by Irene Hannon
The little girl frowned. “But we’re almost done.”
“You can finish it tomorrow, honey,” Kate told her. “Mommy’s got a lot to do tonight.”
Heaving a loud sigh, Maddie made a project out of climbing down off her chair, then trudged into the kitchen, dragging her feet.
To Kate, she appeared to be moving in slow motion.
Reining in her impatience, she tried to appear calm and unruffled. But not much got past Edith’s eagle eye.
“You seem on edge, Kate. Everything okay?”
“Sure. Fine. Come on, Maddie, we need to go.”
Just as Maddie reached her, the doorbell rang.
Edith brightened. “That must be Craig. I’ll be right back.”
Before Kate could respond, she trotted toward the living room.
Hustling Maddie into her coat, Kate grabbed her hand and headed toward the back door.
“Wait, Mommy.” Maddie hung back. “Aren’t we going to say hello to the lootenin?”
“Not today. I’m in a hurry.”
As she gave Maddie’s arm a gentle tug, a yelp came from the sunroom, followed by a clatter. Dropping Maddie’s hand, Kate switched directions and dashed toward the ominous noise.
She found Vicki on the floor, fat tears oozing out her eyes, her chair overturned beside her.
Dropping to one knee, Kate smoothed back her hair and took a quick inventory as she spoke. “What happened, sweetie?”
“It t-tipped over when I t-tried to slide off.”
“Does anything hurt?”
The little girl shook her head. “No, but it s-scared me.”
Helping the little girl up, Kate did one more inspection. “It would scare me, too. But you’re fine now.”
“What’s the problem?”
In her concern for the little girl, Kate hadn’t heard Craig approach. Now, as he dropped beside her, the faint, masculine scent of his aftershave invaded her senses. And when she looked into his blue eyes, mere inches way, they sucked her in like a relentless tide, leaving her floundering.
“The chair tipped. She’s fine.” Her words came out breathless. She hoped he wouldn’t notice.
He maintained eye contact for a moment longer than necessary, and a tiny flame sparked to life in those baby blues.
He’d noticed.
“Thanks for coming to the rescue.”
She adopted a bright tone. “All in a day’s work.” Rising, she moved away, anxious to put some distance between them.
To her relief, he stayed at Vicki’s level for a few more seconds.
“Are you sure you’re okay, honey?” He reached out and tucked his daughter’s hair behind her ear.
She sniffled again and nodded.
“We’ll finish the puzzle tomorrow, okay, Vicki?” Maddie moved in closer and gave her friend’s shoulder a consoling pat.
“Okay.”
“Well. That’s enough excitement for one day.” Edith stepped forward and handed Vicki’s jacket to Craig.
Maddie watched as he helped his daughter slide her arms through. “Are you going to kiss Mommy goodbye again?”
Kate wanted to sink through the floor.
And the flush on the back of Craig’s neck told her he was equally embarrassed.
She didn’t even want to look at Edith.
Keeping his head averted, Craig buttoned Vicki’s jacket. Very slowly. “That was a thank-you for such a nice meal. What was your favorite part of the dinner, Vicki?”
“The chocolate cake.”
Craig finished buttoning her coat and stood. “Me, too. And Mrs. Shaw is a good baker, too. I’ll bet you had some goodies today, too, didn’t you?”
“Uh-huh. Oatmeal cookies.”
“We helped her bake them,” Maddie added.
Smooth, Kate thought, admiring his ability to distract the girls.
“See you tomorrow, Edith.” Craig took Vicki’s hand. When he looked at her, Kate once more felt warmth spill onto her cheeks. “Take care, Kate. Bye, Maddie.”
“Bye, Lootenin.”
As Edith ushered Craig and Vicki out, Maddie inspected her. “Why is your face red, Mommy?”
No question about it, Kate decided. The diplomacy gene was missing from the MacDonald women.
“I’m getting hot standing here in my coat. We need to go.”
Any hope of getting out the door before Edith returned vanished, however, when the older woman hustled back into the room. She must have pushed the other duo out the front door without ceremony, Kate concluded.
“He kissed you, hmm?”
Oh, why had she been born a redhead? Kate lamented as her face flamed again. “It was a peck on the cheek.”
“Right.”
“Edith.” Kate tried for a stern tone. “Don’t get ideas.”
The woman gave her a satisfied smirk. “It would appear I’m not the only one with ideas.”
Shaking her head, Kate headed toward the door. “You’re hopeless.”
“No.” Edith followed her. “Hopeful.”
“I give up.”
“Good. Because if you ask me, this one’s a keeper.”
“I’m out of here.”
Taking a firm grip on Maddie’s hand, Kate led the little girl out the door and down the steps.
“Mommy.” Maddie tugged on her hand as they cut across the grass, heading for the gate that separated the two yards. “What’s a keeper?”
“It means something you always want to have with you.”
And as she eased the gate open and ushered her daughter through, Kate was forced to admit that Craig Cole seemed to fit that definition to a T.
“Sorry to interrupt, sir. But I thought you might want to take this call.”
Craig looked up from the material he was reviewing to prep for the role he’d inherited on the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum board. His executive petty officer stood on the threshold of his office.
“Who is it?”
“Katherine MacDonald. She said it’s important.”
It must be, if she was calling him after that embarrassing fiasco at Edith’s yesterday, Craig decided. From the quick glance he’d aimed her direction as he and Vicki left, he’d gotten the distinct impression she hoped their paths wouldn’t cross again until the next millennium.
“Okay. Put her through.”
As Barlow exited, the man flashed his commanding officer a rakish grin. Craig ignored it. He had more important things to think about than his aide’s slight impertinence.
Like an appealing charter captain with flashing green eyes and hair the color of glowing embers.
The phone rang, and he snatched up the receiver. “Kate? It’s Craig.”
“I’m sorry to bother you at work.”
At the distress in her voice, a shot of adrenaline sharpened his reflexes, much as it had in his rescue-swimmer days after he’d been assigned a dangerous mission. “No problem. What’s up?”
“Edith had to run to church to deal with some Daffodil Festival–related catastrophe, and since I’m not subbing today she asked if I could bring Maddie over this afternoon and watch Vicki while she was gone. I’m at her house now. But a situation has come up I think you may want to deal with.”
“Is Vicki hurt?” He tightened his grip on the phone.
“No. Nothing like that.” Her volume dropped. “I was working on a manuscript and I thought the girls were doing another puzzle in the sunroom. But they got very quiet after a while, and when I went in there I discovered they’d taken the scissors to Vicki’s hair. And they were trying to color what was left with markers. I can’t get any explanation out of either of them. But it’s…a mess.”
“I can be there in less than ten minutes. Hang tight.”
Ending the call, Craig stuffed the Lifesaving Museum material into his briefcase, told Barlow he was leaving for the day and drove to Edith’s house as fast as the bone-jarring cobblestones would allow.
As Kate had warned him, Vicki was a wreck. When he
entered the sunroom, the two little girls were huddled together on one chair, their hands stained with black streaks. They hung their heads when he appeared, giving him a good view of the chop job they’d done on Vicki’s hair. Tufts of varying lengths stuck out in all directions, and they’d tried to color what little was left with a black marker.
Craig had no idea what to make of it. Based on her bewildered shrug, neither did Kate.
One thing he knew—neither little girl was prone to mischief. There had to be a reason for this…if he could ferret it out. And if he did get an explanation, his gut told him that the way he handled the situation was going to have a huge impact on his relationship with his daughter.
Praying he’d say and do the right things, Craig crossed the room and dropped to the balls of his feet in front of the two little girls. He sensed Kate hovering in the background and took comfort in her presence. If he got into trouble, it was good to know there was an experienced reinforcement close by.
“Hey.” He kept his tone gentle and reached for their small hands. “We’re going to fix this.”
Maddie peeked up at him first. “Are you mad?”
“Were you being naughty?”
“No. We were trying to make everything better.”
The explanation was incomprehensible to him. But it seemed to make sense to the two girls.
“It wasn’t Maddie’s fault.” Vicki raised her chin. It started to quiver. “She only cut the back. I asked her to because I couldn’t reach it.”
“Was this your idea, Vicki?”
The little girl nodded.
“Maddie, let’s go wash your hands.” Kate moved into the room, waiting as Maddie slid off the chair before directing her next comment to Craig. “We’ll be down the hall. Close by if you need us.”
He telegraphed a silent thank-you with his eyes.
As mother and daughter disappeared, Vicki’s chin continued to quiver. Following his instincts, Craig lifted her off the chair and folded her in his arms, tucking her head against his shoulder as he stood. He tried to recall the last time he’d held her like this. Couldn’t.
But it felt good. And right.
“Hey.” He stroked what little was left of her hair. “It’s okay, Vicki. I know you had a reason for doing this. If we sit together in that big chair in Mrs. Shaw’s living room, will you tell me about it?”
A sniffle was her only response.
Choosing to interpret that as a yes, he walked into the next room and eased into the wing chair, tucking her into the crook of his arm as he settled her on his lap.
They remained like that for a full minute, but when Vicki didn’t speak, Craig took the initiative. “Didn’t you like your long hair anymore, honey?”
She shook her head, leaving it burrowed on his chest.
He fingered the short, stubby locks and a pang echoed in his heart. “You had such pretty hair. Just like your mommy’s.”
“I don’t want to be like Mommy.”
The fierceness of her response startled him. “Why not?”
“Because when you look at her picture you’re sad. I don’t want you to be sad when you look at me. I thought if I changed how I looked, you might be h-happier when you’re with m-me.”
Her sobbed response ripped his gut. And left him feeling raw inside. Incompetent. And unworthy.
But he wasn’t going to give up.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Craig smoothed the hair back from his daughter’s forehead. “I’m not sad when I look at you, Vicki. Because I love what’s in here,” he touched her chest, above her heart, “more than what’s up here.” He stroked her hair again. “I love you for who you are. Sometimes people look alike, like you and your mommy, but every single person in the whole world is different. There’s nobody else just like you, and there never will be. You’re special. And I love you for that. For being my special little girl. No matter what color your hair is.”
He shifted her around so she could better see into his eyes. “When your mommy and brother went to heaven, I was very sad. And for a long time I forgot about everything else. I’m sorry about that now. I wish I could start over with you from the very beginning. But I promise, from now on I’m not going to think about yesterday anymore. I’m going to think about tomorrow, and all the fun we’re going to have together.”
She studied him, with eyes he would never again let himself think of as Nicole’s but as Vicki’s. He endured her solemn scrutiny, praying his words had found their way into her heart.
Reaching out, she laid her palm against his cheek. “Promise?”
“Promise.” His voice choked, and he cleared his throat. “In fact, let’s do something fun tonight. I know—how would you like to have chocolate chip waffles for dinner?”
Her face lit up. “I’ve never had those.”
“Me, neither. But we’ll figure out how to make them together.”
Holding her close, he rose, turned—and found Kate staring at him with a stunned expression.
“Kate?”
She blinked. “Maddie and I are heading home.”
“So are we.” He gestured toward Vicki’s hair. “Any suggestions on how to remedy this?”
She blinked again. Gave him a distracted look. “My hairdresser is very good. And she works late on Thursdays. I could give her a call and see if she can squeeze in an emergency.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
“Give me a minute.”
As she disappeared into Edith’s kitchen, Maddie edged closer. “Mommy says we can make daffy hats tomorrow, Vicki.”
His daughter looked down at her friend but didn’t loosen her grip around his neck. And that suited him fine. “Okay.”
“What’s a daffy hat?” Craig asked.
“It’s a hat decorated with daffodils,” Maddie told him. “For the festival on Saturday. You’re going, aren’t you?”
Vicki edged back so she could see his face. “We are, aren’t we, Daddy?”
The town was buzzing with festival preparations, but Craig hadn’t thought much about it. The Coast Guard always hung a daffodil wreath on tiny Brant Point Light, but other than that he had no official involvement. And he’d been too busy to make any personal plans for the event.
“I guess we can. I’ll have to find out a little more about it.”
“It’s lots of fun,” Maddie said. “Isn’t it, Mommy?”
Kate had reappeared in the doorway, holding a slip of paper. “What is, honey?”
“The Daffodil Festival.”
“Oh, yes. Lots of fun.” She crossed the room and passed him the information. “I jotted down the address. Just ask for Chloe when you get there. She’ll be expecting you.”
“Can Vicki and the lootenin go to the parade with us, Mommy? I told him we were going to make hats tomorrow.”
Kate turned to him. “Were you planning to go?”
“I didn’t have plans one way or the other. What’s the story on the hats?”
“A lot of people decorate hats to wear for the Daffy Hat Pageant. Mostly tourists, to be honest. But I thought the girls would get a kick out of it.” She tucked a springy lock of hair behind her ear. “If the weather’s good, Maddie and I are going to watch the antique car parade on Main Street. You’re welcome to join us, if you like.”
The invitation took him off guard. He’d assumed their impromptu kiss would send her running in the opposite direction. Instead, she was suggesting another get-together. Was empathy for Vicki the reason? Or was she opening a door for the two of them?
Craig didn’t have the answers to those questions. All he knew was that if he wanted to stick by his vow to remain un-attached, accepting would not be a smart idea.
As he opened his mouth to decline, Vicki spoke.
“Could we, Daddy? Please? It would be fun.”
He was sunk. He knew it the second he looked into those hopeful blue-green eyes inches from his. And once more scanned her shorn hair.
“I guess we can. Give m
e a time and place to meet.”
Kate filled him in on the details, and five minutes later he and Vicki were on their way to see Chloe.
But as they drove through the narrow streets, Craig couldn’t help thinking that attending a pleasant, social event in the company of the appealing charter captain and her charming daughter wasn’t going to do a thing to neutralize the chemistry between them. Just the opposite.
Yet, for the first time, he didn’t feel a rush of panic at that thought. Thanks to a lot of prayer in recent weeks, he was reconnecting with the Lord and beginning to accept that God had forgiven him for whatever role he’d played in the tragedy that had taken his family. Although he wasn’t ready to be that generous with himself, he was getting close to finding the strength to let it go and move on.
Kate’s connection to the sea—and the risk that carried—was still a stumbling block, however.
Yet if he ever did reach the point where he felt ready to open his heart to love, he could think of no finer woman to woo than Kate MacDonald.
Chapter Twelve
“There he is, Mommy!”
At Maddie’s excited comment, Kate followed the direction of her daughter’s finger. In seconds she spotted Craig on the other side of the street, wearing khaki slacks and a chest-hugging golf shirt that revealed impressive biceps. Vicki was hidden by the legs of spectators lined up on Main Street for the parade, but she caught a quick glimpse of blond hair. Good. Chloe had at least managed to get rid of the dye from the marker.
“Mommy, aren’t you going to wave at him?” Maddie tugged on her hand.
“Yes, honey. I was waiting until he looked this way.”
That was only partly true. She was also waiting for her pulse to settle down after the leap it had taken the instant she’d laid eyes on him. In truth, though, she suspected the parade would be over before that happened. She’d just have to deal with the powerful effect he had on her, she told herself, lifting a hand to wave.
When he caught sight of her, he took advantage of a balky engine that left a temporary gap in the lineup of vintage vehicles. Sweeping Vicki into his arms, he strode across the cobblestone street and stepped onto the sidewalk beside them.
“Now those are what I call hats.”