Giggling some more, Mindy covered her mouth.
Tory watched the exchange between father and daughter, the love deep in their eyes. Mindy washed her food down with a big gulp of lemonade.
Slade leaned over and handed his daughter a napkin, pointing to her chin. “You have a red beard.”
Father and daughter’s shared laughter pricked Tory with longing. She wanted that with a child. She wanted a family. And time was running out for her. She didn’t see any way she was going to accomplish that goal. Too many obstacles.
“Was your business trip successful?” Tory settled back in her chair, her stomach knotted.
Picking up his pizza laden with everything but the kitchen sink, Slade said, “Things are proceeding according to my plans. Hopefully I won’t have to travel as much in the future.”
Mindy clapped. “Goo-dy!”
“I figured you would like that,” Slade said, taking a bite of his food.
The little girl popped the last piece of her third slice into her mouth, then took a large swallow of lemonade. Pushing herself to her feet, she said, “Save—for—later?”
“Sure, but I thought you were hungry?” Slade’s brow knitted in question.
“My—show—is on.” She started for the door.
“Show? What show?” Slade asked as his daughter banged the screen door closed behind her.
Tory shrugged. “Beats me. She doesn’t watch much TV when she’s here.”
“She’s always been a fast eater, but she beat her record this time.”
“I think she wanted to leave us alone so I could talk to you.”
The frown lines deepened as he shifted his blue gaze to her. “This doesn’t sound good. What happened?”
Her stomach muscles constricted even more, tension taking a firm grip on her. “Mindy doesn’t like Mrs. Davies.”
“Why?”
“She overheard the woman calling her a crippled retard to someone on the phone. She doesn’t think Mrs. Davies likes her.”
Anger slashed across his face. He flexed his hands then balled them. “A crippled retard?”
Her own indignation stiffened her spine. She remembered the hurt in Mindy’s voice and expression when she had told her earlier and wanted to demand Slade do something about it.
He tossed the pizza box he held onto the swing and surged to his feet. Every line in his body spoke of his rage. “She came highly recommended. Her references were excellent. How can—?” He paused, opening and closing his hands again, took a deep breath and continued. “How can anyone say that?”
“I don’t know,” Tory said, having a hard time herself understanding why Mrs. Davies would say that about Mindy, even if the woman didn’t know the child was listening.
Slade scrubbed his hands down his face, then plopped down onto the swing, facing Tory. “What do I do now? I can’t have someone like her taking care of Mindy, but I need someone to watch my daughter. Mrs. Davies was the best applicant from the batch I had. I—” He snapped his mouth closed and stared at a place behind Tory. When he reestablished eye contact with her, a bleak look was in his expression.
Tory resisted the urge to toss the pizza box to the floor and slip into the place next to him on the swing, taking his hands within hers. It was tempting, but she sat frozen in her chair, watching a play of emotions flit across his features.
A hopeful gleam appeared in his blue eyes. “Unless you’d like to take the job.”
For a moment Tory forgot about her ranch and the horses, her dream, and thought about accepting the offer, turning her back on the past four years. She loved Mindy and didn’t want someone else looking after her. But she couldn’t walk away from her dream and the people who depended on her, Mindy being one of them. “I’ve grown to love your daughter. I’d be glad to have Mindy come out here, but that’s a short-term solution. We could do that until you find someone else.”
“But you’re perfect for Mindy. She’s always talking about you. She’s so comfortable at your place. Isn’t there a way we could work this out?”
“It doesn’t seem practical.” Regret tinged her voice. She thought of the long hours she had to spend taking care of the ranch as it was right now. She could manage to help for a while, but without assistance with the ranch, everything would catch up with her. She could only do so much. “There’s so much I have to do around here. Going back and forth to town would be very time-consuming.”
“What if I moved out here?”
Surprise widened her eyes. “Where?”
He shrugged. “Here?”
“Here!” Her mouth went dry and perspiration cloaked her forehead.
“Yes.” Slade rose. “There’s got to be something that could work.” He began to pace as though he needed to keep moving in order to gather momentum. “Maybe we could get married? For Mindy.” The second he said those words, he halted, his eyes huge with shock.
“Married?” Stunned, Tory watched him begin walking again from the swing to one end of the porch, then back.
Chapter Five
“Yes, married,” Slade said, moving toward her. He came to sit across from her, pulling his chair closer so that his knees were only inches from hers, the shock replaced with enthusiasm. “I could help you with this ranch. You could hire someone to assist you. You’ve been worried about money. With my expansion nearly completed, my company’s going to be doing well. Money won’t be a problem. We could help each other.”
Still stunned, Tory listened to his words as though she were a bystander observing the scene from above. She had a hard time getting past the word married. “But—” Nothing else came to mind.
“Don’t answer me right now. Think about it. We’re friends. We both care for Mindy. You would be a terrific mother for her. In fact, I can’t think of anyone better for that role. Mindy needs someone like you in her life on a permanent basis. This could be a good partnership.” The eagerness in his voice made his words rush together.
Marriage? Partnership? Was that a possibility? She’d given up hope of ever getting married, even though she wasn’t quite thirty. She’d given up hope of ever trusting enough to have a real marriage. Desperate, Tory grasped on to a sane rational reason not to go through with his proposal. “Marriage is a serious step. There’re so many things involved.”
Leaning forward, he clasped her hands. “I know. That’s why I don’t want you to give me an answer right away. Think about it.”
“You should, too.” The intensity in his gaze burned heat into her cheeks. “I mean we aren’t in l—” She couldn’t seem to say the word. It lumped together in her throat and refused to come out.
“We aren’t in love?” One brow quirked. “No, but we are good friends. I can tell you things I haven’t told another. I trust you one hundred percent with my daughter.”
The last sentence produced a surge of pride. For a moment she relished that feeling, but then reality took over, bringing her back to the problem at hand. “But what if you find someone later who you fall in love with and want to marry? To me, marriage is forever.”
A shadow crossed over his face, darkening his eyes as if a storm gathered in them. He pulled away and stood. “I won’t. I had that once in my life.” He paused, angled his head and asked, “But have you?”
Tension constricted her muscles until she had to force herself to relax. The drill of his gaze prodded her to answer