“It's a little dry,” she commented. “I’ll have to water here a little longer tonight.”

Straightening again, she looked up at him, and Scott smiled as he saw she had a smudge of dirt on her cheek again. This time he didn’t hesitate to reach down and brush it away.

She smiled as his hand lingered there and he watched as her expression softened.

“Do you have time for lunch today?” he blurted out, blinking as he realized he should be heading back to work but really wanted to spend more time with her instead.

Kara glanced behind her and then shook her head. “I can’t today. I have an appointment with Maeve. I just popped in here for a minute. But perhaps later in the week?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’ll check my calendar,” he added and then shifted slightly closer to her. “I wasn’t sure if I should ask you or not. I saw you and Maeve the other day with Jamie and didn’t know…”

Kara’s eyes widened as her nose wrinkled in distress. “You didn’t want to see me because of Jamie? Don’t worry about him. He’s back in town to see Maeve, but that has nothing to do with me. Anything between us was long over before she was even born.”

“If you’re sure?”

“I am,” she replied, then took a step back. “But I must admit I was surprised to see you with another woman in your lap the other day at the pub.”

Scott lifted his hands and drew in a sharp breath. “She’s firmly in my past too. I have no idea why she’s in town or what that greeting was all about.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, when I heard from Mark that you had seen her kissing me, I went over to your place to explain, but you weren’t there.”

“I went to Mary’s.”

Where I always go when I’m upset.

They stared at each other for a long moment.

Finally, Kara took a quick step forward, raised herself up on her toes, and swiftly kissed him on the cheek before looking him firmly in the eye. “Please let me know when it works for you to go out again. I’d love to have lunch or dinner with you,” she added and then, turning away, hurried back inside, leaving Scott staring after her. Heading back to his car, he whistled happily as he enjoyed the feeling her kiss had left on his cheek. As he settled in his car, he quickly swiped open his phone to check his calendar so he could text her a time he was free.

Two days later, Kara fluffed the pillows on her living room couch and gave them a karate chop to ensure they had the required dent in the top. It seemed like a silly thing to do. But, that was the style in all the decorating magazines right now, and not only was it fashionable, but hitting pillows was extremely satisfying for Kara today.

Tidying up the house, Kara kept an eye on Maeve, smiling when she saw that the book Maeve was pretending to read out loud to her stuffed pig was upside down. The story the little girl was telling was full of exclamations and hand gestures however, so it was very entertaining to watch.

Kara hadn’t gone to the garden center today as Maeve had just been released from the hospital that morning, and Kara’s head was still spinning from all she had learned over the last forty-eight hours. Since Mary and the rest of the garden center staff had repeatedly assured her they could take care of the things at the store for as long as was needed, she’d spent the day catching up on household chores while trying to figure out the best way to fit her daughter’s new medical considerations into their daily schedule. The nurses at the hospital had insisted that she needed to make Maeve’s medication, testing, and new diet regime as regular a part of their day as possible, so Kara was determined to do just that.

Keeping busy also stopped her from daydreaming about Scott.

A knock at the door startled Kara from her thoughts and had Maeve dropping her book and running to answer it. She was obviously feeling better and looking for a distraction too. Kara sighed and followed her.

When Maeve opened the front door, Kara was surprised to see Jamie standing on her front porch.

“Hi. Can I come in?” he asked Kara, ignoring Maeve, who stood quietly to one side, frowning up at him.

Kara paused for a second, comparing his request to what happened every time Scott greeted Maeve. He always squatted down to talk to her at her level, causing Kara’s heart to melt. Scott could teach Jamie a thing or two about how to greet his daughter.

Kara reached down and smoothed Maeve’s hair back as the little girl moved to half hide behind her while looking up with wide eyes at her father. “Come in,” she instructed him. “And say hello to your daughter,” she added.

Jamie rolled his eyes but waved at Maeve, who stepped away, scowling.

Kara leaned over and quickly kissed her daughter on the head, earning a tentative smile in reply.

“You two should spend more time together,” she said and motioned for Jamie to sit down. “Maybe you’ll both be more comfortable if you do.” Her tone was doubtful.

“Maybe,” Jamie said and shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before; it’s nice for a rental property.”

“Thanks,” answered Kara. “I haven’t done a lot to it, just a few things in my spare time here and there trying to make it homier for Maeve and me.”

“It looks good,” Jamie said, sitting down on her slightly worn but comfortable living room couch.

“Um, can I get you a drink or something?” asked Kara, twisting her hands together. She had already filled Jamie in on Maeve’s diabetes diagnosis and treatment over the phone, and he really hadn’t seemed all that interested in either coming to the hospital or learning more about her condition when they spoke.

Why is he here?

“Ah, sure, anything would be great. Even water would be good,” Jamie replied.

Maeve returned to reading her books on the floor, glancing up when Kara stood but returning to her reading after seeing her mother go into the kitchen.

Kara filled a glass with ice and the soda she knew Jamie used to drink.

“You should ask her to show you her books,” Kara yelled out to Jamie.

“Um, sure,” he replied. “So, uh, Maeve, what are you reading?” he asked, shifting forward on the couch.

The little girl looked up at him warily and held up her book so that he could see the cover.

Jamie nodded back and smiled thinly but asked nothing more.

Kara sighed. When she had first informed Jamie she was pregnant with Maeve, he’d told her he didn’t really like children and never intended to have any of his own. At the time, she’d assumed he was simply overwhelmed or scared by the situation, but now, watching him interact with Maeve, she realized perhaps he had been telling her the truth.

After delivering his drink, Kara called Maeve over to join them on the couch and soon the little girl was showing Jamie a few of his old toys that his parents had saved and passed on to her.

After glancing at what Maeve was handing him, Jamie laughed and put it down beside the others on the table in front of them. “Honestly, I don’t remember ever playing with any of these,” he said. “But I’m glad my folks found a new home for them.”

“Maeve likes them,” Kara replied, shrugging.

Jamie nodded and moved some toys off the couch before turning his back on Maeve to address Kara. He cleared his throat. “Kara, I just came over to let you know that I’ve decided to leave the city and move back to Larkin Bay.”

“Oh, I heard you might be. What made you decide to do that?”

“Well, for several reasons. My family is all here, and I think I’ve found a good job that I can do remotely. Also, you and Maeve are here and with all that’s happening with her health right now, I think she’s going to need both of us to care for her.”

Kara looked at him and frowned. Four years ago, when Jamie had taken his job in the city, he’d said he was doing it to escape Larkin Bay. At the time, he’d angrily told her he couldn’t stand the idea of being stuck here and had even accused her of getting pregnant on purpose so that he would be trapped—ruining his life forever. Since then, the few times they had talked, he’d taken great pains to let her know how great he was doing away from Larkin Bay. So his showing up now and telling her he wanted to be closer to them and help care for their daughter was not only surprising but also out of character for him.

“Ok,” replied Kara slowly. “Um, well, I guess that’s great, Jamie. Welcome back, I suppose.”

Emotion flashed across Jamie’s face so quickly that Kara couldn’t tell if it was sorrow, surprise, or anger he was feeling.