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      She blinked. Her heart pounded. Not yet. She wasn’t ready. Although would she ever be ready to relinquish Maisie?

      Was Jake the father Maisie needed? Callie had had him investigated before contacting the military after Tiff died.

      From humble beginnings in Texas, Jake McAbee had joined the army right out of high school, where he’d excelled in almost every sport. An excellence he brought to the army, serving his country with distinction.

      He was a three-tour combat veteran, well spoken of by his commanding officers and the men with whom he served. By all accounts, he was a good man who hadn’t deserved what Tiff had done to him.

      Callie closed her eyes. There she went again. But Tiff had made poor choice after poor choice as long as Callie had known her.

      Perhaps one of Tiff’s biggest mistakes had been filing divorce on her young husband of two months while Jake was deployed.

      “Uh, Callie?”

      She opened her eyes.

      “I booked a motel room tonight in Asheville. I didn’t want to drive over the mountains in the dark on unfamiliar roads.”

      Ready or not, Jake was Maisie’s father. She’d hoped to convince him to stay the night at the orchard to give Maisie more time to adjust. But Asheville wasn’t far. She was on shaky ground here. If she pushed too hard, too soon...

      “I’ve packed her clothes.” Callie rose. “And most of her toys.”

      His lips curved, and something like the sweep of butterfly wings fluttered in her belly.

      Jake gestured at the living room. “She’s got more than this?”

      Callie gave him a small smile. “You, Sergeant, have a lot to learn about girls.”

      The light dimmed in his eyes, and his mouth flattened. “I think Tiffany walking out on me underscores how little I actually know about women.”

      “Jake, I didn’t mean—”

      He rose abruptly. “But I’m a quick learner.” His broad shoulders tapered to the narrow waist above his jeans.

      The clean, spicy scent of his male presence robbed Callie of coherent thought. This was ridiculous. A person would think she’d never been around a man before.

      Although none so...so male as Jake McAbee.

      “Callie?”

      She jerked.

      “Maisie’s schedule?”

      She seized on the first thing that came to her mind—food. “Maisie usually has a snack around this time. Goldfish.”

      Maisie’s head popped up over the wooden barn. “Fish?”

      Callie nodded. “And apple juice.”

      Maisie smiled, wrenching Callie’s heart. “’Appy juice.”

      “Happy juice, huh?” He gave Callie a grudging smile. “What else at Apple Valley Farm?”

      Strolling into the adjacent kitchen, she poured the juice into a sippy cup. “Apple juice makes everyone happy.”

      Maisie stood beside the farmhouse table, waiting to be hoisted into her booster seat, strapped to one of the chairs. The booster was yet another item Callie had forgotten to pack. Maisie’s possessions were scattered throughout the house, blending in with the other furnishings. Belonging.

      Jake raised his hands to lift Maisie into the booster seat, but stopped short of touching her. His brow scrunched. “Will she let me put her in the seat?”

      Callie took a deep breath. Now for the test. “Let’s try.” She injected an over-the-top note of cheer into her voice. “Can Daddy put you in your big-girl seat, Maisie?”

      There was a long second where Callie held her breath. Probably Jake, too.

      “’Kay.”

      The relief on his face was poignant. Callie’s head insisted this was the best possible outcome. But her heart...?

      Maisie held her arms up to her father. And as if afraid he’d break her, he gingerly lifted his daughter.

      For a fraction of a heartbeat, he held her against himself, breathing in the little-girl fragrance of his daughter. The fresh-out-of-the-bath, baby-shampoo smell. A scent that, after today, Callie would never know again. Sudden tears blinded her, and she spilled some of the apple juice on the counter. After that split-second pause, just as gently, Jake deposited Maisie into the booster seat. Flustered, Callie carried the green sippy cup to Maisie.

      “Daddy wikes gween.” Maisie quirked her eyebrow. “Wight, Cawee?”

      Jake’s eyes cut to her.

      She flushed. “That’s right, Maisie. Your daddy’s favorite color is green.”

      “I’m surprised Tiffany remembered. Did she ever talk to you about me? Did she ever explain why—” His voice went hollow.

      “Only bits and pieces.” She moistened her bottom lip. If she wasn’t careful, she’d become like Tiff—a liar. “I’m sorry, Jake.”

      “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Callie.” There was pain in his voice. In his eyes, too.

      But she was sorry. At the moment, sorry that she’d done the right thing in contacting Jake McAbee. There had to be something—anything—she could do or say to make him change his mind about taking Maisie away.

      She took hold of his arm. At the touch of his skin against hers, something sparked. A tingling sensation ran from her hand up to her elbow. She drew back.

      “Please, Jake,” she whispered. “Please don’t take Maisie from the only home she’s ever known.”

      His blue eyes flickered. “She and I will make a new home together.”

      Callie’s gut tightened. “I’m begging you to think of what’s best for Maisie, Jake.”

      His face went hard. “I am thinking of what’s best for Maisie.”

      At the sound of her name, Maisie looked up, the cup spout between her lips.

      “Being with her father is what’s best for Maisie,” he growled.

      Callie grabbed on to the spindles of the chair. “But where are you taking her, Jake?”

      His eyes narrowed. “A friend in Houston is hiring workers for an oil rig.”

      “Texas?” She’d been thinking, hoping, maybe he’d settle nearby. “What do you plan to do with her while you’re out on an oil rig for days at a time?”

      A muscle ticked in his cheek. “I’ll make sure she’s safe and cared for.” The look he gave СКАЧАТЬ