch ya later.”

  Drew sauntered over to the picnic table, leaving Josh and Mike alone.

  “So did I pass?” Josh asked wryly. “Is the interrogation over?”

  “For now, but you need to keep something in mind.” When Mike’s voice took on that I’m-in-charge tone, anyone with a lick of sense listened closely. “The Fitzgeralds have been through a lot already this year, and chances are there are more tough days to come. The last thing they need is to have someone stroll in and out of their lives and leave a mess behind. Got it?”

  Josh prickled at the suggestion that he might do something so heartless. “What’re you getting at?”

  “That woman over there—” he nodded toward where Heather was sitting “—is gonna need a lot of patience and understanding. You’re a good guy, Josh, but I don’t think you’re ready to take on that kind of relationship. She’s a lot more complicated than the girls you’ve dated before, and I don’t want to see either of you—or Bailey—get hurt.”

  At a loss for a response, Josh fell back on an old standard. “That won’t happen. We’re just friends.”

  Letting out a heavy sigh, Mike stood and stared down at Josh. “If you honestly believe that, you’re in even more trouble than I thought.”

  With that, Mike left him there wondering what on earth was wrong with his family. Erin, and now both of his brothers, seemed to be misjudging the depth of his connection to Heather. Sure, she was gorgeous, not to mention smart and impossible to fool. And she was new in town, which made her more interesting to him than the women he’d grown up with. And Bailey was a definite plus, adorable and funny in a way that made him wonder if Heather had been like her when she was a girl.

  But no matter how it might look to anyone else, he and the softhearted vet were exactly what he’d claimed: friends. Still, in the back of his mind, a soft voice he’d never heard before whispered something that made him wonder.

  What if?

  What if they tried being more and it was awesome? Or just as likely, what if they tried being more and it was a disaster?

  Shedding the towel, he stood and whistled for Charlie. Once the dog had galloped over, Josh grabbed his rolled leather collar and pointed toward the middle of the pond.

  “Ready?” Letting out a panting whine, the dog danced in place and yelped his answer. Josh laughed, then straightened and let him loose. “Go!”

  The two of them barreled down the dock side by side and dived into the water. When he surfaced, Josh was impressed to find that the retriever had bobbed up about two feet in front of him. He swam over and rewarded the dog with a hug. “Nice job, dude. I give it a ten.”

  He heard feminine laughter and looked over to find Heather watching them from the bank. “Now if you can teach him synchronized swimming, you’ll really have something.”

  “You never know,” Josh replied as he swam
over to the side. “He’s pretty smart when he wants to be.”

  “And when he doesn’t?”

  “He puts on a good clueless face, but it’s mostly an act.”

  “Really?” Tilting her head, she gave him a curious look. “Why does he do that?”

  From her tone, Josh realized that she assumed he wasn’t talking only about the dog. Now that he thought about it, maybe she was right. Normally, he was straightforward with people, but ever since she’d shown up, he’d found himself second-guessing all kinds of things that usually came naturally to him. “Well, he’s always been kind of a clown, and folks are used to him being that way.”

  “Isn’t maturing a good thing?”

  “Sometimes. But he’s got a good heart, and he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone.”

  “Hmm,” she commented in a pensive voice. “I wonder what makes him think they wouldn’t like him being smart?”

  Thankfully, his canine buddy paddled over to rescue Josh from a conversation that had quickly risen over his head. “Maybe you should ask him.”

  “Maybe I will,” she said, adding the kind of feminine smirk that he couldn’t begin to interpret. Half knowing, half something else entirely, it made him more nervous than he’d been around a girl since middle school.

  Bailey called her name from where she was spinning on the tire swing, and as Heather walked over to admire her technique, Josh let out a long, frustrated breath.

  It was possible that Mike and Drew were right about his feelings for Heather, after all. He really hated when that happened.

  * * *

  Wednesday evening, Josh stopped at Pampered Paws on his way to the playground committee meeting at the Oaks Café. He found his mother behind the counter with Parker, who was showing her something on the computer.

  “See, Grammy,” he explained patiently while she peered over her reading glasses at the monitor, “when you find a new recipe you want to try, you hit this link and send it to the email I set up for you. Then you can print it out and make it for us.”