“It’ll be a daytime bed,” I say quickly, glancing at Amelia to make sure it’s the right thing to say. “He’ll have another place to sleep at night.”
“Perfect.” Amelia claps her hands once before Harper can come up with another argument. “Now, what are you two doing here in the middle of the day?”
“Grandma’s taking me shopping for your—” Harper starts.
The older woman, who I’m assuming is Amelia’s mother, puts a hand over Harper’s mouth. “Harper and I have a secret project,” she says with a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling. “We came by here so she could change her clothes. We didn’t expect you to be here or for you to have company.”
“Lunch break,” Amelia says. “I had to deal with another gross crawl space, and I really needed a shower.”
I want to slap my hand over her mouth, but that would suggest a familiarity Amelia clearly wants to pretend we don’t have.
“Deac said you were chasing a dog,” Harper says.
Amelia cuts a sharp glance of annoyance in my direction. “A dog in a crawl space,” she says.
The older woman snorts and offers me a hand. “I’m Amelia’s mother, Doris Winfield. It’s lovely to meet you, Deacon.”
A different last name than either Asher or Amelia. Does that mean she’s their stepmother? Or that her husband is their stepfather? I shake her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“I have to get back to work,” Amelia says, sounding fully irritated. She bends with a smile and hugs Harper. “I’ll see you later, sweetie.”
“Catch lots of dogs,” Harper says.
“Mom,” Amelia says as she rises to stand. “I’ll call you when I’m on the way home.”
She turns to me. “Deacon, walk me to my truck?”
I smile at Doris, who winks at me with a delighted expression. She’s on my side at least.
“It was very nice to meet you both,” I say to her and Harper.
Amelia grabs my arm and pulls me toward the door. “Have fun, you two,” she says through clenched teeth.
“Is your birthday soon?” I ask as she hustles me out the door and down the stairs to the driveway where her truck is parked.
She spins, looking fully frazzled and disconcerted. “Aren’t you mad I didn’t tell you about my daughter?”
Shit. I’ve known about Harper for a few days, but as far as Amelia’s concerned, I should be beyond shocked at this revelation. “I’m not mad,” I say slowly. “You never promised to share the details of your life with me, but I am… disappointed?”
Somehow, she’s not fazed by my terrible delivery. “That’s fair. You have a right to be disappointed.” She glances back at the house before stepping closer to me. “I won’t hold you to your promise to build the cat gym in Harper’s room. I’ll tell her you got busy on another job, and she’ll forget about it…” She glances back at the house, chewing on her lower lip. “Eventually.”
Is she pushing me away or just assuming I want out? I lean closer, my heart pounding with nerves. If I get this wrong, I’m going to lose her. “Does my knowing about your daughter mean we can’t see each other anymore?”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Look, I’m going to be blunt here, because I don’t know any other way to be. In my experience, once a man finds out I have a child, he either headsfor the hills or he decides he needs to marry me and be a father to Harper. I’m not interested in either situation.”
I smile down at her. I can work with this. “Neither am I. I’m not afraid of your daughter, and I’d never choose to get serious with a woman just because she has a child. You’re more than just a mother, and you have a right to do whatever you want with your free time.”
She doesn’t smile back or look relieved. “But now Harper’s going to know you, and if you build this gym in her room…”
“I’ll only work on it when she’s not here. In fact, I have some time this afternoon, and I can probably get most of it done in a couple of hours.” I absolutely don’t have time, and Sebastian’s going to kill me, but it’ll be worth it.
Her shoulders drop. “Can you stay out here until they leave the house?”
“I’ll head out for supplies and only go back inside if they’re gone.”
She nods and blows out a breath. “Okay. That works. I’ll leave the key under the mat. Just lock up and put it back when you’re done.”
I want to cheer, but I bite back my grin and nod. “No problem. I don’t want to make your life more difficult, Amelia. You’re calling all the shots, okay?”
