Page 8 of Mountain Reawakening

My plea falls on deaf ears as I scramble to pull the meatballs from the oven in an effort to keep them from burning. I slide the baking sheet onto the cutting board on the counter, tossing the oven mitt next to it, before hustling to the door to make sure it’s Tanner and not someone else.

Relief floods me when I confirm it is him. My chest stutters when I catch what he’s saying to her.

“I know you’re excited to have me come over, but next time you should wait for your mom before opening the door, okay Maisie-girl?”

My daughter nods with hearts in her eyes for the man once again holding her. “I’ll tries to member next time.”

“Thank you for that.” I sigh, arching an eyebrow at my headstrong child. “I told you to wait.”

She has the good sense to look contrite, her bottom lip poking out. “Sorry Mommy. I gots too ecited.” And just as quick as her eyes drop, they bounce back up, and the smile returns. She sticks out her arm with a stuffed bunny in her hand. “Looks at what Prince Hero Tanner gots for me. My owned bunny.”

My gaze swings to Tanner, both brows raised. “Well, that was very nice of him. Did you say thank you?”

“Thanks you, Prince Hero Tanner.” She throws her arms around his neck before squirming to climb down. “I’m going to go show my new Prince bunny to my other stuffies.” She announces, trotting down the hall to her bedroom.

“She’s something else,” Tanner chuckles. “These are for you.”

“What?” My head jerks toward him, my brows furrowed. He holds out a sweet bouquet I hadn’t even noticed in his other hand. I frown, confused. “You got me flowers? But why?”

His head tilts to the side as he narrows his eyes. “Because a beautiful, hard-working single mom like yourself should be showered with flowers for no reason at all. I’d venture to guess you don’t get them often, and I thought you might like them.”

“I don’t, and I do. Thank you. That was unnecessary. Sweet, but unnecessary.” I bite down on my lower lip to keep from rambling.

They are very pretty and I can’t remember the last time I got flowers, but this all feels too good to be true. There has to be something wrong with this man. He’s ruggedly handsome and probably in his late thirties. By all my interactions, he seems to be quite the catch.

If that’s the case, why is he still single?

My heart is seeing nothing but green flags while my mind searches for any hint of red it can. I’m worried about him breaking not only Maisie’s heart but mine as well. Besides, it’s not like I should even be entertaining such thoughts. I just got out of a disappointing marriage. Focusing on Maisie should be my priority.

“You are quite welcome.” He makes a show of sniffing the air. “Dinner smells amazing by the way.”

My eyes widen at being reminded of the food I was in the middle of preparing. “Oh shoot, I better get back in there and finish it up.” I spin and hustle into the kitchen.

Fortunately, there’s nothing burning when I get there. Maisie follows right on our heels, coming from her bedroom, her little arms loaded down with her haul of library books.

“Prince Hero Tanner. Will you read me my new books I gots from the libarry?” she asks, dropping her stack onto the round, white farmhouse dining table.

“Sure thing, Maisie-girl.” He sits in a chair at the table, and Maisie climbs into his lap like she belongs there. He plucks the book from the top of the stack and begins reading while I finish dinner.

I give the sauce a stir before turning my attention to the stockpot of water, which is now boiling. It gets a sprinkling of salt, then I break the spaghetti noodles in half and toss them in as well. The noodles are easier for Maisie to handle if they’re broken, I’ve found. I adjust the temperature on the oven and slide in the garlic bread.

Tanner’s deep voice reading about princesses and frogs has not just my belly but my core fluttering. While my little girl’s giggle has my heart about to explode out of my chest. This is something I’m unaccustomed to, even being married. Mike was always working, so we didn’t see him much.

Having someone to help with Maisie is pretty damn nice. Having that person also make her happy, even better.

As if he senses I’m watching them, he glances toward me. He winks when our eyes collide before looking back down at the book, not missing a beat reading the story.

Having someone who gives me attention as well and has me feeling like a woman and not just a mom… Well, that’s just freaking icing on the cake.

Beefcake, that is.

One I wouldn’t mind sinking my teeth into.

Chapter Eight

Tanner

I was having second thoughts about coming here. As much as I didn’t want to disappoint Maisie, I can help but wonder if she and Ella are stand-ins for what was taken from me. The thought has a warning bell blaring in the back of my mind.