“Say Daddy,” Denny coached, holding his daughter on his knees, facing him.
But Ella turned to find Evangeline and as soon as she saw her, reached out again.
“You have to stay with Daddy,” Denny said, leaning back on the love seat, holding her squirming body as Evangeline got to her feet.
She shook out her full skirt and brushed a few crumbs from the front of her white T-shirt. Her hair looked untidy. Her T-shirt had a streak across the stomach and her cheek held a red scratch.
And she still looked fantastic.
Denny turned his attention back to Ella, who was crying again, big, fat tears streaming down her red cheeks. “Come on, baby, don’t cry. What shall I do for you?”
“I packed a few of her favorite books in her bag,” Evangeline said, grabbing the diaper bag sitting on the floor beside the love seat and pulling out a couple of brightly colored books. Evangeline set them beside him and took a step back, as if getting ready to leave. “She likes these. I was reading them to her this afternoon.”
Denny chewed at his lip as he looked from Ella to the brightly illustrated books sitting beside him, suddenly embarrassed to admit the truth to her.
“What’s wrong?” Evangeline asked.
“See. Here’s the deal. I don’t read.” He cuddled Ella closer, then got up, rocking her while he walked.
“Okay. Maybe not for yourself, but it’s for her.”
Denny shook his head as he walked around the living room. “No. You didn’t understand me. I don’t read. At all. Can’t.”
This netted him another frown that made him feel even more embarrassed.
“You’re dyslexic?”
“That’s what I’ve been told.”
“But you run a successful business.”
If you wanted to call it that. “I find ways to work around it. I’m not completely illiterate, but it’s a lot of work for me to decipher contracts and paperwork.” He looked down at Ella, whose cries hadn’t stilled, her body shaking with sobs. “I could try to read to her, but I don’t think she’d appreciate my stumbling efforts.”
“Do you want me to?” Evangeline offered.
If it meant she would stay around longer, yes. “If you think it will settle her down...”
“I think it will.”
Evangeline picked up the books and sat on the love seat, motioning Denny to sit beside her. “Swap you Ella for the books,” she said.
She reached for Ella, who almost jumped into Evangeline’s arms, as Denny took the books off her lap.
“Okay, muffin,” Evangeline said in a soothing voice, settling back, her arm now pressed against Denny’s.
He wondered if he should get up, then decided he liked where he was sitting just fine.
Evangeline turned Ella around in her arms then took one of the books from Denny.
As soon as Ella saw the book she stopped crying and shoved her thumb into her mouth.
“‘Bert’s hat is blue,’” Evangeline read, turning the first page of the book. “‘Donny’s hat is red. Billy’s is a pretty green and he wears it on his head.’”
Denny’s eyes shifted from Ella to Evangeline, her head bent over Ella’s head, her hair shimmering in the overhead light. He eased out a gentle sigh. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to slip his arm, now squashed between them, to across the back of the love seat.
Evangeline’s only response was a shy smile that encouraged him to lower his arm, to curl his hand around her shoulder. Ella’s fingers fluttered up and wound around his. Evangeline continued to read, her melodious voice rising and falling, filling the silence of the house.
This felt so right, Denny thought, his palm on Evangeline’s shoulder, his fingers entwined with Ella’s. He had a peculiar sense that for the first time in years, even after he and Lila were married, he was now home.
As Evangeline read, Ella’s head drooped farther down. Her fingers loosened their grip on his hand and her breathing became even and deep.
“I think she’s asleep,” Denny whispered.
Evangeline set the book aside, but she didn’t move and neither did Denny.
“So how was work today?” she asked.
Her question threw him but he didn’t mind the idea of sitting and talking to her while Ella slept on her lap.
“Good. I think I’ve finally talked Carlos into managing the business for me, and I’ve found a part-time truck driver, which means I’ll be able to spend more time on the ranch and more time taking care of Ella. I’ll still have to drive at times, but not near as much as I have been.”
“You won’t make as much, then, will you?”
He shook his head. “No. But Ella is my priority now.”
She gave him a strange smile. “You’re a good man.”
Her words surprised him but also created a coil of warmth deep in his soul.
“Thanks” was all he could say.
Then Evangeline smiled, her eyes shining in the light of the single lamp beside them. She didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to. Her look was as real as a touch and Denny’s heart slowly turned over.
It was as if everything that had happened between them—the quick looks, the hesitant touches, the careful smiles—all came together in this moment.
Without stopping to second guess or to apologize, he touched his lips gently to hers and she responded.
He pulled back, his forehead resting against hers, her beautiful face a soft blur. She stroked his cheek once more, her soft fingers rasping over the stubble on his face.
“I should have shaved,” he murmured, aware of how rough he looked.
“No. I like you like this,” she said.
“You’re an amazing woman,” he replied.
She released a light chuckle and Ella stirred on her lap.
“I should put her to bed,” he said.
“Probably” was Evangeline’s careful reply.
With great reluctance Denny got to his feet and carefully took Ella out of Evangeline’s arms.
The little girl stirred as he walked to her bedroom, but when he laid her gently down in her crib, she shifted to her side, her thumb back in her mouth. He laid a blanket over top of her, tucked her stuffed animal under her arm and hurried back to the living room.
His heart lifted when he saw Evangeline still sitting on the love seat and he took this as a silent invitation to join her.
It seemed the most natural thing to simply drop onto the seat beside her, to lay his arm across her shoulders and to pull her close to him.
She laid her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers. She traced the scars on his fingers as if trying to read them.
“What’s this one from?” she asked, her delicate finger touching a long, jagged mark on his right forearm.
He released a light laugh as the memory returned. “My sisters and I were playing tag in the barn. It was getting dark and Adrianna had covered one of the holes in the loft of the barn with straw. I saw her slip behind a bale across the loft and ran over to tag her, hit the hole and fell through. A nail was poking out of the side of the hole and I caught my arm on that.”
“Ooh. Painful.”
“Not as painful as my parents’ reaction when they found out what she’d done.” He laughed. “She was a pistol. Still is.”
“She’s the one hiking in Nepal?”
Denny nodded.
“Does she work?”
“Only as much as she needs to.” He caught her hand in his, curving his fingers around hers. “I don’t want to talk about my goofy sisters,” he said. “I prefer to talk about you. I want to find out more about you.”
Evangeline looked away and shrugged. “I’ve told you everything. My history. Nothing fascinating.”
“I don’
t agree,” he said, still trying to absorb the fact that he and Evangeline were sitting side by side on a love seat after sharing a kiss. “You fascinate me.”
She turned her head and gave him a bemused look. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”
“Maybe no one’s seen you the way I see you.”
The words slipped out of him and part of his mind warned him to be cautious, warned him this was too good to be true. But the part of his heart that had always sought someone like Evangeline told him to take a chance.
Her smile caught his breath and as she leaned toward him it seemed the most natural thing in the world to meet her partway.
To kiss her again.
To ignore the voices clamoring in his head, warning him that he couldn’t afford to do this. He had no space in his life for her.
“Should we be doing this?” Evangeline whispered, giving voice to his concerns.
Denny resisted the urge to apologize for something he didn’t feel the least sorry about. “Are you thinking about Ella?”
“A bit,” she whispered. But she leaned forward and brushed her lips across his, contradicting herself.
“I think about her, too,” he said, pulling back so he could look into her eyes and read her expression.
The smile on her face quieted worries that he had overstepped a boundary.
Yet talking about Ella brought her back into the room, so to speak.
And, in spite of how his heart soared when he kissed Evangeline, Denny knew he couldn’t think only of himself this time. He had Ella to consider.
“We’ll take this one step at a time,” he promised her.
“That’s probably wise,” she said, pulling back, as well.
But as she slipped out of his embrace his regret made him feel anything but wise.
Chapter Ten
Evangeline felt a lift of her heart as she parked her car beside Denny’s truck parked by the ranch house.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said to Ella sitting in the backseat as she turned off the engine. “Daddy’s home already.”
“Daddy. Daddy,” Ella called, clapping her hands in glee.
Evangeline laughed at Ella’s exuberance. “I know how you feel,” she said as she got out then unbuckled the little girl.
Since Wednesday, when she and Denny had shared that fateful kiss, they’d both held to an unspoken agreement to keep their distance. Denny would drop Ella off as usual. Evangeline would bring her home. As usual.
However, every minute Evangeline spent with Denny, each look they exchanged, each laugh they shared, lowered the guard around her heart.
And every time she drove away from the ranch to return to her quiet and empty apartment, she felt as if she’d left something important behind.
For the first time since Tyler, she dared veer into territory she had declared off limits. A place where she dared to think about a future. Dared to think of a home. A man beside her who now had a name and a face and who was, day by day, stealing her heart.
While she was glad they were being cautious, each moment she spent with him made her more certain she could entrust her heart to this man.
“Hey, I thought I heard that fancy little car driving up.”
Evangeline turned just as Denny strode across the yard toward them. He was wiping his hands on a rag, his shirtsleeves rolled up, his cowboy hat askew and his pants streaked with grease.
He looked great.
“I came early today,” she said, giving him a quick smile. “I thought I could finish cleaning up that last bedroom.”
“You’ve worked hard enough on the house.” Denny took Ella from her and gave her a languid smile. “Besides, once you said you were staying for supper, I made plans for the evening.”
“That sounds nefarious.”
“Whatever that means,” he said with a shrug.
“Wicked or criminal.”
“Nothing that ambitious,” Denny said, reaching for the bag that held the pot of chili. “Do you want me to take that?”
“I’m good,” she said, slipping the bag over her arm as she pulled out the other bag holding the cheese buns. “So tell me about your big plans for the night.”
“My plans. Let’s see. Supper. Then put this little one in the bathtub,” he said, tapping Ella’s snub nose with his finger. “Put her to bed, put our feet up and watch a movie I rented.”
Evangeline grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie. Which one did you get?”
“I thought I’d go traditional with Casablanca, but the guy doesn’t get the girl at the end.”
“Victor does.”
“Yeah, but he’s not who I was cheering for. So I went with another oldie but goodie, The Three Stooges Hit Manhattan.”
“What?”
Denny winked at her. “Kidding. I got While You Were Sleeping.”
“I love that movie.” Anticipation curled through her. A movie would mean sitting beside each other all cozy.
“I can get some cleaning done before supper, though,” Evangeline said. “The mess in that room bothers me.”
“Why? You don’t have to stay in it.”
Evangeline gave him a careful smile. “That was my bedroom.”
“I should have known,” Denny said. “Princess wallpaper.”
Evangeline shrugged. “I liked it.”
“And so you got it.”
“What can I say? I was an only child and my parents loved me.”
Denny just laughed, then his expression grew more serious. “Your father still loves you, you realize.”
“I guess. In his own strange way.”
“If the gifts he gives you are anything to go by, he cares about you a lot.”
Evangeline fingered the pearl necklace she wore today. Her father had given it to her the last time he had come home. Right after he’d handed her a new digital camera. She knew he was trying to make up for his absence, but she often wished he would come empty-handed and stay longer instead of dropping into her life, throwing expensive gifts around and leaving as soon as the paper wrapping them was thrown away.
She was about to respond to Denny’s comment when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and was soon deep in conversation with Carlos about one of the trucks.
His conversation made her heart fall. She felt a sense of déjà vu as Denny discussed the problem. Would he have to leave like her father always did?
“Doesn’t matter if it won’t be running. Just get a mechanic to come out and look at it,” Denny said as he shouldered the door open and held it so Evangeline could come inside. “I’ve got plans for the night.”
He gave her another wink and Evangeline’s worries slipped away, followed by a quiver of anticipation and thankfulness.
She set the container holding the chili on the counter. The house looked so much better than when she’d first showed it to Denny. The countertops gleamed, the floors shone and the taps glistened.
Denny set Ella down, finished his phone call and then slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Are you okay here?” he asked. “After I get the work done on the fence, I can come back.”
“You go do your ranch stuff and I’ll get at that room.”
“I told you to leave it be.”
She shook her head, putting him off with a smile. He paused a moment then ran one finger down her cheek, his eyes holding a gentle warmth and the hint of a promise. Her heart vaulted against her chest, her breath lost in her throat, and for an electrifying moment she thought he would kiss her again.
But he just gave her a smile, then, whistling a jaunty tune, sauntered out of the house, leaving Evangeline to speculate and hope.
* * *
“Good night, sleep tight,” Den
ny whispered, stroking Ella’s cheek. She looked up at him, her lower lip quivering in the dim glow cast by the night-light.
“It’s okay, honey,” he said, stroking her back. “Just go to sleep. Normally I’d love to sit and chat with you,” he said, keeping his voice quiet and soothing. “But Daddy has other plans. So you have to help him out and go to sleep. And if things go well, maybe there will be some changes around here.”
He caught himself with a wry laugh. Ella’s presence in his life was the biggest change.
But the change he was thinking of could fit so well with Ella’s sudden appearance. Could be what he’d been seeking since he was a young man, wanting to find the right person to share his life with.
For a moment a sense of unease shivered down his neck. He had thought Ella’s mother was that person. But he shook that thought off. His and Lila’s relationship had had a rocky start and she had taken advantage of him.
Evangeline was so different.
“So go to sleep, little girl, and help Daddy out,” he whispered, leaning over her.
As if she understood him, she took in a quivering breath then smiled, her teeth gleaming white in the darkened bedroom. Then she sucked in another breath, turned over in her crib, pulled her blanket around her face and released a gentle sigh of contentment.
Denny smiled as he straightened. Finally. He waited a moment longer, just to make sure. From the kitchen he heard the muted clink of plates as Evangeline loaded up the dishwasher, followed by the sound of running water. Sounds of home, he thought, backing out of the room and gently closing the door behind him.
Before joining Evangeline, however, he was curious to see if she had cleaned the room he’d told her to leave alone.
He flicked on the light and shook his head. Sure enough, the empty boxes that had littered the room were gone. The pink carpet had been vacuumed; the marks on the faded princess wallpaper wiped away. The bed, with its pink headboard and crown, was stripped, the mattress bare.
He paused a moment, trying to imagine Evangeline as a young girl staying here. She’d said she was eight when they’d moved.
One moment she was living in a happy home with two parents and her own pretty bedroom.
The next, her mother dead, her father dropping her off in town to live with a single woman who probably wasn’t comfortable with kids.
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