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“I’m sorry. I guess it’s a good thing my grandmother kept up all of the insurance on this place.”

Shaun turned to her with a serious look on his handsome face. “Leah, there’s something I need to tell you.”

She already knew what he was going to say. “It’s okay. I understand that you had to make some decisions in my absence. I wish you would have woken me up. But I know that you were just trying to look out for me.”

“That isn’t it—”

“Excuse me.” When she turned toward the deep male voice, the gentleman asked, “Are you the new owner?”

The man had on a tan work coat with a red plaid flannel beneath it. Her chin tilted upward, and her gaze skimmed over his close-trimmed beard, which was reddish-brown with a sprinkling of white hair.

His face was weathered, as though he spent a lot of time outside. Blue eyes stared at her. Those eyes seemed so familiar—like the ones that stared back at her in the mirror each day. His brows were full, and his hair was light brown with the hint of gray in the temples.

When her gaze returned to his eyes, it took her a moment to remember what he’d asked her. “I, uh... I inherited it from my grandmother.”

“Grandmother?” The color leached from the man’s face. “I didn’t know Miriam had any grandchildren.”

In the background, one of the boys helping with the tree removal called to him, but it was like the man couldn’t hear them. If he felt as though everything was off-balance, he wasn’t alone.

She felt like the earth had tilted off of its axis. She was having problems regaining her bearings. Was it possible that this man was her father? Her heart pounded. Did she want him to be her father? Her heart pounded faster. She had absolutely no idea.

Leah swallowed hard. “I’m her only grandchild. I didn’t get to know her. My mother didn’t tell me anything about her.”

The man’s mouth moved but no words came out. He pressed his lips together. His throat muscles moved. “Is your mother Leanne Mitchell?”

Leah nodded as her mind spun with this new information. “I’m Leah Mitchell.” She held her hand out to him—to her father. Her voice wavered when she said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

He took her hand in his calloused palm. His touch was warm, even though it was cold outside. He covered the top over her hand with his other hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He kept staring at her. “You look so much like your mother. How is she?”

“She, uh... She was killed in an accident a few years ago.”

He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m so sorry. She was the most amazing person.”

Leah nodded. A pang of grief washed over her. Even though she’d had her differences with her mother, she still loved her and missed her.

As though he just realized he was still holding her hand, he withdrew his hands. “Can I ask you a really strange question?”

Her mouth was dry as she struggled to swallow. Instead of risking her voice cracking with emotion, she merely nodded.

“When is your birthday?”

She swallowed hard. “March... March first.”

His eyes widened. “What, uh... year?”

When she told him, he visibly gasped. He obviously had no clue that she existed.

They’d come this far; she might as well voice what they were both dancing around. “Are you my father?”

His eyes grew shiny as he struggled to control his emotions. He nodded. “Yes. I think so… But I, uh... I didn’t know about you.”

She had a good idea what he was feeling. “I didn’t know about you either.”

“Dad?” one of the boys shouted.

The younger of the two boys ran over to him. “Larry says he needs your help.”

Paul quickly swiped at his eyes before he turned to his son. “Go tell Larry I’ll be right there.”