Bachelor Dad: A Single Dad Romance

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But Garrett didn’t like the idea of leaving her out of the fun. “You can go with Noah and I’ll go with Sophie. Or you can go with both of them, and I’ll wait here.”

She took a step back, away from the line at the Ferris wheel, her chin at a defiant angle. “Absolutely not.”

He didn’t want to pressure her any more. He’d railroaded her into coming with him and Sophie, and he felt bad about it. But it wasn’t for him. It was for his daughter. Considering that even after almost a week he still felt completely at a loss at what to do or say, he needed someone to just be around. Noah and Libby were the perfect ones.

“Okay, you don’t have to ride,” he said. “Noah, come with me. Let’s get you a ride bracelet.” He turned to Libby. “Do you mind watching Sophie for a minute?”

Her face softened and she looked down at Sophie with a smile. “Of course not, but you don’t need to—”

Garrett stopped listening as he put his arm around Noah’s shoulders and led him to the ticket booth. He wasn’t willing to argue with Libby or make up excuses as to why he should pay for Noah’s rides. He had the money, she didn’t. And she was helping him by just spending time with them.

“Mom’s not comfortable when people do things for her,” Noah said, while Garrett handed over the money to the woman in the booth.

“Then she’ll just have to not be comfortable,” Garrett replied. “Put your hand up there so the lady can put the bracelet on you.”

When they were finished, they started back toward the Ferris wheel. Noah held up his arm. “I’ll pay you back for this.”

Garrett stopped dead in his tracks. “You’re just like your mom, aren’t you?”

At first, it appeared that Noah was going to argue. Instead, he ducked his head, shuffled the toe of one shoe in the grass and then looked up with an embarrassed grin. “Like mother, like son.”

“Do me a favor, will you?” Garrett asked. Noah nodded. “Forget about it. I’m doing this for Sophie, not for you or your mom. And you can tell your mom that later, if you think it will help.”

Noah nodded. “It might.”

Feeling a little better, but still determined not to let these two people think he was helping, he started for the Ferris wheel. He liked Libby. He wasn’t going to deny that. But with a four-year-old daughter now in his life, he sure didn’t need to even think about having a woman in it, too. He had enough to handle.

“Everything okay?” he asked Libby when he and Noah joined her and Sophie.

“Just fine,” Libby answered. “You got the bracelet?” she asked Noah. When he nodded, she looked up at Garrett, stubborn determination in the set of her jaw.

“Forget it, Libby,” he said, before she could utter a sound. “Please.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Noah said quickly. “I already told him I’d pay him back.”

Libby visibly relaxed. “All right, then.”

Garrett bit his lower lip to keep from smiling. “Okay, so let’s get this ride thing organized. Are the three of us going to fit okay?”

Noah looked at Sophie, and then at Garrett. “I think so, but … Mom?”

“You’ll all fit. Looks like it’s your turn on the next stop.”

The four of them watched as the wheel rotated down toward them, slowing to a halt. Two high school girls climbed out of the seat, and Garrett turned to take Sophie’s hand. The three of them climbed into the roomy seat, Sophie in the middle, between them.

When the safety bar clicked, Libby waved and announced, “I think I’ll go scout out some lunch possibilities.”

The operator stepped away and pulled a lever. The wheel began to move. Beside him, Garrett felt Sophie stiffen. “It’s okay,” he told her. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates, and he took her small hand in his. “We’ll stop going backward when we get up to the top. See the ball field where Noah was playing earlier?”

“Don’t be scared,” Noah said. “Take a deep breath and close your eyes, if you are. When you get used to it, then you can open them.”

Garrett watched as she did as Noah instructed. After they stopped several times to let off old riders and take on new ones, and then made two complete circles, she’d relaxed. When she finally opened her eyes, there was a slight smile playing on her lips.

“Better?” he asked.

She looked up at him with a real smile and nodded.

For the rest of the ride, he and Noah pointed out different things to her, and by the time the ride was over, she was giggling. Garrett couldn’t remember hearing anything so beautiful.

When their ride was over and they were on solid ground again, Garrett looked around, but didn’t see Libby. “Do you see your mom?” he asked Noah.

Noah looked around, too. “No. Should I go look for her?”

Before Garrett could answer, he felt someone touch his arm. When he turned around, he saw Hettie Lambert, the great-granddaughter of the town’s founder, and her friend Aggie Clayborne.

“I heard you have a little girl,” Hettie said, smiling down at Sophie. “What a cutie!”

Having received the results of the paternity test the day before, there was no doubt left in Garrett’s mind that Sophie was his. He felt proud. He felt scared. News had traveled quickly in Desperation, as he had expected it would, and most folks knew that he was now a single father. He wasn’t surprised that Hettie had come to be introduced to Sophie, nor was he going to disappoint her.

“Thank you,” he answered. “This is my daughter, Sophie.”

“She looks just like your sister,” Aggie said. “Definitely a family resemblance.”

“And she’s just adorable,” Hettie added. Bending down, she touched Sophie’s cheek. “Welcome to Desperation, Sophie. I hope you like it here. Are you having a good time today?”

Garrett knew there’d be no verbal response from his daughter. “She’s a little shy, Hettie.”

Hettie straightened. “Oh, that’s all right. Don’t you worry about it, Sophie. Aggie and I are just two old ladies with nothing better to do than watch people having a good time at this carnival.” She turned to Garrett. “I’d like to talk to you about the new zoning, if you have a couple of minutes.”