“I bought him at the auction because I’m not the outdoors type. Automatically that makes us diametrically opposed.”
“And you know what they say about opposites attracting?” Charity offered.
“Attraction isn’t everything,” Abby countered.
“It’s a darn good start,” Molly said.
“We came together for a specific goal—Kimmie’s scouting badges. Mission accomplished. Now we have no reason to see each other again.”
Charity pushed her half-empty wineglass away. “No reason except this attraction between the two of you. It would be a shame to waste it.”
“The real problem is trust,” Abby said, thinking about the kiss they’d shared. And bad timing—or maybe good, she thought. If she’d been alone with him… “I’m not looking to make another mistake, and neither is Riley.”
“Speaking as the person who handled your divorce, how do you know it’s a mistake?”
“You should know, Jamie. Don’t you remember when I first approached him about the weekend I bought, and he tried to buy it back?”
“Oh. Right. I forgot. Things on my mind,” Jamie admitted. “You wanted to sue Riley, as I recall.”
“It all boiled down to the fact that he didn’t want to be around Kimmie and me. Since then, I found out that he had a painful break-up of his own. The woman he married to give her baby his name went back to the baby’s biological father. He really misses his family.”
“Wow,” Molly said. “So you’re afraid even if he’s ready to take another chance, that you’re a replacement for the family he lost.”
“Exactly,” Abby said, ripping the place mat to shreds. “I’m glad someone finally sees my point.”
Molly shook her head. “But I don’t. At least not when you look like you lost your best friend.”
“The problem is that he spent more time on us than I paid for. He set up a training schedule for physical fitness, showed us how to use the camping equipment—”
“Not to mention that you went to the Chamber of Commerce dinner with him.” Jamie shrugged. “My folks mentioned it.”
“So you got used to having him around?” Charity asked.
“Yeah,” Abby said simply. Sadly.
“Then don’t let go of him,” Jamie suggested adamantly.
Abby stared at her in surprise. “This from my divorce attorney?”
“What can I say? It’s my job to protect my client’s welfare, but I still believe in happy endings.”
“I’m not so sure,” Abby said.
Charity shook her head. “You can’t turn your back on him, Abby. That’s the easy way out. And you’re quitting before you even get started.”
Abby thought about why Riley had insisted on training them for camping. He didn’t want Kimmie to learn the lesson that quitting is okay. “I don’t know.”
“Sure you do,” Molly said. “He was hurt because he lost his child. If he’s a good father, I’ll bet he’s probably good husband material, too. Unlike the man who walked out on you.”
“And he’s good to his sister,” Abby volunteered helpfully.
“This guy’s too good to be true,” Charity said. “So it makes perfect sense that you would thumb your nose at fate and turn your back on him without giving him a chance.”
Abby looked at each of her friends. “And here I was counting on you guys to reenforce my decision not to see him again.”
“What are friends for?” the three of them said in unison.
Abby and Kimmie walked past the client reading a magazine in the Dixon Security waiting room and into the Dixon Security inner sanctum. She told herself she wouldn’t be here if (a) her friends hadn’t convinced her not to give up and (b) her daughter hadn’t lobbied long and hard for a visit with Riley to talk to him about “stuff.”
So here they were. And there he was, behind his desk.
Although she knew he’d been on the high school campus from time to time, she hadn’t seen him since the camping trip. It had only been about a week, but it seemed like forever. He looked awfully good dressed in his usual working attire of jeans worn in all the most intriguing places and a long-sleeved white cotton shirt rolled to the elbows. His dark hair was neatly combed and the pleased expression on his face said he was glad to see them. There was also a sexy sparkle in his blue eyes and she wondered if he was remembering their kiss in the Texas moonlight. God help her it was never far from her thoughts.
“Hi,” Abby said, wiggling her fingers in a small wave. “I’m sorry to barge in, but Kimmie wanted to see you. And she was relentless.”
“It’s okay. A very welcome surprise,” he said, his gaze going dark and intense for a second. Then soft and tender when he looked at her child.
“Hi, Riley,” Kimmie said, marching straight up to him.
“Hi.” He sat behind his desk and pulled her onto his lap.
She touched his keyboard tentatively, then looked around at the desk, chairs, and pictures on the walls. This time, Abby could see they were photos of a younger Riley with his soldier buddies. Her throat went tight at the sight of the uniform and what it represented—putting his life on the line to keep his country safe.
“I like your office,” Kimmie said.
“Thanks. Me, too. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the princess?”
“She wanted to talk to you about stuff,” Abby explained. “Then she has something very important to ask.”
“Okay.” He looked at Kim. “You have my undivided attention.”
Kimmie cleared her throat. “I just wanted to show you the scar on my knee from my boo-boo.”
He frowned as he studied the small leg in front of him. “Yup, definitely left a mark. Are you okay with it?”
The child nodded. “I think it’s cool.”
“Then it is. What else is on your mind?”
“Well, I asked my grandpa if he’s older than Santa Claus.”
Riley’s mouth twitched, a dead giveaway that he was struggling to keep a straight face. “What did he say?”
“That Santa’s older. But I’m not so sure. Do you know how old Santa is?”
“Nobody knows,” he said, imitating her serious tone. “It’s top secret.”
“But what do you think?” she insisted.
“I don’t know how old your grandpa is.”
“How old is he, Mommy?” Kimmie asked, shifting her gaze for the first time.
When Riley was around, Abby felt like a fifth wheel. But she couldn’t bring herself to mind. “He’s sixty-five.”
Riley nodded. “Okay. Now we have a starting place.” He thought for a moment. “Santa looked the same when I was your age. Which means it took a long time for his hair and beard to turn gray.”
“My grandpa has some gray hair. When he needs to shave, his whiskers are all gray.”
“Do you remember when he wasn’t gray?” he asked Abby.
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Then it’s my best guess that Santa is older than your grandpa.”
“Okay,” Kimmie said, as if his word was gospel.
“Is there anything else?”
“We need to leave, Kimmie. There’s someone waiting to see Riley.”
“I’m not done yet, Mommy. I got a couple more things.”
“It’s all right,” he said. “I’ll make it up to the client. What else did you want to run by me?”
“Well, I have a Bluebonnets meeting in…” she touched her lip as she thought. “How many days, Mommy?”
“Two.”
“In two days. And I’m gonna get my badges for hiking and camping.”
“Congratulations.”
“Well, I was thinkin’…”
“Uh-oh,” he teased, looking at Abby.
“I know. When she thinks, you can almost see the lights in downtown Charity City flicker from the power drain.”
He laughed, then returned his attention to the little girl. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thin
kin’ maybe you might want to come see me get my badges.”
“Well,” he said, “I’m honored.”
Abby felt the need to jump in. First, because she didn’t want him to think she’d put her daughter up to this. She didn’t need a child to troll for men. Second, she didn’t want him to feel any sense of obligation.
“Riley, it’s all right if you’re busy. I had no idea this was part of the ‘stuff’ she wanted to talk to you about.”
“I need to check my calendar.” He looked at Kim with an expression of complete and utter seriousness etched on the features of his lean, handsome face. “Getting your badges is kind of like getting a medal when you’re a soldier.”
“It’s important,” Kimmie agreed.
He nodded. “A very big deal. You worked very hard.”
Kimmie smiled. “You helped me. And I just thought you might like to see.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Kimmie threw herself against him and his arms came around her in a hug. Abby felt her throat grow tight for the second time in less than ten minutes. She could be in a major state of monthly hormones. Or, and she was afraid this was more likely, her heart was melting for this big, tough ex-soldier who was putty in the hands of a little girl.
Abby cleared the emotion from her throat. “Okay, kiddo. We’ve taken up enough of Riley’s time.”
“But, Mommy, there’s just one more thing.”
“There’s someone waiting, sweetie. We can come back another time—”
“It’s okay, Ab. There’s a lot of good reading material in my waiting room.”
“I remember,” she said wryly. “Guns & Ammo is pretty explosive stuff. Way more exciting than a good gossip magazine.”
His mouth turned up at the corners before he returned his entire attention to her little girl. “Now, what else can I do for you?”
She scrambled off his lap and walked to Abby for her princess backpack. After unzipping it, she pulled out some paperwork. “My school is selling wrapping paper and ribbon and stuff. A lot of it’s for Christmas. It’s a fund-raiser and if I sell the most, I get the best prize.”
“What is it?” he asked.
She frowned. “I don’t remember. But it’s good.”
Abby sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “I feel like the world’s worst mom. Again, I had no idea she was going to hit you up. This is the first I heard about a fund-raiser.”
“It’s okay. I’ll take one of everything,” he said, looking at the order form. “Do you take checks?” he asked Kim.
“Yes,” she said, nodding happily.
“But, Riley,” Abby protested, “you don’t seem like the wrapping-paper-and-ribbon type.”
He met her gaze and amusement glittered in his eyes. “What? You think I don’t celebrate the holidays?”
“It’s not that. I get this really weird visual of you and ribbon and scissors and it’s just wrong.”
“The stuff will get used,” he said. “Between Nora and my folks…”
“If you’re sure,” she said doubtfully.
“I’m sure.” He looked at Kim, then met Abby’s gaze with a sudden warmth in his own. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a great Christmas.”
“Yeah.” Abby could hardly breathe. “This kind of explains where the Santa questions came from.”
Leaving the amount blank, he wrote a check and gave it to Kim. “Let me know the total.”
“I will,” she promised, stuffing it in her backpack.
“Okay, now we really have to let Riley get back to work.”
“Wait. Just one more thing,” Kimmie pleaded.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Just before we went camping, Mommy came to my school for Muffins With Mom.”
He glanced at her, then back to Kim. “I see.” Clearly he didn’t, but he patiently waited for her to continue. “Go on.”
“My friend Griffie’s mom wasn’t there.”
“Does he have a mom?”
“He does,” Abby explained. “Mrs. Nolet, the teacher, asked all the parents to RSVP so she could step in for the kids whose parent couldn’t be there. Griffie’s mom had something come up at the last minute.”
“He was sad,” Kimmie explained. “So Mommy and me brought him to sit by us.”
“That was very nice of you,” Riley commented.
“Thank you.” Kimmie blushed shyly at his compliment. “But…”
“What?” he prompted.
“Doughnuts With Dad is coming up. And I don’t have a daddy. And I don’t want to be sad, and I was just wonderin’ if you’d come so I won’t be sad.” When the words stopped pouring out of her mouth, she slid a glance at him.
He looked at Abby. “Wow.”
“I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I had no idea she was going to ask you. Seriously, she won’t be the only who doesn’t have a dad there. And the teacher will make sure no one is left out. So you don’t have to—”
“I’d love to go,” he said to Kim. “Thanks for asking.”
“You’re welcome.” The brightness of the smile on Kimmie’s face could have illuminated the city for a month.
Abby’s heart swelled with gratitude and something else she refused to even look at, let alone put a name to. “Thank you, Riley.”
“No. Thank you,” he said, first to her, then to Kim.
Suddenly his intercom buzzed and Nora’s voice came through loud and clear. “Riley? I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Milton is getting impatient.”
Riley hit the respond button. “Okay. We’re finished. Thanks, Nora.”
He stood and walked them to the door, settling his hand on the knob. Abby knew her friends were right. Men like him didn’t grow on trees and she’d be an idiot not to give this—whatever it was between them—a chance. After all, everyone knew you couldn’t fool kids. And it was obvious that her daughter trusted him completely.
Abby took a deep breath and met his gaze, her heart stuttering at the expression in his eyes. “Since you’re in the mood to say yes, I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner sometime? Let me say thank you for everything. I could cook—”
He touched a finger to her lips to stop her. “I’d like that. And I’ll take you out.”
“I’d like that,” she said, echoing his words while her heart ceased stuttering and commenced a steady hammering against her ribs.
When he looked down, she noticed that Kimmie was tugging on his jeans to get his attention. “Riley?”
He squatted and looked her in the eyes. “Yes?”
She threw her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re coming to Doughnuts With Dad. Even though my daddy called.”
“Your daddy called?” he asked, his voice cold, his gaze colder when he looked at Abby. “Don’t tell me. You didn’t know she was going to say that.”
“I didn’t. I had no idea she talked to her father.”
“And I’m Santa Claus,” he muttered as he straightened to his full height.
Without another word, he motioned the waiting client into his office. The door closed quietly, but Abby felt it all the way to her soul.
Chapter Ten
Abby tugged her daughter over to the chairs in the waiting room. “Kimmie, why didn’t you tell me your daddy called?”
“I forgot.” She rubbed her nose. “I just now ’membered.”
“When did he call?”
“This morning.”
“Where was I?”
“In the shower.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked what I been doin’. I told ’im about The Bluebonnets and camping with Riley after you bought ’im at the auction. I told ’im about how Riley helped me catch a fish and the way he made my scrape feel better when he teached—”
“Taught,” Abby automatically corrected.
“Taught me about first aid. I ’splained about how he was training us so I could get my hiking badge. And that I’m getting my b
adges so Caitlyn and me can be together.”
“What did your father say?”
She thought for a moment. “That he wanted to talk to you. I told him you couldn’t come to the phone just like you always say to do.”
“Did you ask for a phone number the way I always say, so I could call back?”
“Yes,” she answered, nodding emphatically.
“Did you write it down?”
“No.”
“Kimmie, remember what I told you?”
“He said he’d call back,” she protested. “That’s why I forgot. I didn’t have to write anything down. And I was excited ’cause you said we could come and talk to Riley after school. I’m sorry, Mommy.”
Abby gave her a half-hearted smile. “Me, too. But you did a good job, sweetie.”
Boy, did she do a good job. If only she’d known, Abby could have brought it up in a kinder, gentler way. There was a very good reason six-year-olds didn’t work in diplomacy.
Abby noticed that Nora was watching and listening—and made no attempt to conceal the fact that she was.
She looked at her daughter. “Kimmie, I need to talk to Nora. Do you have some homework in your backpack?”
“Yes.” She pointed to the stacks of magazines on the coffee table. “But I wanna look at one of those.”
“I think you’re a little too young for Guns & Ammo or Mercenary Monthly.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s for soldiers.”
“Like Riley?”
No. Unlike mercenaries, he’d worked in military service defending his country because it was the right thing to do, not because he sold his services to the highest bidder. “I was kidding about that last one. But you need to start your homework. If you finish, you can look at a magazine.”
“Okay.” She slid so far back in the chair that her legs stuck straight out. Then she pulled her notebook and a pencil from her backpack and started to work on a math sheet.
Abby walked to the reception desk. “You heard?”
“Everything.” Nora folded her arms over her chest.
“Cross my heart and hope to die, I had no idea Kimmie’s father called.”
“Yeah, I heard that, too.”
She wasn’t sure why, but it was vitally important for Riley’s sister to believe her. “The man hasn’t gotten in touch with me since the divorce and then all communication went through my attorney.”
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