Morgan watched Poppy skip toward the house, her short legs lifting in the early-evening dusk. He had planned to keep the outing short, but Poppy had been so taken with Cornflake that they’d extended the ride. She even elicited a promise from him that he would take her to ride Cornflake every week.
Dorothy had been nagging him to spend more time with Poppy. So when she pleaded for ice cream he gave in. One delicious but messy cone later, she had insisted that she was still hungry. So, he’d caved and they ate dinner at the café. Poppy loved going out. Anywhere, anytime. His parents had catered to her, taking her with them constantly. He didn’t have that luxury. Too many employees were counting on him to keep Harper solvent, to make sure their jobs were safe.
Cutting through the side lawn, he paused, glancing ahead. Tessa walked slowly away from her cottage. He wondered where she was headed. His property line extended a good distance. His great-grandparents had purchased the property as acreage that amounted to four large city lots. One of the cottages was their original home before the big house had been built. His great-grandfather had been a pipeline gauger, then an oil lease hound, taking a small investment and making it grow. The generations that followed kept building the business. During those years, a larger house had been needed to entertain clients.
And the cottages were handy, he thought, watching Tessa through the gauzy twilight. Her hair was definitely long. No longer neatly pinned up, the dark strands tumbled past her shoulders. She had changed from her stylish suit to a long cottony-looking dress. Aquamarine, he decided, squinting in the dimming light. The color of her eyes, he remembered. Funny the details that stuck out in his memory.
Tessa turned just then as though sensing someone watching. But the low-hanging branches of a crepe myrtle camouflaged his presence. As she tipped her face up, the dying light of the day’s sun silhouetted her features. The picture solidified in his thoughts as he drew in a breath. And he suspected the image wouldn’t soon fade.
Days, then weeks toddled by as Tessa kept upping her learning curve. By her fourth week, she had grasped two things—the rudimentary elements of Harper Petroleum and the fact that Morgan didn’t spend enough time with his daughter. He rarely made it to family meals. And he was out of town often, meeting with his field supervisors and contractors and performing various other tasks Tessa believed he could turn over to someone else. She understood the current thinking—that middle management was an unnecessary drain on the company’s financial resources—but Morgan needed help. She hadn’t met all the office staff, but surely he employed someone either in the field or office whom he could promote, then delegate some of his work.
Dorothy let Morgan know that he needed to be home more often, but he didn’t change his behavior. Today was the first Saturday Tessa hadn’t worked. Morgan had gone to Jefferson in East Texas to check on a new pipeline installation.
Fortunately her friend Cindy Mallory had a free day. Her husband, Flynn, had taken all their kids to the skating rink. And Cindy insisted a girls’ day out was exactly what she needed.
“How are you settling in?” Cindy asked, picking up a shoe, turning it around to inspect the heel.
“Fine.”
Cindy raised one eyebrow. “How’s Morgan as a boss?”
“Fine.”
“We aren’t going to get far with this line of questioning if you stick to one-word answers.” Cindy smiled. “Spill. What do you think of the job?”
“I think I like it.”
“Think?”
“It’s different working for one man instead of a corporation and there’s the proximity to his home, the office in his house.” Tessa thought of all that was new in her life. “I like the cottage. And, in ways, it’s comforting to know there are people nearby.”
“But?”
“Not exactly a but. Just that I’m treading on a lot of undefined territory. I don’t want to offend Dorothy by not eating lunch with them. On the other hand, I don’t want Morgan to feel that I’m intruding.”
“I think the world of Morgan, but he isn’t exactly restrained when it comes to giving his opinion. He wouldn’t hesitate to let you know if you were crossing a line.”
Tessa stared at a pair of navy shoes. “Does it worry you that Morgan doesn’t spend enough time with Poppy?”
Cindy stopped in her tracks, throwing back her gleaming red hair as she spun around. “Where did that come from?”
“Just that Morgan spends all of his time working. Since I’ve been here, he’s only taken Poppy out once even though he promised he’d take her to ride her horse every week.”
Frowning, Cindy paused. “Morgan adores her.”
“Oh, I can see that. And it’s mutual. But, not having a mother, it seems that Poppy needs extra parent time, not less.” Tessa replaced the navy shoe without having really looked at it. “I know I don’t have kids, so it’s not as though I’m an expert.”
“That’s not what I’m questioning.” Cindy looked perplexed. “Just that Morgan’s devoted to Poppy.”
“I think so, too, but that doesn’t stop her from being lonely. The poor kid even hangs around me when I’m working. Dorothy and Alvin give her all the attention they can, but they’re busy taking care of the house and grounds.”
Cindy cleared her throat. “Does it...bother you? Having Poppy around, I mean.”
“Just because I can’t have one of my own doesn’t mean I’ve gone off children. I’m just worried that she’s getting the short end of the stick.” Tessa rubbed her forehead. “This really isn’t any of my business. Morgan’s my employer, not a friend.”
“There’s nothing wrong with caring,” Cindy reminded her gently, her calm voice belying the crop of flame-colored hair that framed her face.
“If I had a daughter like Poppy...” Tessa shook her head. “Do you think I’m being judgmental because I’m jealous?”
“Are you feeling jealous?”
“I don’t think so.” Tessa thought of the sweet child. “What I keep feeling is the irony. Poppy’s mother had everything to live for and...”
“You don’t?” Cindy put a comforting hand on Tessa’s elbow. “Just because Karl’s a jerk doesn’t mean you won’t have a full future with everything you want in it.”
“Because there are so many men out there who want to marry a woman who can’t bear his children.”
“I want to believe that sort of thinking is in the past, Tessa. You just have to pick the right man.”
“I thought I had,” Tessa replied dully. “And since I’m so good at picking them, we should have every confidence that I can find another winner.”
“Give it time. I never believed Flynn would come around. I still marvel that he ever did.”
Flynn had fallen in love with Cindy’s sister, Julia. They had married and were raising their triplets when Julia had died. It was a blow that shattered them all. Lacking any other family, Flynn had moved with his daughters to Rosewood so that Cindy could be in their lives.
Ironically, Cindy had initially moved to Rosewood to escape Flynn and her continued feelings for him. Cindy had met him first, fallen in love with him first, but Flynn had chosen Julia, the steady, responsible sister. It took time, faith and a depth of love to learn that Flynn had made that choice because of his family background and pain-filled past.
Once she had unraveled Flynn’s past, Cindy was able to understand what