Picture Perfect Family. Renee Andrews

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      Daniel had originally thought it was fine to stay in the mission field and let Mandy Carter raise his nephew. Daniel’s parents had also agreed that Mandy was perfect for raising their grandson. Their commitment to the mission work in India kept them away, and while they loved the country there, they didn’t think they should move Kaden away from the only home he’d ever known right after losing both of his parents. And they all agreed that Mandy adored Kaden and wanted to take care of her nephew.

      “I love Claremont, and I love Kaden. Let him stay here with me, please. It’s what Mia wanted.”

      Maybe because he’d been so upset over losing Jacob, Daniel had agreed. He couldn’t wait to get back to Malawi to pray, to work and to grieve. After a few months, however, he realized that he couldn’t get his nephew off his mind. And when he prayed to God to help him know what he should do about Kaden, he’d received that email from Mandy.

      After reading what she’d written, he realized that Mandy was still the spoiled little princess she was way back then. Why he’d believed her when she said she wanted to make a life in Claremont and raise Kaden was beyond him. If Kaden was going to have the life Jacob and Mia had planned for him, it’d be Daniel who provided it. Certainly not Mandy Carter.

      He continued driving toward the edge of town so he could see the new neighborhoods everyone was talking about, but before he reached the entrances to the subdivisions that had replaced the cotton fields, something caught his eye. Or rather, someone caught his eye.

      A woman stood beside a blue pickup truck waving her hands in the air. Her sleeveless pink shirt was tied in a knot at her waist, and a turquoise scarf had been threaded through the belt loops of rolled up jeans. The ends of the scarf were tipped in sparkling stones that appeared to match the bejeweled sandals on her feet. She looked like a modern princess Jasmine, waiting for Aladdin to scoop her up on a magic carpet and whisk her away from this “horrid little town,” as she’d dubbed Claremont so many years ago.

      While she waved him down, a thick ponytail of shiny, chocolate-brown hair whipped across her face in the March breeze. But regardless of the mass of hair that made her face play peekaboo with Daniel as he approached, he had no doubt to the identity of the woman.

      “Have mercy, Lord. Do You have to let her keep getting prettier?” His heart bumped solidly in his chest, the way it always did when he encountered the beauty that was Mandy Carter.

      Daniel slowed the car as he neared and watched as one hand moved to shield her eyes from her hair, and her mouth formed a silent “Oh.” Which was quickly followed by “No.” Her wide smile slid into a flat line and she looked at him the same way she had practically every time he’d seen her in the past seven years, since that night he’d turned her down and walked away.

      “You have anyone else in that old truck?” Mandy asked. “Someone who might actually be interested in helping me, perhaps?”

      Here we go again. He grinned. “Afraid not.”

      He heard her grumble something and was pretty sure it included, “Should’ve recognized that truck,” and “Why don’t you drive away, you always do.” But before he could respond, another voice joined in.

      “Uncle Daniel?” Kaden called from her truck.

      Daniel’s heart leaped at the sound, and his smile widened. “That you in there, slugger?”

      “Uncle Daniel! Hey, you’re back!”

      Oh, how he loved that boy. “Yes, I am, and I’m so glad I found you,” Daniel said, leaning his head out the window as he spoke. “Let me pull the truck over, and I’ll help you and Aunt Mandy.” He was still in the middle of the street, and even though there wasn’t a sign of another car around, he figured he should probably be safe.

      He parked, then climbed out of the truck and walked to Kaden’s side of the vehicle. He was anxious to hug his nephew, and he could do that while figuring out Mandy’s problem with the truck.

      “Uncle Daniel, my new friend Nathan said you’re cool. He was talking about you and the elephants and stuff,” Kaden said, climbing from his car seat and jumping into Daniel’s arms.

      “Nathan?” Daniel asked, holding his nephew tight.

      “Chad and Jessica Martin’s son.” Mandy didn’t look at Daniel as she spoke. Instead, she peered down the road as though she could will another car into existence.

      “Right, I remember him. And he has a little sister, too, doesn’t he?” Daniel asked Kaden, since he seemed to be the only one interested in conversing.

      “Uh-huh, Lainey. She’s little, only two.”

      Mandy cleared her throat. “I did a photo shoot at Hydrangea Park of Chad and Jessica’s kids, and after the shoot, we stayed awhile to let Kaden play with Nathan.” She’d apparently given up on anyone else coming to her rescue and was now more interested in the dirt around her feet than looking at Daniel.

      “And then we got in the truck to go back home but we ran out of gas,” Kaden said.

      “Out of gas?” Daniel asked, smiling down at his nephew.

      Mandy’s head snapped up. “Yes, out of gas.” Then she moved to the back of her truck, climbed into the bed and stepped around bales of hay and potted plants, searching for something. “I used the truck today because I needed some props, and I hardly ever drive granddaddy’s old truck, so I forgot to check the tank,” she said, shoving a hay bale aside. “Apparently, it was close to empty.”

      “Apparently,” Daniel said, watching her push a few boxes, a shovel, an old-fashioned tricycle and some other odd, colorful objects around before withdrawing a small orange gas can.

      “There,” she said, pushing dark bangs out of her eyes as she worked her way through the maze of objects to reach the back of the truck. Then she jumped down with the orange can in hand. “We need a ride to the gas station, if you don’t mind.”

      “And you’ll need a ride back to your truck,” Daniel said, uncertain why he found it so much fun to push her buttons.

      “Yes, that, too. I thought someone from town would probably drive by soon and give us a ride, but if you could do it, that will work.”

      “I am from town,” he reminded, “and it isn’t a problem.” He put Kaden on the ground beside him and ruffled his hair. “Come on, we’ll move your car seat over to my truck.”

      “He likes to call it a booster seat,” Mandy said. “Car seats are for babies, according to Kaden.”

      Kaden gave her a toothy grin then smiled even bigger for Daniel. “I guess it’s both.”

      Mandy’s face dropped. Daniel noticed, but had the wherewithal not to mention it. He really didn’t want to participate in a contest of who Kaden liked better. He wanted Kaden happy. Period.

      Within minutes, he’d moved the booster seat over and buckled Kaden into the extended cab, then opened the passenger door for Mandy.

      She maintained her distance as she climbed in, but the breeze still sent a hint of her peach shampoo, or perfume, across Daniel’s senses. He hadn’t smelled anything quite like it in a long time, especially not in Malawi or СКАЧАТЬ