Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall

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СКАЧАТЬ came over the radio, Noah didn’t like the change. He wanted his lifeline to be Lucy.

      By the time he’d gone back to the station and hopped into his truck to head home, he was more than ready to make plans. He was done with trying to dodge her and pretend they were friends who’d slept together. He’d asked for time and all this past week had done was prove just how much he wanted to be with her. At least to get to know her more, to try to understand what was happening between them.

      He shot off a text, knowing she’d get it when she woke up. He needed to get home and get some rest himself before getting Emma.

      As he drove down the main part of town, he spotted Gray outside the bar. There was a pickup truck backed up on the sidewalk and he and Sam were unloading something.

      Noah pulled into the adjoining lot and jogged up the sidewalk. “Need a hand?”

      Gray had his hands full holding up one end of a long, raw edge piece of countertop. “Your timing is perfect.”

      “This is one heavy counter,” Sam agreed from the bed of the truck. “Another pair of hands will make this so much easier.”

      The three of them finally got the piece into the front door and laid it across some tables that Gray had scooted together. Noah wiped his hands on his pants and propped his hands on his hips as he glanced around the bar. In the daylight with all the lights on, the place looked quite a bit larger.

      “We haven’t actually met,” Noah stated, holding his hand out to Sam. “I’m Noah Spencer.”

      “Sam Bailey,” he replied, giving a firm shake of his hand. “Thanks for helping. Gray is determined to get that bar set up in the back room and he’s hell-bent on us doing it.”

      Gray ran his hand over the new piece of gleaming countertop. “Why would I pay someone when you need the distraction and I need a job done? I give you free beer, so quit complaining.”

      “You just getting off your shift?” Sam asked Noah.

      Noah nodded, stifling a yawn. “Worked overtime this morning and I was headed home when I saw you guys. I can help if you need something.”

      Gray shook his head. “No. Go on home to bed. I’m sure you’re exhausted. The hard part was getting it off the truck. Sam and I can take it from here.”

      “I’ll stop in later to see if you need anything,” he promised. “I’m willing to work for free beer, too.”

      Gray laughed. “You get free beer for not hauling my butt in when I hit you.”

      Noah shook his head. “Don’t think anything of it. But if you hit me again, I’ll hit back and put your butt in the back of the patrol car.”

      “I forgot about that,” Sam stated. Then he turned to Gray. “You need to cool it where Kate is concerned. That woman is nothing but trouble.”

      “She’s the kind of trouble I want to get into,” Gray claimed.

      Noah was not getting involved in anybody’s woman troubles, not when he had his own chaos to deal with. Now was a good time to get the hell out of here.

      “You’ve got my cell,” he told Gray. “Text me if you need anything.”

      Gray nodded. “Thanks, man.”

      Noah headed back out into the morning sunshine. He wanted to go get Emma and have a fun day; he also wanted to see Lucy. And he had the perfect plan to do both. First he needed to get some sleep.

      When he saw Lucy again later, he wanted to be rested up and ready to face whatever emotions came his way. He had a feeling when he saw her in her environment outside of work, all those feelings from the other morning would come flooding back and he’d want her even more.

      “This is the greatest day ever,” Emma declared.

      Lucy held on tight as they rode on a trotting Hawkeye. With Emma in front of her, Lucy made sure the little girl was nestled perfectly against the pommel. Emma held on to the reins and steered the mare around the field. She was absolutely a natural.

      “I think you are a better rider than I am,” Lucy stated.

      When Noah came up beside them on Gunner, it took all of Lucy’s willpower not to focus on how sexy he looked on the back of her horse. She could easily see him on a ranch. With that wide black hat, his button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up over tanned forearms, perfectly fitted jeans, and dusty boots, the man epitomized a hunky cowboy.

      And the fact he’d reached out to her and wanted to come over for a ride only made her heart skip another beat. She knew they were technically sneaking around. They’d kept up the pretense at work and had remained circumspect in public. She had to admit there was something so attractive and intriguing about keeping their relationship on the down low.

      Lucy loved it even more that he’d brought Emma. His daughter was absolutely the most adorable little thing and so easy to please. Give the girl some cookies and a horse and she was happy.

      “Looks like it’s going to rain soon,” Noah commented as he stared at the sky.

      “We’ll go back soon,” she promised. “It’s such a beautiful evening with the mountains in the distance, the smell of fall in the air. I could stay out here all night.”

      “Do you camp?” Emma asked, still holding tightly to the reins. “Daddy took me and Mommy once and it was fun.”

      “I do love camping.” Lucy held on to Emma’s waist and glanced over to Noah. “This is the perfect time of year, too. I love being outside, but I don’t like to get too hot or too cold, especially when I’m trying to sleep.”

      Noah’s brows rose beneath his dark hat. “I imagine if the nights got too cool you could find ways to stay warm.”

      That heavy-lidded look he gave her sent shivers racing through her. The blatant flirting had hope filling that void she’d thought would be hollow forever. There was a light inside her, as silly as that sounded. But Noah was coming around and she found she was, too. The guilt wasn’t as strong as it had been last week. The fear was still there, but overpowering that now was a beacon of hope. Lucy opted to cling to that optimism, instead of trying to find reasons to let fear rule her life.

      Between her psychology classes and her partnership in Helping Hands, Lucy had talked to many people over the past couple of years about compartmentalizing all your emotions. When there were negative feelings, they needed to be put behind anything positive. And right now, Lucy was going to cling to Noah and Emma. They were here now and they were all having a great time.

      “My daddy is afraid of mice,” Emma said, turning to glance up at Lucy. “That one time we went camping, a mouse got in our tent. Mom screamed, I screamed, and Dad ran out of the tent.”

      Lucy laughed as she shifted her focus to Noah. “Is that so? A little mouse had you running for your life?”

      He simply shrugged. “We all have our fears,” he told her. “Those little things move so fast. I’m man enough to admit they creep me out.”

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