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“We got lots of room,” Hailey added.
“You two make it impossible to say no.” It wasn’t as if she was alone with a stranger. Clearly John had a daughter, so that meant he was married, right? A dependable-father type, so she figured she might as well spare herself the long walk to town.
Something wet smacked against her forehead. The first drop of rain. Drops pelted the road and she dodged them by climbing into the cab.
“Looks like we came along just in time.” Keeping his attention on the road, John flicked on the wipers and put the truck in gear. “I told you your car was going to break down. I won’t say I told you so.”
“You don’t have to look happy about it. You were right, but it’s only a cracked hose. Easily fixed.”
“Really? Did you diagnose the problem yourself?”
“Sure. I’ve been on my own for a long time. I’ve had to learn to do minor repairs here and there. It’s no big deal.”
“Let me guess. You’re one of those independent types?”
“Something like that.”
He continued watching the road and never looked her way once.
Yep, definitely the dependable-father type. There wasn’t a thing to worry about. Alexandra relaxed into the leather seat. She’d never been in such a fine vehicle. Warm heat breezed over the toes of her sneakers.
Hailey snuggled close. “Alexandra, do you got a dog?”
“Not anymore. I had a little terrier when I was about your age.”
“Cool. Did you love him lots and lots?”
“I sure did. He slept at the foot of my bed every night and watched over me while I slept.” Alexandra sighed, softening a little at the rare good memory from her childhood, and secured the seat belt. “I miss him to this day. When I was eleven, we moved to a different house and couldn’t take him with us, so I had to leave him with the neighbors.”
“I bet that made you real sad.”
“It did.” Alexandra swiped an unruly lock of brown hair behind her ear, looking down at her scuffed tennis shoes. She couldn’t help noticing Hailey’s brand-new ones, already scuffed, with bright purple laces. “Why don’t you tell me about your dog?”
“Don’t got one. Daddy is really mean and won’t let me have one.” Hailey grinned.
“That does sound mean.” Alexandra never knew it was so easy to tease.
John’s dark gaze warmed with mild amusement as he lifted one thick-knuckled hand from the steering wheel to ruffle his daughter’s unruly hair. “Alexandra, don’t get the wrong opinion of me. Hailey isn’t quite old enough for the responsibility of taking care of a dog. She still can’t pick up her room every day.”
“Can, too.” Hailey’s chin jutted out. “I don’t got a lotta time. I’m very, very busy.”
Alexandra stifled a chuckle. “Busy, huh? I bet a pretty girl like you has a full social calendar.”
“Yep. I got swimming lessons and ballet lessons and piano lessons, ’cept I’m not so good at that, but Gramma says I gotta keep practicing my scales, even if I hate ’em.”
“Wise woman, my mother.” John found his gaze straying from the road again and in Alexandra’s direction. “You can see how lonely a dog would be waiting for Hailey to get done with all those lessons.”
“I’m not taking your side.” She shook her head, scattering those rich brown locks that seemed shot full of light. “No way. I’m sticking firmly with Hailey. A girl needs a dog of her own. It’s one of those rules of life.”
“Like death and taxes?”
“Exactly. I’m so glad you understand.”
“Daddy didn’t have a dog when he was little.” Hailey leaned close to whisper. “Don’t ya think that means he’s gotta have one now?”
“Makes perfect sense to me,” she whispered back.
“You’re getting me in trouble, Alexandra.” John guided the big pickup around a curve in the road. “Have pity for a poor beleaguered dad.”
“Yeah, you look like you have it tough.” She didn’t feel an ounce of pity for him—only admiration. For the obviously comfortable and good family life he had. His daughter didn’t sit quietly, afraid to make too much noise. No, Hailey wasn’t afraid to sparkle. The affection between father and daughter was clear.
No, John didn’t have it tough. From where Alexandra sat, she figured he had everything important in life.
Everything she’d never had.
“Hey, enough about us.” John cut into her thoughts. “Tell us where you’re headed once you get your car fixed.”
Alexandra tensed. It was a perfectly innocent question. She knew that. John didn’t mean any harm. She knew that, too. He couldn’t know he was asking the impossible. She couldn’t talk about where she’d been and never where she was going. She had to leave her past behind, and lying was the only way to do it.
The story she’d been rehearsing since that first frightening night on her own was right on the tip of her tongue, but it felt wrong. She couldn’t do it. Not to this man and his daughter, who were being so nice to her.
So what did she say? Her stomach clenched as tight as a fist. Simply thinking about where she’d been sent panic lashing through her. She stared at the road ahead, slick with rain. A wind gust roared against the side of the truck and she wished the winds were strong enough to blow away the bad memories she’d left behind, and she was able to find a way to answer him honestly. “I’m not sure where I’m going. I’m just driving.”
“You’re the adventurous type, is that it?” John slowed the truck as town came into view. “You decide to vacation and go where the road takes you?”
“Exactly.” She said nothing more. She was looking for a new life.
And praying she would know it when she found it.
The rain ended and the wind died down as they drove along the main street of town. Modest shops were open for business, and a few cars were parked along the curb, but no one was in sight. Maybe the rain had scared everyone inside.
“Daddy, can we stop for ice cream? Please, please?”
“What do you need ice cream for? You’re sweet enough already.”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “Gramma says a girl’s gotta have chocolate.”
“Gramma ought to know. She’s a wise woman.”
Hailey didn’t know what a lucky little girl she was, to have a kind man for a daddy, Alexandra thought as the pickup slowed to turn off the street and into the gravel lot. Then again, maybe like Alexandra’s father, this was how John acted in public—polite and deferential.
Home had been a different matter.
She’d learned the hard way it was difficult to really know a person from outward appearances. It was a tough lesson to learn but one she’d never forgotten.
John pulled up to the drive-through window at the same little stand where she’d eaten her lunch in the shade. On friendly terms with everyone, it seemed, he greeted the blond-haired woman by name after she slid open the glass partition.
“Hi there, Misty. We’ll have three chocolate cones, double dipped.”
Before Alexandra could protest, the woman smiled brightly. “Three it is. I’ll be right back.” Then she disappeared into the shop.
“Consider it terms of accepting a ride with us,” John explained easily. “Where there’s Hailey, there’s chocolate ice cream. It’s best not to fight it. Just accept it as a law of nature.”
“Then it should be my treat in exchange for the ride to town.” She peeled a five-dollar bill from the stash in her wallet.
“No, it’s not my policy to let ladies pay.” He held up one hand, gallant as any fine gentleman.
“It’s my policy to pay back good deeds when I can.” She pressed the bill on the dash in front of John and gave him an I-mean-business look.
“This goes against my grain,” he told her, handing the five to Misty at the window in exchange for three huge chocolate-encased cones. “Thanks. Hailey, pass one down.”
“These are awesome.” The girl’s eyes shone with pleasure as she handed the biggest cone to Alexandra. “You gotta be careful ’cuz the ice cream is all melty.”
“I see.” The rich chocolate smell was enough to die for. Her mouth watered as John put the truck in gear and circled around to the shaded picnic tables.
Random raindrops plopped onto the windshield from the trees reaching overhead. “This looks like a good place to have a car picnic,” John announced. “What do you say, Hailey?”
“A truck picnic, Daddy,” she corrected with a roll of her eyes. “My Grammy loves car picnics. Don’t you, Alexandra?”
“A car picnic, huh?” She’d never heard it called that before, but it wasn’t hard to see at all, sitting in this comfy truck with the heat breezing over their toes as father and daughter picnicked right here, out of the weather. It was way too much for her and far too tempting to stay.
A gust of breeze buffeted the side of the truck, reminding her that she was like the wind. On the move, with no place to call home and no reason to linger.
There was nothing else to do but to tuck her purse strap firmly on her shoulder. “You two enjoy your picnic. This is where I go my own way.”
“No! Wait,” Hailey protested. “You gotta eat your ice cream.”
“I will, I promise.” Alexandra popped open the door and her feet hit the rain-sodden ground. “I hope you get your puppy. John, thanks for the ride.”
“Wait.” He bolted out the door. “You don’t have to run off. You’re going to need a ride back to your car.”
“I don’t think your wife will appreciate your driving strange women all over town.” Alexandra took a step back, putting safe distance between them. “Don’t you have a job at the hardware store to get back to?”
“I own the store, and my part-time hired help can handle things while I’m chauffeuring Hailey around.” The wind tousled his dark hair, drawing her attention to the look of him, and the way his shoulders looked as dependable as granite. “I’m not married. Not anymore.”
“My mommy died when I was just a baby,” Hailey added around a mouthful of ice cream.
“I’m sorry.” The words felt small against the size of their loss. Somehow knowing John was a single father made it easier for her to take another step away and another, her heart feeling as heavy as stone.
“It’s a long walk back,” John called after her.
“I don’t mind.” She waved goodbye across the gravel lot and disappeared before he could say anything else.
Crunching the last bite of his cone, John had to admit the chocolate didn’t taste as good as usual. That was Alexandra’s fault.
When he’d happened along her broken-down car on the road, he had to wonder if he was meant to help her out. A woman alone like that… Surely the Lord was watching out for her. Surely it had been no coincidence John had been the one to find her walking toward town. The good Lord knew John had debts to pay and never turned down an opportunity to do so.
It troubled him now. He tried to put thoughts of Alexandra aside as Hailey told him all about her morning at Stephanie’s, but his mind kept drifting back. God hadn’t intended for people to be alone. That’s what families were for, neighborhoods, churches and towns.
He couldn’t help wondering if Alexandra was about ready to walk alone back to her car.
The clouds overhead had broken, but the real storm hadn’t hit yet. He could feel it in the wind and smell it in the air.
“Let’s get going, Hailey. We can’t leave Warren in charge of the store for much longer.” The high school kid he’d hired was reliable, but he was young. “Look at you, all covered with chocolate.”
“I made a real mess,” she agreed cheerfully as she rubbed her hands on a wadded napkin. “Is Grammy gonna come pick me up now? ’Cuz I’ve got lots of stuff to do.”
That was his daughter, always on the go. “Yep. All I have to do is give her a jingle. Turn your head that way. You really smeared yourself up good this time.” John grabbed the last paper napkin and wiped the chocolate smudges from his daughter’s face.
“It was really melty. Hey, Daddy?”
“What?” He gathered the trash and tossed it into the garbage bin. “This isn’t about getting a dog again? You’re wearin’ out my ears on that one.”
“Oh, I don’t want a dog. I want a puppy.” She climbed into the cab and plopped onto the seat. “A puppy.”
“That’s just a little dog.”
“Yeah, but you let me have a horse.”
He got into the truck, turned the key and listened to the engine rumble. “That’s it. I forbid you ever to visit Stephanie again.”
He gave her head a ruffle, and she giggled, light and sweet—his most favorite sound of all.
Back at the store, Warren was helping a customer, so John grabbed the phone and dialed. He counted nine rings—Mom must be outside in her garden.
She was out of breath when she answered. “Hello?”
“Hailey’s ready for you.”
“Oh, John, perfect timing. I was starting to wonder about her. Say, grab a container of rose food for me. I just ran out.”
“Will do. And since I never charge you a penny—”
“Uh-oh, I’m in trouble now. I can hear it coming.” On the other side of the phone, his mom had to be smiling. “All right, I’m sitting down. What do you want now? Don’t tell me you finally folded on the puppy issue.”
“Not yet. I’m still waging that battle. Listen, on your way to town, you’ll see a woman walking. She’s medium height and slim with dark brown hair and wearing a sweater and jeans. Give her a ride back to her car, will you? Don’t take no for an answer.”
“I should hope not! A woman walking alone. This country is safe, I’m proud to say, we’re a fine community, but a woman shouldn’t be left alone. And walking on that long road. Why, I’ll leave right now.”
“You’re a good woman, Mom.”
“Don’t I know it.”
John punched the button, ending the conversation. Problem solved. Alexandra wouldn’t be able to refuse his mother. Few people could. Alexandra would get the help she needed, and his conscience could finally stop troubling him.
End of story, he told himself, heading back to the garden section. The phone rang and more business walked through the door, enough to keep him busy. So, why couldn’t he stop thinking about Alexandra and the way her smile never quite reached her eyes?
Chapter Three
