Gracie jumped up and down along with Cherry, then she hugged him. “Oh, thank you, Daddy.” Just as quickly she released him and returned to her new friend.
“Can we go back now?” Cherry asked. “We want to play in my room.”
Alex took charge. “Then let’s clean up and get going.”
The girls began to pack things in the bags as Alex came up to Evan. “The first time is the toughest,” he said. “We want to protect our little girls, and all they want is to be independent.” Alex looked at him. “It’s no secret you and Gracie have had a rough couple of years. It’s good to let her get out on her own.”
“She’s never wanted to before,” Evan admitted. “Now, she’s asking for things I have no idea how to give her.”
Alex shook his head. “Females. They’re hard to figure out sometimes.” He suddenly grinned. “But they sure make life interesting.” The man turned and shared a glance with his wife. “Oh, yeah, very interesting.”
Evan couldn’t stop looking at Jenny as she helped the kids gather things. She must have sensed his gaze because she turned around. When she smiled, a warm heat shot through him, settling low in his gut.
He tore his gaze away and found Alex watching him. “Jenny’s a special person with a big heart. I’d hate to see her hurt again.”
The message was clear. “I don’t plan to hurt her,” Evan said, knowing the only way for no one to get hurt was for him to stay away from the woman.
He was going to do his darnedest to accomplish just that.
Later that evening, Evan sat on a stool at Rory’s Bar and Grill as his dad worked behind the bar, drawing beers from the tap and mixing drinks. Rory’s wasn’t usually busy on a Sunday night and Evan was glad. He took a drink of his beer and listened to a Carrie Underwood ballad on the jukebox.
Too restless to sit around the house alone with Gracie gone to the Casalis’, he’d surprised himself when he got into his truck and drove into town.
His dad came over. “Can I get you another one?”
Evan stared down at his half-empty glass. “No, I’ll nurse this one for a while.”
Sean nodded. “You should come around more often.”
“I’ve never been the type to hang out in bars. And I usually have Gracie.”
Sean studied his son. “And you were married young, and then Gracie came along.”
Yeah, she’d arrived seven months after the wedding. Evan thought back to those days when Megan had returned from college, fresh with her degree and so many dreams.
He’d been working the Merrick Ranch and saving for his own place. They’d dated only a few times before spending the night together. A few months later, with Megan pregnant, they were standing in front of a preacher. After Gracie’s birth they’d moved into the foreman’s cottage at her parents’ vineyard.
“Socializing seemed to get me into trouble.”
His father smiled. “I think you’re older and wiser now. Besides, you can’t regret that beautiful child.”
“I regret a lot, but never her. She’s the reason I’m working so much. I know I don’t show her the love I should, but it’s hard.”
Sean placed his hands on the bar. “And I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, son, but Megan didn’t help you bond with your daughter.”
Evan took a long drink of his beer. He didn’t want to rehash the past. “Maybe if things had been different …” He knew that he had tried to get close to his wife. Maybe if they had been head over heels in love to start with they could have worked harder at being a couple, a family. He’d tried, but Megan was unreceptive to the idea.
“You can’t change the past, Evan,” his father continued. “So it’s time to move on. Don’t give up on finding someone else.”
“What I need is to concentrate on Gracie.”
“A loving relationship with a woman would be good for your daughter. You’re only thirty-three. It’s a normal thing to want to be with a woman.”
He really didn’t want to hear this. “Didn’t we have this conversation when I was thirteen?”
Sean laughed. “You didn’t listen then either.” His smile faded. “Just don’t give up on making a life for yourself, son.”
He met his father’s gaze. “How come you never found anyone after Mom left us?”
Sean shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t looking, or there wasn’t the opportunity.” He glanced to the doorway. “Not like you.” A slow smile creased his face. “How lucky can you get when that special one walks in the door?”
Evan turned his head and found Jenny standing at the entrance. He didn’t need her here. He didn’t need his heart racing, or his gut tightening into knots at the sight of her, either. Yet lately that seemed to be a common occurrence whenever she was around.
That meant big trouble for him.
Jenny had called herself crazy as she changed out of her comfortable sweats and into a pair of jeans and a cotton T-shirt. Then again when she slipped on a pair of heeled sandals and hurried down the steps of her apartment and out the back of the shop.
She told herself she was wanting a barbecue sandwich and some fries. That was her story and she was sticking to it. Spotting the Rafferty ranch truck from her window had nothing to do with it.
Telling herself she needed to stay away from Evan hadn’t slowed her progress as she crossed the nearly deserted street toward the neon sign of Rory’s Bar and Grill. She took a breath, and walked into the dimly lit room.
A wooden L-shaped bar ran nearly the length of the space. Against the side walls were a half dozen high-backed booths, mostly empty tonight. It was a nice place with a warm atmosphere.
“Hi,” she said, too breathless. Evan looked good, freshly shaved and wearing a starched Western shirt and nice jeans.
He nodded. “Jenny.”
She glanced away. “Hello, Sean,” she called as the older man came around the bar to greet her with a hug.
“Hi, lass. You look mighty pretty tonight.”
She couldn’t even remember if she’d put on any makeup. “Thank you.”
“So you finally decided to check the place out?”
“My own cooking brought me here. I hear you serve a great barbecue sandwich.”
Sean winked at her. “It’s the best. What else can I get you?”
“Some fries and make it to go.”
Sean frowned. “You can’t go home and eat alone.” He glanced at his son. “Evan was about to eat. Go and sit in a booth. Share some conversation and I’ll bring you your food. What do you want to drink?”
Jenny wasn’t sure this was a good idea. “I’ll have whatever Evan’s drinking.”
Sean hurried off, and she heard Evan say, “We’d better do as he says. You’re not getting out of here until you eat.”
“I didn’t intend to interrupt your evening.” She was such a lousy liar, but he didn’t look too happy to see her. “I mean, you don’t have to babysit me.”
“Have you heard me complain?” He led her to a booth and she scooted in.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and went behind the bar to draw a beer from the tap. He walked back and set both glasses on the table, then slid next to her.
She