Falling For The Single Dad. Lisa Carter

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СКАЧАТЬ I’ll finish the lighthouse remodeling well in advance of the foster kids camp.”

      “Everybody seaside knows you have the work ethic of ten men, but don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Izz and I are making do in the lightkeeper’s quarters.”

      Weston warmed his hands around the mug. “A few months—give or take—won’t matter. I understand Keller’s Kids Camp needs to be your priority.”

      He’d been on a cutter during most of Jessica’s pregnancy with Izzie. But he’d never allow Izzie to suffer again. Not because of him.

      Weston cleared his throat. “Is the baby doing okay?”

      Sawyer placed his arm across the back of the seat. “Honey swears the kid is practicing for the rodeo in utero.”

      The ex-cowboy Coastie had only recently completed his enlistment and returned to civilian life to oversee the kids camp where siblings separated by the foster system could reconnect for one week a year. Sawyer also helped his wife run the Duer Fisherman’s Lodge.

      “Any gender news to share? Or aren’t you telling?”

      Sawyer rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me? Honey had to know. There was a nursery to decorate. Baby registries to fill out.”

      “Izzie got her invite to the baby shower last week. She’s killing me wanting to go shopping.” Weston grinned.

      “Appreciate the warning.” Sawyer laughed. “We’re having a girl.”

      Weston reached across the booth and play-punched his friend’s arm. “Way to go, Coastie.”

      “Ex-Coasties.” But Sawyer smiled.

      Wes glanced at his watch. The hands hadn’t moved an inch. He tapped the watch face with his finger. Nothing. “Oh, no...” Panicked, he grabbed his cell off the table to check the time. Weston shoved out of the booth.

      Sawyer rolled the blueprints. “What’s wrong?”

      Weston fumbled in his jeans for his wallet. “My watch stopped.”

      Sawyer motioned him toward the exit. “I got this today. Your turn next time. Another thing I’ve learned from my beautiful wife—never keep a lady waiting.”

      “Thanks. See you later.”

      With no time to stop and chat, Weston gave the ROMEOs in the adjacent booth a quick wave. The Retired Older Men Eating Out—grizzled Shore watermen and the volunteer Coastie auxiliaries—catcalled as he swung the glass-fronted door wide. The overhead bells clanged.

      “Hot date, Commander?”

      “Don’t let us keep you.”

      “Give ’er a kiss from us.”

      He ignored them and charged across the village square toward the brick Victorian, which housed Kiptohanock’s local library. His heart pounded. Izzie would be worried.

      It was just Izzie and him. They counted on each other. They depended on each other. Each other was all they had. And he’d let her down.

      Weston raced up the broad-planked steps of the library. Izzie wasn’t a crier, but imagining twin rivulets flowing down her cheeks, he felt his gut clench. Frantic, he twisted open the brass knob on the stout oak door and dashed across the threshold inside. He froze at the sight that met his eyes.

      His little girl snuggled in the arms of one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen in his life. Head bent over a picture book, the woman softly read aloud to his daughter.

      Weston took a moment to calm the staccato beating of his heart. To settle his fear. And to be honest, to enjoy the scene before him the way you would take pleasure in an exquisite painting.

      The woman’s elegant, long-sleeved white silk blouse was overdressed for the casual fishing hamlet. As were the navy trousers and sling-back pumps in a place where the preferred attire was flip-flops and shorts. A bun at the nape of her slim neck, tendrils of reddish brown hair framed the woman’s oval face.

      “Mahogany.” With the woodworking he’d done of late, he should know. Her hair was the color of mahogany.

      He hadn’t realized he’d spoken aloud until the woman’s gaze lifted.

      Izzie scooted out of the armchair. “Daddy!”

      The woman’s eyes narrowed. Lustrous, chocolate eyes. He remembered the women at church talking about the new librarian Kiptohanock hired after old Mrs. Beal retired. But she was unlike any librarian he remembered from his boyhood days in Richmond.

      The woman frowned. He’d been staring, mouth open. He closed his mouth with a snap and flushed.

      Izzie flung herself at him, clasping him around the knees. He staggered and wrapped his arms around her torso as much to steady himself as to drag his eyes away from the new librarian.

      “Where were you, Daddy? I’ve been waiting...”

      The woman’s lips tightened.

      “I’m sorry, little lady.” He kissed the top of Izzie’s curly hair. “My watch stopped. I was at the Sandpiper going over the last of the remodeling plans, and I lost track of time.”

      The woman rose. Five foot sevenish to his six-foot height, he estimated. Folding her arms across her chest, she tapped one slim foot against the hardwood floor. Disapproval radiated from her set features.

      “Izzie’s father, I presume?”

      Not a great first impression. He grimaced. Since when did he care about impressing a woman? Especially one so...so sophisticated. Because that had turned out so well for him before.

      “She’s been waiting a long time.” The woman gestured at the now-deserted library. “All the other children went home with their mothers ages ago.”

      He winced. “As I said, I’m sorry.”

      The woman raised her chin. “Anything could’ve happened to the child. A father shouldn’t be too busy to take care of his family.”

      Anger surged at the woman’s arrogant assumptions. He bit off the harsh retort that rose to his lips. The desire to put the new librarian in her place.

      Beautiful, maybe. Unfriendly, for sure. Strange, a woman like her would choose the public-pleasing profession of a librarian. ’Cause this woman had the social skills of a barracuda.

      With his anything-but-stellar track record in the romance department, this was why he kept it just him and Izzie. Were all women as hard-hearted as Jessica? Or was it his misfortune to only run into those types?

      “I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you...” He allowed his gaze to rake her face and the armchair full of books. A look he hadn’t utilized since he commanded Coasties before Jessica’s death prompted his abrupt career change. “Don’t let us keep you from your shelving.”

      The woman’s eyes enlarged. “I’m not—” An interesting blush stained her cheeks.

      Izzie СКАЧАТЬ