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Ivy ate both casseroles, quite happily. Dessert, a creamy chocolate pudding, made her even happier. Meagan kept wiping her daughter’s mouth and hands. She cleaned the pony, too. Ivy was making a gleeful mess feeding it, as well.
“I can bring Ivy with me when I go to work,” Meagan said to Tanner and Candy. “The resort offers free day care and after-school programs for children of the employees. I’m going to check it out and hopefully get her enrolled by Monday.”
“That sounds great,” her brother replied. “I think it’ll be good for Ivy to be in that type of setting, especially with you being nearby.”
“I agree,” Candy said. “I think Ivy will enjoy it. She likes playing with other kids. I’ll miss having her with me every day, but you need to do what’s right for yourself and your daughter.”
“Thank you.” Meagan was glad that everyone approved of the idea. “I appreciate your support.”
“I’d like to meet Garrett sometime.” Tanner took a second helping of the chicken-and-rice casserole. “He sounds like a pretty decent guy, offering something like that.” He turned toward Meagan. “It was decent of him to hire you, too.”
Yes, it was, she thought. Even if it had been his mother’s idea, he’d still followed through and given her a job. “He told me that I can ride at the resort any time I want.”
“Then you should take him up on it.” Tanner spoke softly. “You know I’d like to see you get back on a horse. You’re always welcome to ride at my stables, too.”
“I know. It might be easier at the resort, though, since I’ll already be there for work. And I like the atmosphere.” She’d always loved the sand and surf. When she was a teenager, like a slew of other California girls, she used to go the beach with her friends. “If I’m going to ride again, maybe I should start there.”
Her brother encouraged her. “So go for it.”
Would she come across Garrett on the trail? Would she pass him along the shore? “I’m considering it.” Before her nerves ran away with her, she added, “But I don’t want to jump into anything too soon.”
“You’ll be ready when the time comes.”
“I hope so.” Especially if it involved seeing Garrett. Already she was anxious about their next encounter and how it would unfold. He’d told her that he spent a lot of time at the stables. So one way or another, she had to get used to seeing him.
Tanner went quiet, returning to his food. Meagan lifted her fork and raised it to her mouth, trying to concentrate on her meal, too. But above all else, she needed to clear her troubled mind.
And stop worrying about Garrett.
Three (#u41defe55-207a-542d-ab7d-feb110d6f97b)
Garrett headed toward the child care center at the resort. He promised himself that he was going to keep an eye on Meagan, to see what type of person she truly was, so he decided to be there when she dropped her kid off.
Today was Meagan’s first day on the job, and he’d learned from HR that she’d enrolled her daughter in the day care. So why shouldn’t he be curious to see her with her child, especially on this very first day?
Besides, it wasn’t as if he’d never popped over to the day care before. He actually did it quite often. This was his resort, his place of business, and he was a hands-on CEO. He made a point of checking on every department to make sure that things were running smoothly, to speak to everyone employed there. He knew the day care teachers by name. He liked being around the kids, too. When he was in foster care, some of the younger children used to come to him for comfort and support. Sometimes it was for something as simple as a skinned knee. On occasion, it was far more serious, like bullying. He used to look out for Max, his tech-geek foster brother, when Max had been too small and skinny to fend for himself. Garrett was good at protecting the rights of others. He handled his own rights just fine, too.
He sat on a bench in the atrium where the day care was located and sipped his coffee out of a disposable cup. Every workday morning, he got a medium-bodied roast with a dash of milk from the coffee vendor in the food court in the hotel.
Here we go, he thought. His timing was impeccable. He spotted Meagan entering the atrium and holding her daughter’s hand. He couldn’t help smiling to himself. Her kid was a cute little tyke, toddling along in a denim outfit and pink cowboy boots. In her free hand, she clutched a heart-shaped purse with cartoon characters on it, swinging it as she moved. She walked with a bounce in her step, a ribbon-wrapped ponytail exploding from the top of her head. Meagan was in denim, too, but she looked far more serene in her Western wear. Her long thick hair was plaited into a single braid that hung down her back, and her boots were a neutral shade of brown. She had a hell of a figure. Her jeans cupped her rear like nobody’s business.
She glanced over, and their gazes met across the open space. Garrett stood and tossed his empty cup into a recycle bin.
He walked over to her, and they faced each other, with sunlight spilling down over them, courtesy of the glass roof above their heads.
“I wanted to be here when you brought your daughter to the day care,” he said, being as honest as the moment would allow.
Meagan seemed taken aback. Clearly, she hadn’t expected his intrusion to be so deliberate. But she recovered quickly and focused on her child. She said to the little girl, “Ivy, this is Garrett. He gave me my job. The one I told you about before, where I’ll be working with horses.”
The toddler released her mother’s hand. Puckering her tiny face, she stared up at Garrett and made an empty gesture, like an actress playing to an audience. “Where horsies?”
Instantly amused by her, he motioned toward a window. “They’re outside in the stables.” He got down on one knee, putting himself at her level, and asked, “Do you like horses?”
She nodded vigorously and tugged at the Velcro on her purse. Once she got it open, she removed a toy pony and showed it to him. The purse was given to Meagan to hold on to.
Garrett studied the pony and smiled. It looked like a rainbow had thrown up on it, spewing all sorts of colors. “That’s the fanciest mare I’ve ever seen.”
“Horsie mine.” She pointed to herself. “Iby.”
He smiled again and then exchanged a glance with Meagan.
Her mother said, “She can’t quite say her name yet. She mispronounces other things, too. But mostly, she has really good language skills for a child her age. She comprehends well, and she’s learning new words every day.”
“She’s beautiful,” he replied. “Aren’t you, Ivy?”
Proving how much she loved her pony, the animated toddler held it a few inches from her lips and made a kissy sound. Then she brought it about the same distance from Garrett’s lips, so he could air-kiss it, too. He laughed and mimicked the sound she’d made. He was totally smitten with this kid.
She pulled the pony away from him and said, “Horsie eat.” She pretended the toy was wolfing something down. “See, Mommy?” She looked back at her mother.
“Yes, I see. And I remember that the pony had dinner with you last night.” Meagan turned to Garrett and said, “The pony got a bubble bath afterward, too. She had chocolate pudding on her face.”
“That’s my kind of horse.” He tugged Ivy’s ponytail and got to his feet, coming to his full height.
Garrett and Meagan made direct eye contact again. He was doing his damnedest not to be as smitten with the mother as he was with the child. To keep his priorities in check, he reminded himself that this was the woman who’d acted all sweet and innocent, even after she’d ripped him off.
“You’re good with kids,” she said.
“I’ve always liked children.”
“You don’t have any, do you?”
He shook his head. He wasn’t about to admit that he wanted a houseful. That wasn’t anything she needed to know.
“I didn’t think so, but I wasn’t sure. I guess it’s safe to assume you’ve never been married, either.”
“Yes, that’s a safe assumption.” He’d been looking for the right mate, but so far he hadn’t found her. Sometimes he got burned out believing it would happen. His last relationship had ended badly, with his former lover storming out of his life because he wouldn’t invest in a half-baked business venture of hers. “Jake is married now, though, with a baby on the way.” He added, “You remember Jake,” saying it as a not-so-subtle reminder that she’d stolen from him, too.
“Yes, of course.” Meagan looked guilty as charged. “He’s one of your foster brothers.”
Garrett felt something poke his leg. It was Ivy, jabbing him with the pony as she waved the toy around. He relaxed his posture, not wanting the child to absorb the tension he’d just created between himself and her mom.
He softened his voice. “Jake and his wife are having a girl.”
“When is the baby due?”
“I’m not sure of the exact date. It’s still a few months away. They’re over the moon about it. Jake is excited about being in the delivery room. He wants to cradle his daughter the moment she’s born.”
“That’s nice.” Even though Meagan smiled, her eyes were edged with pain. “That’s how it should be.”
Was she thinking about the way in which she’d given birth to her own child? Garrett didn’t know if Ivy had been born at the prison itself or if Meagan had been taken to a hospital. Whichever way it happened, he couldn’t fathom it. He was sorry if she’d had a rough time of it, but he couldn’t bring himself to say those words out loud. Yet he couldn’t stay completely silent, either. He felt compelled to say something, if just to keep the conversation going.
He settled on “Jake was a little freaked out at first. He never expected to get married or have kids. He understood what was at stake, that being a parent is the most important job in the world. But I’m sure you already know that.”
“Yes, I do.” She reached down and scooped up her daughter, holding her close.
Ivy put her head on her mother’s shoulder and grinned at Garrett. Then she dropped her pony and said, “Uh-oh.”
Little devil. He could tell that she’d done it on purpose. He picked up the toy and handed it to her. Already she had a way with men. No doubt she’d gotten it from her mother.
The kid made an impish face and dropped it again.
“Ivy,” her mom gently scolded.
He retrieved the toy a second time. He just couldn’t seem to resist.
“Sorry.” Meagan set Ivy on her feet.
“It’s okay.” He gave the child her pony. She was just too damned clever for her own good. They both were.
“Thank you,” Meagan said. She urged her daughter to say it, as well. “Tell Garrett thank you.”
Ivy obliged with “Tank you, Garry.”
His heart melted, all the way to his toes. “You’re welcome.” He gazed at Meagan, laughed a little and said, “I guess I’m Garry now.”
“She calls my brother Tanny and his fiancée Canny. A friend of theirs has a son who called them that when he was first learning to talk, so they taught Ivy to refer to them that way, too.” She smiled. “But you just got your nickname all on your own.”
“Like a guy who’s been knighted?” He made a sweeping bow. “Well done, Princess Ivy.”
The toddler stared up at him, and Meagan said, “Oh, that’s so sweet, you calling her that. I named her after a princess in a children’s book. I read the book when I was in elementary school, and I always remembered the name.”
“It suits her.” She was a regal kid, with her pink boots, painted pony and long, spiky eyelashes.
“I better get her to the day care.” Meagan took Ivy’s hand. “Do you want to go inside with us?”
“Sure. Why not?” He could have made an excuse to dash off, but he’d come here to observe Meagan with her daughter, so he might as well see it through to the end. “I like visiting the center.”
It went well, with Ivy’s teacher showing her around. The toddler seemed excited until she realized that she was going to be left there, without Meagan. She cried and clung to her mother’s leg. Both Meagan and the teacher attempted to reassure her, but she wasn’t having it. She kept bawling.
Garrett intervened, asking Ivy if she wanted to play blocks with him. She refused, but he didn’t give up. He sat on a carpeted section of the floor with some of the other kids, hoping she would get curious and join the party.
Eventually, her sniffles and tears subsided and she wandered over to him. He handed her one of the blocks, which he’d saved exclusively for her, and her eyes grew big and wide. The block had a picture of a horse on it. A lot of them had images of animals. Some had numbers and letters, too.
Meagan stood off to the side and watched him as if he were some sort of hero. He could have kicked himself for it.
He didn’t need her admiring him, or getting close to him, or using her beautiful charms and pulling him under her spell.
Finally, when Ivy was chattering with another little girl and stacking the blocks like an architect, Garrett got up from the floor.
“That was wonderful of you,” Meagan said to him. “I never anticipated her crying like that.”
“She seems okay now.”
“Thanks to you.”
He shrugged, making light of it, even if there was heaviness inside him. “It’s all in a day’s work.”
“I hope she’s going to be okay for the rest of the day.”
“She’ll be fine.” He almost offered to come back and check on her, but he’d already taken this further than he should have. “You can stop by on your lunch hour to see her. Lots of the other parents do that.”
“I definitely will. Thank you for everything, Garrett.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me.”
“You’ve just done so much to help, with the job and now with Ivy.”
Garrett didn’t reply. Her daughter’s tears had affected him more than he cared to admit. It reminded him of the younger kids who used to cry in foster care.
Ivy turned and waved at her mother, giving her permission to leave, and he and Meagan walked out of the day care together.
“Oh, my goodness,” she said, as soon as they were free of the place. “My first experience with taking my baby to school.”
Garrett merely nodded. He could tell she was struggling not to break down, but her eyes had turned teary nonetheless. He considered giving her his handkerchief, the way he’d done when they’d originally met. But he refrained from making the gesture. By now, he was supposed to know better.
While he steeled his thoughts, she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tips of her knuckles, as if she were trying to wipe away the evidence of her emotions and look stronger than she felt. Only it wasn’t working. She still seemed fragile.
But Meagan’s vulnerability wasn’t his concern. Nor was he going to be sitting on the floor with a bunch of kids for the rest of the morning. He had grown-up meetings to attend. He was leaving tomorrow on a business trip and had a lot to do before then. “I should go.”
She quit fussing with her eyes. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah,” he replied, intending to escape with his indifference intact. “Have a good first day of work.”
“Thank you. I’ll try.”
She was clutching her daughter’s cartoon character purse as if the bag contained magic. And maybe in some sort of storybook way it did. He could almost imagine stars and moons and bits of glitter coming from it.
They said a quick goodbye and exited the atrium, going in different directions. But being separated from Meagan didn’t stop Garrett from thinking about her. Once again, he couldn’t seem to shake her, no matter how hard he tried.
* * *
Meagan hadn’t seen Garrett since he’d soothed Ivy at the day care, and that was a week ago. Time was moving on already. Today was her second Monday on the job, and she was doing well at work. But she couldn’t help wondering why he hadn’t come by the stables. She’d expected to catch sight of him at the barn, hanging out with his horses or going for a ride. But he was nowhere to be seen, at least not while Meagan was present.
Was it a coincidence that he hadn’t been there? Or was he staying away on purpose, distancing himself from her?
She spoke to the gelding she was grooming. “What do you think, Ho-Dad?”
The horse blew out a breath as if to say she was jumping to conclusions.
