Chapter Three

      Jacob pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the Bayou Barbecue and thought hard before going in. Neutral ground would have been a smarter choice, considering Carrington’s winning stance. Agreeing to this breakfast meeting might have been a mistake. He could easily take Addie into the Grace Haven Diner for French toast, forget about breakfast with Josie Gallagher and reschedule their meeting. He was about to do that when she stepped outside the restaurant door.

      “Hi!” Addie yelled the greeting with bright enthusiasm before he made good on his escape plan. She set her picture book aside and unlatched her shoulder strap quickly. In a flash she was out the door. “I’m so glad we’re here, I love French toast with syrup, and with powdery sugar, and with fruit and with, oh...” She beamed up at the woman with shining eyes, as if she’d just spotted a long-lost friend. “I like your pretty brown hair.”

      Josie Gallagher bent low and smiled right at Addie, the way someone did when they were good with kids. “You want the truth?”

      Addie nodded, still excited. “Yes!”

      “I always wanted coppery hair, just like yours.”

      “No!” Addie put her hands on her hips and offered the Gallagher woman a look of total surprise. “Are you kidding me?”

      Josie shook her head, smiling. “Not even a little bit.”

      “Because I was just telling my dad that I wanted a dolly or maybe even two dollies with dark hair like yours. All my dolls have this color.” She pulled a strand of hair to the right and sighed. “I want some dolls with different hair. Like yours. Or maybe Dad’s hair.”

      “Brown with gray accents?” He laughed as he drew closer. “That would be a strange mix for a baby doll, wouldn’t it?”

      “Not the gray, silly, and I think your hair is perfect, Dad. Just like you.”

      His heart melted. He could be tough as needed, and if he thought she was simply buttering him up for a new toy or adventure, he wasn’t afraid to say no. He’d learned by watching his overly indulged sister that life should be lived with some limits, even if the requests were affordable. But Addie wasn’t pulling a con job on him. She loved him, and that had to be the best feeling of all. “Well, thank you. I think you’re pretty spectacular too, kid.” He lifted a small binder into the air. “I brought some ideas, Miss Gallagher.”

      “Josie, please.”

      He hesitated and briefly wasn’t sure why, but then it clicked. She’d been ready to give him the heave-ho yesterday, less than twenty-four hours ago. Had she undergone a change of heart? Or was there another reason behind her friendlier gestures? And if so, what was it?

      He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to be rude. “And I’m Jacob.” He reached out a hand. “Maybe it would be good if we started all over again. What do you say?”

      She took his hand and looked right at him. “I think that’s a good idea. Nice to meet you, Jacob.”

      “You guys are silly!” Addie planted her hands on her hips again, a newly acquired habit from one of her favorite TV shows. “You already met yesterday. Me, too!”

      “So we did.” Jacob ruffled her hair with his hand. “But sometimes grown-ups need a do-over. Just like kids do.”

      “Like me and Cayden at school. Except he’s not very nice, and I might not give him any more do-overs. Because he should be nice, shouldn’t he, Dad?”

      “Yes. But it is good to give people another chance,” he added. “Although I’m not sure how many is too many in preschool.”

      “I’m in kindergarten, Dad. Kindergarten is not preschool!”

      He grimaced. “My bad.” He faced Josie. “She’s been going to the Lakeside Academy, where they move from preschool to kindergarten before they go to public school. It seemed smart with my job.”

      “Except this year, I get to go to regular school and we just have to figure out where.” Addie turned earnest eyes his way. “And get a cow.”

      “We’re not getting a cow, Addie-cakes. It won’t fit in the car. Or the apartment.” He grinned to show her he was kidding, but Addie had grown very serious about two things: school and settling down with a cow.

      “When we get a big yard, a cow will fit.” She didn’t sass him. She didn’t act petulant. She uttered the sentence with a quiet common sense far beyond her years, and then she grabbed his hand. At that moment, her stomach gurgled and she laughed. “My tummy is so hungry now! Miss Josie, can I see your restaurant? How come there aren’t any people here? Did they all go home?”

      Her innocent question made Jacob’s stomach lurch. He and Carrington Hotels were the reason her place was closed. He waited for her to throw him under the bus, but Josie surprised him.

      “We’re moving my restaurant to another spot, and I need a little time to pack things up. It’s hard to cook and pack at the same time, right?”

      “Oh, that’s right.” Addie lifted an empathetic look to Josie. “My dad is making you move.”

      He started to protest, but Josie beat him to it. She bent low. “Well, he works for a company that needs more space. So the company is taking my space, and giving me money to move somewhere new. That’s why your dad is here, because he’s got some ideas about how to help me.” The quiet and up-front way she handled Addie was somewhat unexpected and allowed him to breathe easier.

      “We can eat and talk.” Addie grasped his hand with hers. “Dad always says we should help other people, all the time. I mostly do that, but I don’t like helping Cayden when he’s mean.”

      “Well, school’s almost over for the year,” Jacob said. “That will solve our Cayden problems.”

      “I’m glad,” Addie said.

      “I think some of this French toast will take our minds off snippy boys.” Josie led the way inside. “Give me five minutes in the kitchen, okay? Or you can follow me in there, but you have to sit on the bar stools.”

      “You don’t mind?” Jacob asked, and when she lifted her eyes to his, he got a little lost in the depths, as if he and Josie Gallagher were connected in some way he didn’t understand.

      The odd mix of colors seemed more gold today than green, but the shadow of gray rimming the pupil seemed lighter than it had yesterday. And when she smiled, the gray thinned even more. “I don’t mind a bit. I like for kids to see what goes on in a kitchen, although if it was still a working kitchen, we couldn’t do this often. It got crazy here on a regular basis.”

      “I’ve heard that. And I hope you don’t mind, but I fact-checked your numbers, Josie.”

      She accepted that as she heated the broad, flat griddle in the kitchen. “I figured Carrington did that before they drew up an offer, and it only makes sense for you to know the facts if we’re talking location. The thing is...”

      She dipped thick slices of cinnamon swirl bread into a custardy mix and set them sizzling onto the hot griddle before checking a warming kettle of strawberry topping. “There are few available locations on the water, and most are