“Your wife?”
He nodded.
“Now I’m sorry.”
He paused a moment. “I guess we have to move past those things, right? That’s what they tell us, anyway.”
“Yeah, I guess they do,” she said, recalling Candace and Gwen’s advice. Lauren decided this man was nice. In fact, he was better than nice. He seemed genuine, kind, a good father. And the fact that he sort of resembled George Clooney didn’t hurt either. She lifted a prayer that God would bless Garrett Cantrell.
“Well, I didn’t mean to intrude on your work time, Lauren. Just happened by and saw you, wanted to say hello.”
This time there was no mistaking how her heart leaped when he said her name. What was up with that? It wasn’t as though she was interested or anything. She was lonely—and, well, she had seen most of George Clooney’s movies. That’s all it was.
“I’m glad you stopped by. I need to head back anyway. Can you recommend a good restaurant for lunch?”
His eyes brightened. “Hey, this isn’t on the schedule, but the girls don’t have me committed until tonight anyway. Want to have lunch with me?”
Lauren hadn’t a clue what he was talking about, but she didn’t want to pry. “Sure, that would be great,” she said, meaning it.
“Good,” he answered. He carried her laptop for her and together they headed back toward the house. “I’m really glad you came, Lauren.”
There was that heart flip again. He’d better quit saying her name or she’d need a pacemaker before the two weeks were over. She shot a glance his way. “Me, too.” Though she hardly knew this man, she felt a strange connection with him. Maybe because they’d both endured heartache. And then there was that whole George Clooney thing. She didn’t know.
But one thing she did know—the idea of spending the next couple of weeks at the Woods Inn Bed and Breakfast sounded pretty good to her right about now.
Chapter Four
When Garrett and Lauren returned from lunch, a van from Channel 4 was situated in the parking lot, and a young reporter was taping an interview with Macy and Molly. Garrett did not have a good feeling about this at all. He groaned.
“You okay?” Lauren asked.
“If I had remained childless I would be okay,” he said, shoving the gearshift into Park. Without another word he turned off the engine and jumped out of the car.
How could the girls get him into such a mess? It was one thing to have the stupid contest, but did the whole town have to know about it? No doubt he would never hear the end of it. He reminded himself to be friendly. This was free advertisement for the B and B. Enjoy the process, right? He swallowed the anger that lodged in his throat.
His girls saw him and waved. The reporter, a young man who appeared all of sixteen, turned to him. “Mr. Cantrell, I presume?”
Garrett gave a short tip of his head.
“My name is Drew Huntington, and I’m from News Channel 4. I’ve been interviewing your daughters about the ‘Win Daddy’s Heart’ contest.”
There was the sound of approaching footsteps, and Garrett turned to see the surprise on Lauren’s face.
“And you must be one of the contestants?” the reporter asked, his face resembling a puppy about to pounce on a rubber ball. By this kid’s eagerness, Garrett figured him to be fresh out of college and new on the job.
“I—” Lauren stopped, her gaze traveling to each one.
Her face turned a shade of white that Garrett had never before seen on a noncelestial being. “Lauren, are you okay?” he asked.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m not feeling so well.” With that, she practically ran across the parking lot toward the house.
Garrett turned back to the reporter. “Stage fright,” he said to ease the tension, though his stomach churned, not buying his own story for a moment.
Everyone laughed. The reporter talked to each of them awhile, getting the information on how Macy and Molly had come up with the idea, the names of the contestants, where they were from and any incidental details they had given the girls.
“So you don’t know much about Lauren, is that right?”
Macy shook her head. “We’ve misplaced her application. We can find out for you, though.”
Drew Huntington perked up. “Great. I can come back.” His eyes locked with Macy’s. She blushed beneath his gaze. Garrett saw the whole thing and didn’t like it one little bit. He cleared his throat.
Drew turned to Garrett. “I think this is fun news, Mr. Cantrell. A human interest story not just for Bliss Village residents. It might even be picked up by the big guys.”
Garrett’s gut twisted. His icy gaze settled upon his daughters. Molly coughed. Macy’s right eye twitched again.
Confusion registered on Drew’s face, and he fingered the collar of his shirt. “Yes, well, I’ll let you folks get back to your contest.” He handed his camera to the other man with him and quickly made arrangements with Macy to drop back in the middle of the week to talk further with the contestants. He said goodbye to Garrett and Molly. He turned to say goodbye to Macy. “Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand. With nary a twitch, both eyes sparkled as she looked at him, his hand holding hers a little longer than necessary.
Garrett folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “Girls, we need to think about dinner preparations.” His voice was deeper and stronger than usual. His lips pulled into a thin line and he glared at Macy.
She defiantly stared back. “We just ate lunch.”
“I’m hungry,” he snapped, though that wasn’t exactly accurate. He had eaten a late lunch with Lauren.
The reporter scurried off to his van, took one last glance at Macy and flashed a huge grin before he climbed aboard.
Garrett wanted to string the little twerp up by his toenails.
He and his eldest daughter were having enough problems getting along without throwing a boy into the mix just before she heads off to college. She had her mind on a college degree, and he aimed to see she kept it there.
Macy smiled until the van faded from view. When she turned to Garrett, the corners of her mouth drooped south. “What was that all about?” The hands on her hips told him she was prepared for a fight.
“He was just being nice, Dad,” Molly interjected.
Garrett’s head jerked toward his youngest. “You stay out of this, Molly.”
She promptly closed her mouth and headed for the house.
“Listen, Macy—”
“No, you listen, Dad. I’m not a little girl anymore. I know you’re lonely. I know you miss Mom, but things are what they are. We can’t bring her back. And I can’t stay with you forever. Neither can Molly. We have our own lives to live!” She turned and ran into the house.
Garrett felt as though he’d been punched in the gut. Was that what this contest was about? The girls thought they had to get him someone so they could have their own lives? Did they really think they needed to take care of him?
He walked to his bench in the back woods, speaking quietly to his wife. “I’ve made such a mess of things, Susie. I don’t know how to do this.” His jaw tensed as he waited for the words. “Why did you leave me? I don’t want to do this by myself!” The sharp pain of guilt stabbed him, making him ache all over. “I meant to get that tire fixed! Oh, how I meant to get it fixed.” His mind agonized with the thought of her tire