Evan’sface screwed up. “Where’s she live again?”
“Virginia.”
“Is it far? Can we go there?”
Jeff smiled. Apparently Evan also understood Tara’s appeal. “It’s not too far from here. It’s very far from Colorado, though.”
He thought for a minute. “Does it snow in Vir-ja?” Evan loved the snow.
At least he had when he was three, but what did Jeff know about what Evan loved? He’d been kept from himfor months. “Sometimes. But it doesn’t have big mountains like Colorado.”
“Oh. I like the mountains.”
“Me too. But Virginia has other neat things.”
“Like what?”
“Rivers and streams. Lots of trees. And it’s close to where the President lives.”
Evan’s eyes brightened. “Really? Wow. Can we go?”
“Sure. We can stop there on our way home.”
“And see Miss Tara?”
Jeff chuckled even as hisheart twisted. “If she’s available.” If she wanted to see him again. “Maybe Papa can come with us.”
“Yay!” Evan looked around. “WhereisPapa?”
“He went for a walk. He’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay.” Evan toyed with his stuffed dog for a few minutes before looking at Jeff. “Do you like Miss Tara?”
“I do. Very much.”
“Do you want to marry her?”
Jesus. “Maybe, Ev. But I’m more concernedabout having time for you right now.”
“She’s really pretty. And really nice.”
Jeff couldn’t help but laugh. “True.”
Evan straightened and in the authoritative voice that preschoolers seemed to have an automatic mastery of, said, “So you should marry her.”
It couldn’t be this easy. “But then she’d have to live with us.”
“Iknow,” Evan said, as if Jeff were an imbecile for pointing itout.
“That wouldn’t bother you? You just met her.”
Evan shook his head. “She’s nice.” Wiggling Pickles, he said, “I never get to say who I live with. I want to pick for myself.”
Jeff swallowed past the bitterness that lodged in his throat. Hard to argue with a kid who’d been ripped away from the only dad he’d known and forced to live with Roy, who’d betrayed him in every way.
“It’s notthat simple, buddy. She might not want to live with us, no matter how much she likes us.”
Evan frowned. “Tell her we’ll be really nice.”
