by Cindy Kirk
Lexi narrowed her gaze. “It looks like they have empty seats at their table.”
“I want to sit by Connor.” Addie started forward but Lexi grabbed her hand and cast Jack a questioning look.
“Are you okay with us joining them?” she asked in a low tone.
“Please, Jack,” Addie begged.
Jack grinned. “Of course. I like your friends.”
“They’re your friends, too,” she reminded him.
Lexi released her hold on her daughter and Addie ran on ahead. Jack followed Lexi to the back of the café, resting his hand on the small of her back as they wove their way through the tables. It felt good to touch her. To be here with her.
He dropped his hand when they reached the table and pulled out her chair. Apparently they’d just missed David, July and baby Adam.
Jack recognized Lexi’s friends—Mary Karen and her three boys, John and Kayla Simpson and Emma. Rachel Milligan, the nurse who’d tended to him in the E.R., sat visiting with Mary Karen at the far end of the table. The only person Jack didn’t know was the older gentleman seated next to Kayla, across the table from him.
Jack stretched his hand out to the gray-haired man. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Jack Snow, a friend of Lexi’s.”
Friend didn’t seem a strong enough word considering what they’d shared last night, but it had to do.
“Al Dugan,” the man said, giving Jack’s hand a firm shake. “I’m Kayla’s father. I’m in town for a visit.”
As he took his seat Jack caught Lexi’s concerned glance. He shot her a reassuring wink. She didn’t need to worry about entertaining him.
“Since you’re visiting, I take it you don’t live in Jackson Hole,” Jack said to the older man.
“I did until fifteen years ago. That’s when I accepted a promotion and moved to Billings.” The gray-haired gentleman took a sip of coffee and Jack could tell the old guy was just getting warmed up. “I was already divorced from Kayla’s mother by then. Kayla was in high school and caught up in her activities, so there was really nothing keeping me here.”
“Did you ever remarry?” Jack asked, not sure why he was so curious about the man’s personal life.
Al shook his head. “The job took all my free time. My coworkers became my family and work became my life.” The man’s gaze turned sharp and assessing. “You got kids, Jack?”
I don’t think so.
“No,” Jack said. “No wife. No kids.”
“Are you a career man?”
Jack shrugged, not sure how to answer that one.
“Looking back, I gave the job too much and my daughter too little.” Al paused for a long moment. “You know, on the day I retired my boss didn’t even come to my luncheon. Can you believe it?”
Hurt and anger underscored the man’s words. Jack was happy when the food came and the talk shifted to sports. Still he couldn’t help wondering if the man was angry with his employer…or with himself.
“I’m sorry about that.” Lexi slanted a sideways glance at Jack as they walked to the Suburu. Addie skipped down the sidewalk in front of them. “Mary Karen and Kayla were in a talkative mood, but I shouldn’t have left you to fend for yourself.”“No worries.” Jack shot her a reassuring smile. “Just sitting beside you was enough for me. I kept imagining you naked.”
He lowered his voice, the last words for her ears only.
Color flooded her face in a warm tide. Lexi didn’t even have to close her eyes to remember how they’d barely settled on the mattress when he’d touched her. Sleep suddenly had been the furthest thing from her mind—
“Mommy, can Jack come with us? Pretty, pretty please?”
Addie’s plea pulled Lexi from her reverie. She blinked, her heart still fluttering. The desire she’d thought had been satiated last night was back, stronger than ever. “Umm, what?”
She made the mistake of glancing at Jack. The heat in his eyes told her she wasn’t the only one who wanted more…
“Please, Mommy. Can he come with us?” Addie repeated.
Lexi shifted her attention back to her daughter. “Come where?”
“Family day at the Y.” Addie’s brows pulled together. “You didn’t forget, did you?”
Lexi saw the worry in her daughter’s eyes. Though she had forgotten all about the event Addie had been anticipating for weeks, she shot her little girl a reassuring smile and lied through her teeth. “Me, forget? No way. I thought we’d stop at home, change our clothes and head straight to the gym.”
“Family day?” Jack asked.
“It’s an event the YMCA holds every April,” Lexi explained as she clicked open the doors to the SUV with the remote. “And you’re invited.”
Lexi didn’t want Jack to feel obligated, but she found herself hoping he’d say yes. “There are lots of activities for parents and children as well as booths filled with games of chance like you’d see at a carnival.”
“’N’ cotton candy,” Addie added as if to sweeten the deal. “Lots and lots of cotton candy.”
“Do you like cotton candy?” Lexi asked him.
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “But I think this is a good time to find out.”
“It’s yummy, isn’t it?” Addie stuffed a big wad of rainbow-colored cotton candy into her mouth.Jack took another bite of the spun sugar. “Very yummy.”
Lexi had stepped outside to take a call from the hospital, leaving Jack in charge of Addie.
“What happened to your little friends?” Since they’d first stepped into the noisy gymnasium, Addie had been surrounded by a whole gaggle of giggling girls.
Addie dropped her gaze to the cotton candy and her smile faded. “They’re with their daddies getting ready for the bean-bag relay.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“I guess.” Addie lifted one small shoulder in a slight shrug. “I have a daddy. But he’s not here today.”
What Lexi had told him about Addie’s father could be summed up in two words—not much. Jack was fairly certain the guy wasn’t involved and didn’t live in Wyoming, but he decided to play dumb. “Does your dad live around here?”
“He lives far away. He doesn’t like me.” Tears filled the child’s amber eyes. “Even if he was here, he probably wouldn’t want to do the relay with me.”
Jack’s heart clenched. He wanted to gather the girl in his arms and assure her that wasn’t true. Instead he held out his hand as the dads and daughters moved to the middle of the gym for the start of the relays. “Want to climb to the top of the bleachers with me?” he asked. “I bet it’s really cool up there.”
Addie looked at him and blinked. Then, with an expression of trust, she slipped her hand in his.
The feel of that small little hand brought a lump to his throat. After climbing hand in hand to the very top plank, they took a seat far from the other spectators. For several minutes they watched the elementary-aged girls and their dads taking turns running then tossing a bean bag through a wooden bear’s open mouth. Addie heaved a sigh that seemed much too heavy for a seven-year-old.
Jack took a long sip of his cola. “What makes you think your dad doesn’t like you?”
“He just doesn’t.” Addie shrugged again, her lips turning down like a sad little clown. At that moment, he’d have given anything to see her twirl and giggle.
“Have you ever met him?”
“No.”
Jack released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. So far so good. “Before I came to Jackson, I didn’t like or dislike you because I didn’t know you.”
Addie cocked her head and he could almost see her mind processing his words.
“Now that I do know you, I like you,” Jack continued. “You’re smart and funny and nice. I’m positive anyone who met you would feel the same way.”
“Even my daddy?”
The bald hope in her eyes tugged at his heartstrings. Jack cursed the man who didn’t have enough sense to know what he’d given up.
“Yep.”
Jack gave a decisive nod. “Even your dad.”
Without warning Addie flung her arms around his neck, squeezing tight. “I wish you were my daddy.”
“I wish I was, too, sweetie.” A lump rose to Jack’s throat. The man was a fool. “I wish I was, too.”
After concluding her phone conversation, Lexi returned to the gym.“Have you seen Jack and Addie?” she asked Mary Karen, who was working in the face-painting station.
Mary Karen glanced up from the pink butterfly wings she was painting on a little girl’s cheeks. “You might want to check with Rachel. She’s manning the first-aid station and has a better view of the entire gym.”
“I’ll do that.” Lexi wasn’t too concerned. She knew wherever they were Jack was taking good care of her daughter. “Talk to you later.”
“Hey, Lex,” Mary Karen called when she turned to leave.
Lexi turned and lifted a brow.
“What’s it like having a guy around?” Mary Karen asked. “Is it…weird?”
Startled by the unexpected question, Lexi didn’t answer for a second. Then she smiled. “It’s nice,” she said. “In fact, I’d highly recommend it.”
Then, with a wave, she went in search of her missing daughter and her friend, er, boyfriend?
She found the two sitting companionably at the top of the bleachers. The fact that she was out of breath when she reached them told her she needed to get back to the gym…and pronto. “What are you guys doing way up here?”
“Talking about my daddy,” Addie said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Jack said if my daddy met me, he’d like me. Do you think he would?”
Lexi took a deep breath. She’d never tried to keep Addie from talking about her father, but she couldn’t remember the last time her daughter had mentioned him. “Of course he’d like you, sweetheart.”
“Addie thought her dad didn’t like her,” Jack said in a light tone, though his eyes were serious. “I told her if he met her, he’d like her. How could he not? She’s a great little girl.”
Addie smiled, and he could tell his words had pleased her. She glanced down at the gymnasium floor, to the main stage area where a family of cloggers bowed to the crowd. “My cheer team is up next. Are you and Jack gonna watch me?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Jack said.
“I’ll definitely be watching,” Lexi promised her daughter.
Addie started down the steps then paused. “Will you still be up here when I get done?”
“We’ll be right here.” Without warning Jack’s hand clasped Lexi’s. “I’ve got your mom in my clutches and I’m not going to let her go.”
The vow, delivered in a monster voice worthy of Count Dracula, made Addie giggle. “You’re silly.”
Lexi waited until her daughter was out of earshot before she turned to Jack. “Okay, what was that about her father?”
“Apparently the dad-and-daughter relay race got her thinking about her father,” he said. “She told me her dad didn’t like her. You heard what I told her.”
“Thank you for that,” she said. “I’m just surprised it came up.”
“I’m not,” he said. “When my mom took off, for years I thought it was my fault. But I never said anything to my dad.”
He paused as if realizing the significance of what he’d said.
“Your mother deserted you?” she said in as casual of a tone as she could muster.
Jack nodded, seeming lost in the memory. “I was five. From then on it was just me and him.”
“You must have been very close.”
Jack tilted his head. “I don’t…remember.”
“It’s okay.” Lexi tightened her fingers around his. “Pretty soon all your memories will return and you’ll be back with your family.”
The realization was like a stake to her heart.
“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with the way things are right now.”
“What about money?” she asked. “Your cash has to be running out.”
“It’s gone.” He shook his head but a smile still hovered on his lips. “That’s why I accepted Coraline’s offer to help out around the lodge in exchange for room and board.”
Lexi felt her spirits lift. “You won’t have to move in with Mary Karen.”
“I wouldn’t have moved in with her anyway.”
Lexi ignored her heart’s flutter and pointed to the stage on the gym floor. “Addie’s junior cheer squad is getting ready to perform.”
Jack’s gaze never left her face. “We should start dating.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”
“We’ve been spending time together,” he said pointedly. “The social worker helping the guy with amnesia. I want more. I want to be part of a couple…with you.”
The way her heart was beating you’d have thought she was fifteen and he’d asked her to go steady. She tried to remember why she’d thought dating was a bad idea. “I don’t want Addie to—”
“—know that her mom could care about a man?”
Said that way, her reservations did sound a bit silly. Still, there had to be ground rules. “You couldn’t sleep over.”
“I understand that,” Jack said. “But I bet we could find other times to be alone.” He trailed a finger up her arm. “Other times and other ways that I could show you how much you mean to me.”
“It’s just so hard—”
He tipped her chin up with his fingers and gazed into her eyes. “What is?”
Lexi swallowed hard. “You could be gone tomorrow.”
“There are many unknowns in life.” His hand tightened around hers. “That’s why we have to enjoy the time we’ve been given.”
It made sense. Still, Lexi hesitated. “I’m scared, Jack. In fact I’m terrified you’ll remember your previous life, leave and never look back.”
“Ah, Lex.” He draped an arm over her shoulder. “You don’t have to worry. The way I feel about you, I can’t imagine ever leaving you—or Addie—behind.”
The way he felt? Her heart skipped a beat. Could he have meant those words he’d murmured to her last night?
“Are you willing to give us a shot?”
Lexi brought a finger to her lips and pretended to think. But she couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. “What do I have to lose?”
He kept his arm around her shoulders while they watched Addie perform. Being with him felt so right. And she’d spoken the truth. She didn’t have anything to lose. She’d already given him her heart. All she could hope now was that he took good care of it.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather eat in the lodge?” Lexi glanced at Jack as she placed the pizza she’d taken from the oven on the counter of the breakfast bar. “Coraline usually makes Swiss steak on Saturday night.”“Swiss steak, yuck.” Addie wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather have pizza.”
“I’d rather have dinner with the two of you,” Jack said with a gallantry that warmed her heart.
“Well, we’re happy to have you,” Lexi said. “If you could pour the drinks while I cut the pizza, we should be ready to eat.”
Jack opened the refrigerator door, reached inside and grabbed a liter of soda.
“Jack,” Lexi said in a hushed tone.
He shifted his gaze.
“Milk,” she mouthed.
Of course. A growing girl needs milk, not soda.
Jack put the soda down, grabbed a carton of milk instead and filled three glasses.
Addie stared at hers. “I want soda.”
“I like milk,” Jack declared. Before Lexi could respond to her daughter’s whine, he took a big sip. “Yum. Nice and cold, just the way I like it. Is yours cold, too, Addie?”
Addie picked up her glass with both hands and took a drink. “Very cold.”
Lexi smiled her approval. “After dinner, it’s movie night. Addie chose Bambi.”
“Bambi?”
“Bambi is a deer,” Addie explained, her young face earnest. “And Thumper is
his friend. Thumper is a rabbit.”
“I know you said you had time for pizza, but I don’t remember if you had something else planned for later tonight?” Lexi said.
She was giving him an out. Jack took another sip of milk. It wasn’t really too bad. In fact, given time he might acquire a taste for the white stuff.
“Jack?”
Yes, she was giving him an out, but it was one he didn’t want to take. He wanted to spend the evening with his girls. If that meant watching a movie about the adventures of a deer and a rabbit, that’s what he was going to do.
Addie fell asleep before the movie ended, wedged between him and Lexi on the sofa.“I’ll carry her into the bedroom and you can take it from there,” Jack whispered.
“Works for me.” Lexi stood and stretched. “Addie’s getting so big it’s getting hard for me to carry her.”
“Another reason for having a man around.” Jack scooped the child up into his arms. When they reached her bed, he carefully placed her on the top of the covers then impulsively brushed a kiss on her hair. “Sleep tight, little one.”
He straightened to find Lexi staring. “Something the matter?”
“I was just thinking how much Addie’s missed by not having a father around.” Her gaze grew distant and he knew she was thinking about the ex-boyfriend who’d deserted her.
“You realize that a guy doesn’t have to be a child’s biological father to be her dad.” His tone was light but his expression was serious.
Lexi met his gaze and smiled. “I’m beginning to see that.”
“If you need me for anything, I’ll be in the other room.” He grinned. “I have to see how the movie ends.”
Chapter Twelve
“Y ou know all work and no play makes Ellen—”
“—a dull girl.” Ellen didn’t have to look up from her computer screen to know who’d opened her office door. For the past two weeks Steve had continued to stop by her office on his way out the door. Every night he asked her to go to dinner with him. Every night she turned him down.The one time she had gone out with him, they’d laughed and talked until almost two. When she’d gone to bed that night, it had been Steve, not Nick, who’d filled her dreams. That’s when she’d come to her senses. She was almost engaged to Nick. That meant she shouldn’t be seeing other men. Period. End of story.