It was at times like this, times of great tragedy and devastation, that he missed Anna more than ever. She’d been the perfect cop’s wife. She’d been supportive, listening as he unburdened himself of the horrors that far too often were part of his job. Unlike most women, she hadn’t expected him to be strong and stoic day and night. Anna had known there was a flesh-and-blood man beneath the uniform. There’d been no one to fill that role since her death. After seven long years, he’d come to accept that there never would be.
As he walked through the hall, he noticed that most of the younger children were gone, although he could hear the sounds of a basketball game. Those boys would play ball day and night if given the chance.
When he’d realized he wasn’t going to be finished by four, he’d called ahead, letting a volunteer know he would be arriving late, so his girls wouldn’t worry. No doubt Alyssa would be even more irritated with him for having to stay at the center so long. He hoped today wasn’t indicative of the summer months to come.
He had to come up with a better solution. He couldn’t leave his daughters here all day and he wasn’t willing to leave them home alone. Even the best of kids got into trouble when they weren’t supervised. Unfortunately, his housekeeper had left two days ago to help her daughter, who was having a difficult pregnancy. He didn’t expect her to come back from Tennessee before September.
Sighing, Trent reached for the clipboard to sign out his daughters and nodded at the young man standing behind the desk. He was glad to see that the female volunteer from earlier had been replaced with this guy, who nearly matched his own six-foot-three-inch height. Although Sweet Briar was a small town, it had its share of crime. Most of it was petty and nonviolent, but with the influx of newcomers and vacationers, it never hurt to be careful.
He heard the pounding of small feet moments before his younger daughter burst into the lobby, a smile on her face. She stopped in front of him, a plastic bag clutched in her hands. “Daddy. Wait until you see what I made today in art.”
“What is it?”
“Close your eyes,” she commanded, and he quickly complied, even though he was so tired he could sleep standing up. He heard the whisper of the bag being opened. “Okay, now you can look.”
“Wow,” he exclaimed, seriously impressed by the three-dimensional flower in her hand. Over the years he’d become used to finger-painted pictures and cotton ball snowmen glued to construction paper. He’d always made suitable noises about how wonderful each project had been and then taped it to the refrigerator.
But this project was really good.
“Did you make this?”
“Yep. I did it all by myself. Well, the teacher helped a little bit.”
“It’s excellent.”
“I didn’t think I could do it, but I did. At first she was telling me what to do, but when I didn’t understand, she made her own project and showed me how. She said that only my hands could touch my flower. At least when I was making it. You can touch it now.”
Smart woman. He wondered which of the volunteers had worked with her. He’d find out and make a point to thank her tomorrow. Now he just wanted to go home and grab some dinner.
“She’s really nice, Daddy. And pretty.”
He managed not to grimace. Was his daughter matchmaking again? From the time Robyn turned three and realized her friends had daddies and mommies, she’d been on a mission to find herself a mommy. Her taste had been less than discriminating. She’d tried to marry him off to her kindergarten teacher, which would have been funny except Harriet Bowman had been his kindergarten teacher. And she’d been pretty old then.
Two years ago Robyn had tried to set him up with her friend Juliet’s mother, despite the fact that the woman was happily married. It had taken some doing, but he’d gotten Robyn to understand that mommies couldn’t be shared by two daddies. Since then, she’d been on the prowl for single women to fill the role of mommy. He hoped she hadn’t embarrassed the volunteer by asking her to marry him like she’d done last summer with a ticket taker at the zoo.
He’d tried explaining that he needed to find his own wife. Robyn was unimpressed with his efforts, although she hadn’t used those words. She’d simply told him that since he couldn’t do it on his own, she’d help. The same way he’d helped her learn how to tie her shoes. As if finding a woman who would make his heart sing was as easy as making two loops and knotting them.
“Don’t you want to say hi to her?”
Not if Robyn had made the woman believe he was looking for a wife. No one could take Anna’s place. It wouldn’t be right to let a woman believe there was room in his heart for someone else when there wasn’t. “Sure. I’ll make a point to do just that the next time she’s here.”
Robyn grabbed his hand and tugged it. “Silly Daddy. She’s here now.”
“Really?” Spending the entire day here went above and beyond the call of duty. Perhaps she’d left early and come back to help with the older kids tonight.
“Yep.”
He let Robyn pull him farther into the building, past Alyssa, who had her arms crossed over her chest. It was rapidly becoming her regular pose. If the scowl on her face was any indication, tonight was not going to be the restful night he’d hoped for.
“Where are you guys going? I’m ready to go home.”
“I want Daddy to say hi to my art teacher.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes. She’d also tried to convince Robyn to stop shopping for a mommy. Her less than subtle efforts had been as unsuccessful as his more diplomatic methods. “Do you have to do it now? It’s not like this is our last day here. And besides, he’s already met her.” Despite her complaining, Alyssa trailed along.
“So? They didn’t get to talk before. Now they can. He can even ask her for a date, since she’s not married.”
Trent groaned. He could only imagine what Robyn had shared about him to get that bit of information.
He allowed her to drag him by the hand until they entered a large room filled with tables. There was only one person in the room.
“Here she is.”
Trent’s gaze followed his daughter’s outstretched hand. The woman had her back to them. And uninterested as he was, he had to admit that she had a nice figure. Petite and dressed in jeans that hugged her curvy body and a T-shirt that revealed a tiny waist, the woman was cleaning paintbrushes in the sink. Humming softly to herself, she didn’t hear them approach.
“Miss Shields. Daddy came to say hi to you. Don’t you think he’s handsome in his uniform?”
The woman—the last woman on earth he ever wanted to see—turned. What he was sure started as a smile when she heard his daughter’s voice turned into a look of utter dismay. Had he not suddenly been filled with rage, the swift change of expressions would have been comical.
She had her nerve. First she’d returned to this town—his town. He could understand her need to attend her mother’s funeral, but the service and burial were over. Clearly, she felt no need to be with her family if she’d spent even part of the day here. So why hadn’t she left town? He didn’t know, but he was going to find out. And then he was going to make sure she knew she wasn’t welcome in Sweet Briar.
Robyn was oblivious to the tension. His little girl exhibited quite a bit of strength as she tugged his arm and led him in the woman’s direction. He didn’t want to talk to her any more than she wanted to talk to him, but he didn’t want to hurt Robyn’s feelings. Besides, he needed to know when she was leaving.
“Chief.” She nervously clasped and unclasped her hands. Then she dropped her arms to her sides. Before he could speak, she folded her arms over her perfect breasts. As if suddenly aware that she looked defensive standing