Saved By The Single Dad. Annie Claydon

that Jack remained steadfastly single it was a small price to pay for knowing that no one would ever have the chance to leave Ellie again.

      He took a gulp of tea. Maybe it was better to just stop thinking about any of this and focus on the here and now. ‘So what are your plans for the day?’

      * * *

      Crisis bonding. That was what it was. Jack wouldn’t seem half as handsome or a quarter as desirable if it hadn’t been for the floods and a long night, filled with every kind of emotion imaginable. A little sleep and a lot of coffee would fix everything.

      Somehow Cass doubted that. But she had to tell herself something before she started to fall for Jack. Because, when it came down to it, his expectations were most probably the same as any other man’s.

      And she would never really know what his expectations were until she was in too deep. When Paul had first proposed to her he’d never mentioned children, but the pressure had started to grow as soon as it became apparent to both of them that there might be a problem. She couldn’t risk the pain of trying again and being rejected when she failed. No man, not even Jack, could guarantee that he wouldn’t leave her if she couldn’t give him children.

      It was better to accept being alone. And to concentrate on today.

      ‘Martin and I were going to go and visit Miss Palmer. She’s eighty-two and won’t leave her house. She’s pretty feisty.’

      He chuckled. ‘What is it about this village? It’s like a nineteen-fifties horror film—some poor hapless paramedic washed up to find himself in a remote place where all the women are terrifying...’

      He wasn’t terrified at all; he was man enough to enjoy it. Cass grinned. ‘We are all terrifying. There’s something in the water.’

      Jack leaned back, his shoulders shaking with laughter. ‘I’ll stick to bottled, then. And I don’t much like the sound of an eighty-two-year-old on her own in these conditions. Want me to come along?’

      ‘Yes. Thanks. Maybe we can grab a couple of hours sleep first, though. And some coffee.’