Grace held out her arms, and Rue gave her a hug. Eb’s gaze met Sandra’s, the warmth in his smile making her glad she’d come early to their appointment at the resort the day before.
“You good?” she asked.
“Never better.” Eb glanced at the others. “Please take more cookies.”
Everyone did, even Nigel, and they filed out of the apartment. Sandra lingered for a second, and Eb approached her.
“I can’t thank you enough for your help this weekend.” He lifted his hand toward her cheek. When her eyes widened in surprise, he stepped back, dropping it. “Good night.”
“Night.” Sandra turned. Had he been about to touch her face? Likecaressit? The energy that had sprung between them had set her pulse thrumming.
Alex and Grace had already grabbed their coats and were opening the condo door. Glancing back, Sandra saw Rue had slid her hand into Eb’s.
Quietly, her eyes burning at the touching scene, Sandra stepped into the hallway. When she’d gone to his office yesterday, she hadnotconsidered him anything more than a friend. Now… Where had the sudden chemistry come from?
It didn’t matter. The poor man had enough on his hands with the unexpected appearance of his daughter. Sandra didn’t need to complicate his life. Or hers. In the meantime, she had plenty of research to do on his behalf.
* * *
After readinga bedtime story to Rue, from a book which Sandra had purchased, Eb finally made it to his own bedroom. He stared wearily at the mess. It’d take some shifting before the desk would fit. After considering it for a few seconds, he finally collapsed on his bed. He simply didn’t have the energy.
Eb roused some time in the night. Listening, he heard no noise and wondered what had wakened him. Then he noticed he still wore his day clothes. Why had he gone to bed fully dressed?
Rue!
He jumped to his feet and hurried to his office. Rue’s bedroom now. Smiling to himself, he peeked in. A pale shaft of moonlight shone on the foot of the purple bed. His sweet little girl lay curled up around the single stuffed animal she’d brought with her. Surprisingly, it was a Scottish cow she called Fergie. It mooed when she squeezed a front hoof.
Eb straightened the blanket, grateful for the gift Paige had dropped in his lap, a gift he wouldn’t allow her to take back. Would he ever get over how stupid he’d been in letting her manipulate him? She’d probably thought him a fool, and he had been. Then.
He returned to his bedroom. Unable to sleep, Eb took a quick shower and then rearranged his bedroom to accommodate the desk. With his computer set up again, he conducted a few online searches and studied up on what he’d need to do to get official custody. The first thing on his list was to hire a good attorney.
At four, he finally went to bed again and slept for a couple of hours before rising. When he stepped into the living room, he found Rue standing at the sliding glass door, trying to open it.
“It’s cold out there.” Eb hurried over to pick her up. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Uh huh.” She buried her face in his neck, squeezing him with her little arms.
Was there anything as precious as a child’s hug?
“What did you want to see on the balcony?” he asked.
Rue lifted her head. “The pool. Grace said her grammy and grampy live here, and there’s a pool.”
Eb grinned at the image of academy award-winning actor Walt Kinkade being calledgrampyby Grace and Alex. Perhaps he had a resigned attitude about it, like when the children had called Nigel Grandpa Gelly.
“Are you laughing?” Rue asked.
“Just thinking of something funny I heard once. The pool in this complex is closed until next summer when it’s warmer, but the county has a recreation center here in town. I swim laps there, and they have a wonderful indoor pool.”
“Oh, yay!” She kissed his cheek. “Will you take me today?”
His first thought was to suggest she might swim while he did laps, but reason kicked in. His old schedule wouldn’t fit his new reality, and a four-year-old child would require supervision. And Eb was fine with it.
“We can check the schedule to see if they’re open today.” He strode toward the kitchen, trying to remember what he had since he rarely did anything but takeout. “What would you like for breakfast?”
“Pancakes like at Grace and Alex’s house!”
Eb put her on one of the breakfast bar chairs and started opening his cupboards.
