Little Cowgirl on His Doorstep. DONNA ALWARD
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to make sure Nell had a full, happy life.
She slid her purse strap over her shoulder and stood, tucking Nell’s blanket closer around her. Nell’s tiny dark eyes were open—at first they’d seemed blue but now Avery was sure they were going to be brown, like Callum’s. Avery blinked against sudden tears and made her way out of the cluttered living room to the front door again.
“Wait.”
Her hand was reaching for the knob when his voice stopped her. She turned around to find him standing in the space between the living room and kitchen, indecision marking his face.
“Why?” he asked quietly. “Why did you disagree with her about telling me?”
“Why do you think?”
He frowned. “If I really were the father, wouldn’t Crystal have wanted to at least ask for financial support?”
Avery studied him. “She said you were very clear during your…brief time together, that as far as you were concerned weddings were all a sham and you never wanted to have either a wife or kids.”
Whatever feeling she’d sensed behind the dark depths of his eyes was quickly shuttered away. “And you didn’t agree with her?” he asked.
Did it really matter if he believed her? Perhaps it was better if he didn’t. She could walk away free and clear without having to give up her daughter. That’s what Nell was to her now. Avery had had her since birth and the love she had for her was so pure, so deep…
And that was why she knew she couldn’t lie, even though telling the truth complicated everything and risked the very relationship she cherished most. When it came to Nell, Avery had to know that every decision she made was true and honest. When the time came for Avery to explain about Nell’s parents, she wanted to have a clear conscience. No white lies, no glossing over of the truth. Avery had been brought up that way and it had sucked. If there was any way at all that Nell could know her father, Avery wanted to make that possible.
“Crystal and I grew up without a father,” she explained quietly. “He took off when I was only eighteen months old—I have no memories of him. He left my mother pregnant with Crystal. We didn’t have a bad life—I’m not saying that,” she hurried to assure him, though it hadn’t exactly been ideal either. “But to say I didn’t wonder what it would have been like…that something wasn’t missing…”
She met his gaze. He was watching her curiously and she realized that despite his radical change in appearance, the dark depths of his eyes were the same. Mysterious and magnetic all at once.
“Even the divorce kids in school spent time with their dads and I didn’t even know where mine was or what he looked like,” she explained. “I don’t want Nell to have those same feelings because her mother wasn’t strong enough to tell the truth when it mattered.”
“You’re not her mother.”
The words were like a slap, and at that moment Avery knew he’d never understand. She rubbed her hand along Nell’s back, feeling the warmth through the blanket. “Oh, yes, I am. In every possible way that counts.”
She opened the door, feeling the warm July air puff against her face. The sun was just starting its descent and this side of the yard was awash with golden light. Nell twisted her head irritably, trying to get the glare out of her eyes.
Avery shifted her so that her small head was tucked safely into the curve of her neck and made her way down the steps.
“Miss Spencer.”
She turned around. “What?”
He’d come outside in his stocking feet and stood at the top of the steps, hands on his hips. He really was intimidating looking with his scruffy beard and semi-wild hair and muscular build that Avery knew came from years of military training and now, apparently, manual labor.
Intimidating and manly and innately sexy all at the same time. That much hadn’t changed, either. Avery clenched her teeth together. Like that really mattered.
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“I don’t know.” Truth be told, she’d come straight here from the airport, wanting to get the conversation over with first. She’d probably go back to Edmonton and find a room there. Was the town of Cadence Creek even big enough for a hotel?
“There’s a bed-and-breakfast in town. That’s probably the nicest. Otherwise there’s a hotel out closer to the highway.”
Avery held back a snort. His concern was so touching. Not like he was putting himself out and offering any hospitality. She got the feeling that Callum Shepard was in it for one person and one person only—himself, and anyone else be damned.
“Thanks,” she answered, and turned her back on him.
It took a minute to get Nell buckled into her car seat and Avery could tell that the baby was growing more restless. They’d have to find a place to relax and soon, because Nell was going to need a diaper change and a bottle and some playtime.
Without saying another word to Callum she started the car and turned it around, heading back out the driveway.
When she looked in her rearview mirror, he was still standing on the steps, watching them leave.
CHAPTER TWO
AVERY HAD SURMISED that twenty-four hours might not be enough time to work things out with Callum, so when she’d booked her return flight she’d left a full day between arrival and departure. Since Callum wasn’t at all interested in Nell, she called the airline and asked about switching to an earlier flight. Unfortunately, because it was high season, everything was sold out. She could put herself on the standby list, but traveling standby with a baby didn’t sound like her favorite way to spend a day. They’d just make a mini vacation of it, then spend the full day in Cadence Creek and then head back as planned.
They stayed at the bed-and-breakfast and now, in the bright sun of a July morning, she had the window to their room open. A perfumed breeze wafted in from the flower gardens and Avery could hear birds singing in the bushes as they perched on the edge of the birdbath nestled among the plants. She’d enjoyed a full breakfast in the dining room and now Nell was buckled into her seat, staring at a bar of brightly colored toys.
Nell had been so good last night. They’d checked in and Avery had changed her, mixed up a bottle and fed her. Then they’d taken a bath together in the big tub and Avery had put her to bed in the portable playpen she’d brought as a second piece of luggage.
Traveling light wasn’t an option with infants, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite the change in bed, Nell had only woken once in the night to be fed, and the bed-and-breakfast owners had moved a rocking chair into the room when they’d seen she had a baby. All in all it had been extremely comfortable.
“Come on, pumpkin. We’ve got a whole day to kill. Why don’t we explore a little? There must be something to do in this town.”
She’d had time to think about yesterday’s events. While she was sad that Nell wasn’t going to grow up knowing her father, the knowledge that Callum wasn’t going to challenge her custody of Nell put a new spring in her step. She put a lace-trimmed bonnet on Nell’s tiny head and once outside the bed-and-breakfast, she placed her in an umbrella stroller. They made their way through the small town, sticking to the few streets that had sidewalks and a selection of stores. It really was a cute little community with definite Western flair. False-fronted shops lined the streets and hanging flower baskets decorated the lampposts.
There was an old-fashioned general store that carried daily necessities as well as a selection of penny candy and knickknacks; a small department store dealing with household items and mostly work clothing and a hardware store. Farther along she found a craft shop that was charming, and they spent several minutes browsing inside. Avery knew she shouldn’t, but she walked out with four balls of soft rose-colored yarn and a new pattern. She could tuck the yarn into