Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall
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you sure?” Noah asked Lucy as she came back and closed the gate.
Resting her arm over the rung, she nodded. “Positive. If you have something else to do, go on ahead. Emma and I will get along just fine. We’ll have a little girl time and you can go do…whatever it is you want.”
“Is this you trying to push me away again?”
Lucy pursed her lips and tipped her head. “I’m just trying to figure all of this out. Besides, kids are honest, so I’ll quiz her and we’ll see just how interested in me you really are.”
Noah laughed. “Fair enough. But I really don’t have anything else to do.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Lucy turned her attention to Emma. “You up for some girl time if we kick Daddy out for a few hours?”
Emma glanced up, her eyes darting to her father. “Is that okay? Lucy’s fun and I really want to make cookies, Daddy.”
Lucy stared at Noah as if daring him to argue with two females. He wasn’t that stupid. Besides, giving Emma a little female bonding time was probably a great idea. Perhaps it would do them both good and Noah could use the time to figure out what the hell kind of emotional roller coaster he was on.
Noah threw his hands up. “Fine, but I want some of those cookies you guys keep talking about.”
“Promise,” Emma said as she drew an invisible X over her heart.
Noah had no idea what he’d do. Seriously. For the past six months he’d been with Emma or at work. He didn’t have hobbies and there was no ranch to occupy his time, so…what the hell should he do?
“You’re still here,” Lucy stated. “It’s difficult to have girl time when you won’t go.”
Emma giggled and Noah leaned down and smacked a kiss on her forehead. “I’m going. You have my cell, so if you need anything—”
“We won’t,” Lucy assured him. “Give us two hours.”
There weren’t many people he’d trust his little girl with, but he definitely trusted Lucy. Hell, he’d trusted her so much he was ready to sleep with her.
As he headed to his truck, he wondered where he should go. There weren’t too many options in this small town. Maybe he’d just go to the local bar. It wasn’t but a couple miles away on the main drag and he’d been meaning to swing by there. He’d heard they had really good burgers and he could use some time to himself to think.
Emma was growing pretty fond of Lucy…and Noah couldn’t deny he was, too.
One day at a time. Looking too much into this or placing too much hope in one situation was just asking for heartache—something he couldn’t afford.
“Need a beer?”
Yeah, he did. About six of them. “I’ll just stick with soda.”
The bartender turned to grab a glass and fill it with ice. “You’re the new officer.”
Small towns, Noah thought. Gotta love them.
“Noah Spencer,” he said, offering his hand for a shake. More than likely the bartender knew this, but it was still polite to start with introductions. “This is the first chance I’ve had to stop in here, but I’ve heard all about the burgers.”
“Best in town.” With his free hand he slid the glass of soda across the bar. “Gray Gallagher.”
Noah gripped the glass. “The owner?”
Gray propped his hands on the bar. “Third generation.”
“No kidding.”
Gray nodded, resting his hands on the gleaming bar top. “My grandfather opened this bar when he returned from the war, then my father went into the Marines and he took over when he got out. I took over when I came home from the Army.”
Impressed, Noah nodded. “You’ve got quite a family tradition.”
“Minus the difference in military fields.” Gray smiled. “We’ve had a few disagreements over which is the best.”
Gray started to say something else, but glanced over Noah’s shoulder. The man’s lips thinned and a flash of something—jealousy maybe—came and went across his face.
Noah glanced over his shoulder to see a beautiful blonde fast-dancing with a group of guys. Harmless, flirty fun from the looks of things, but Gray didn’t seem too keen on this.
“Problem?”
Gray pulled in a deep breath. “Just since high school.”
Definitely jealousy. Noah didn’t know what that emotion felt like, but from the looks of Gray, Noah didn’t want to know.
“Hang on a second.”
Gray disappeared, and Noah thought for sure he’d be heading across that wooden dance floor to interfere, but he didn’t. Gray ended up at the other end of the bar, leaning over to talk to a guy who sat by himself nursing a bottle. From the looks of things, the customer was drowning his sorrows. If only life were that easy. Unfortunately, getting lost in the bottle didn’t fix anything and reality was always waiting for you on the other side.
Noah glanced over the menu and quickly chose the loaded garbage burger. Anything that combined a burger with bacon, onion rings and barbecue sauce was for him. Sign him up. The messier the better.
“Sorry about that,” Gray said as he came back. He nodded toward the menu. “Decide what you want?”
Noah placed his order and pulled his phone from his jacket pocket. He’d apparently had it on vibrate and had missed some texts from Lucy. Worried something was wrong, he opened the messages. Clearly there was no need to worry because his daughter was having a blast.
One picture had Emma wearing a huge apron tied in knots around her waist and neck. She was holding her hands up, palms out to show all the dough she’d been mixing. He scrolled down to see another, this time a selfie with Emma and Lucy, wide smiles across their faces.
His heart flipped in that second. There were two wounded souls bonding and living in the moment. They were virtual strangers, yet they appeared to be having the time of their lives. And Noah couldn’t deny that attraction he’d initially had for Lucy grew even more. Something was happening here—nothing he was ready to put a label on quite yet, but definitely something more than just friendship.
How could that be? He wasn’t ready for more…was he?
Noah scrolled on to some action shots of Emma kneading the dough and forming it in the bread pans, then the last photo of her holding up a bag of chocolate chips. Obviously cookies were next. There were many things Noah could do with Emma, but baking was definitely not his area of expertise.
The music in the bar switched from fast-paced to something slow and sultry. Noah took a drink of his soda and glanced around. The woman Gray had been eyeing earlier now danced with one guy, her arms draped lazily around his neck. Noah figured in this small town, he’d hear the gossip soon enough about that pretty blonde. Funny how her short skirt and plaid shirt tied at the waist did nothing for him, but the headstrong dispatcher who dressed on the conservative side did more than he should allow.
A waitress came with his burger and fries and set the plate next to his drink. “Can I get you anything else?”
“This will be fine. Thanks.”
He sent off a text to Lucy informing her he’d be back within the hour. Maybe he’d get to sample the baked goods.
The commotion behind him caught Noah’s attention. He hadn’t even tasted his burger yet before he was off his stool. Gray was standing between the blonde and the guy she’d been