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“And you thought of Carson Creek?”
“I grew up in a small town just outside Huntsville, Alabama, and I wanted to give Keri that. In Alabama she might be relegated to being my niece, so that was out of the question. A friend of mine grew up near here and recommended it. We visited and we both loved it.”
Valona smiled again and I was knocked sideways by how beautiful she really was. The long dark hair she usually wore in a braid or a bun, hung down her back and around her shoulders, her green eyes were kind and sexy. She had that whole Earth Mother bohemian look going on, and it was working for me.
“Why didn’t she fit in? Keri’s great.”
I smiled. “I think so too, but she’s a little rough around the edges and plainspoken. Two things that would have made her stand out anyway, if not for the fact that she’s two grades ahead of where she ought to be.”
“Ten, I didn’t realize. I just thought she hadn’t reached her pre-teen growth spurt yet.” Valona shook her head. “Wow, you’ve got your work cut out for you, Trey.”
“Thanks Valona,” I said sarcastically.
She laughed. “She really is great. Helpful, kind and sweet, and the girl is honest almost to a fault. It’s refreshing.”
Her compliments for Keri gave me a measure of relief. “I’m glad to hear that, because I worry constantly that I’m failing her. Is she fitting in with her classmates? Is she doing all right? Being bullied? It’s nonstop.” Realizing I’d said too much, I looked up with a shy smile. “Is that weird?”
This time when Valona laughed, the sound was soft and melodic, super feminine, and it wrapped around me. “Those symptoms are part of a common affliction called parenthood. Welcome to the club, Trey.”
My shoulders sank in relief, or maybe apprehension, I didn’t know for sure. So many additional emotions constantly bombarded me since I became responsible for Keri, I’d stop trying to put a name to each one.
“So it’s normal to have nonstop anxiety?”
“Yep.” She handed me a brick of cheese and a box grater. “Totally normal.”
“Will I get used to it?”
She laughed again. “It’s been twelve years and I’m still not used to it. Ask me in another twelve.”
My brows dipped in confusion as I grated the cheese. “But you make it look so easy, so effortless.”
“Experience, that’s all it is. Just show her you’re trying, kids are simple that way. Show up and keep trying.”
“I can do that.” At least I hoped I could.
Chapter 3
Valona
Great, on top of being incredibly fit and gorgeous, Trey was also a good man who loved his niece and gave up his career to give her a better childhood. It really was too much. How could one man be hot and sweet and thoughtful? It wasn’t fair. Couldn’t he at least have a missing tooth or an unsightly mole next to his incredibly straight nose? Nope, he just had to be perfect because the universe was playing a trick on me.
He’s a man, of course he’s not perfect.
I appreciated the timely reminder from my inner pragmatist. No man was perfect. I’d believed Rodney was perfect but he wasn’t. He had pretended to love me and care about our daughters, but if his bad heart hadn’t stepped in, he would have left us in the dust without a backwards glance. Trey wasn’t perfect, probably not by a long shot, but he was a good guy trying to do right by a grieving little girl. I could respect that without turning him into some fantasy man.
Rodney had been good looking in a weekend-dad sort of way, and he’d been ready to leave for another woman, so a man who looked like Trey had to be trouble. All caps TROUBLE, too. More trouble than I was in the market for, so I shoved away thoughts of his good looks and kind nature. “You really don’t have to do that, Trey.”
He flashed a dimpled smile over his shoulder and shrugged off my words. “I don’t have to, but that was a very good casserole, and you shouldn’t have to clean up after that.”
Dammit, why did his words have this effect on me? Why did his mere proximity turn me into a high school girl around her senior crush? I hated that I felt so unsure of myself around him while Trey always seemed perfectly at ease, like he fit in wherever he went.
“An expert on casseroles, are we?” And now I just sounded bitchy.
Trey just laughed. “Not in a long time, actually. I’ve spent most of my life watching what I eat and exercising religiously, but my mom was the casserole queen, so I like to think I know a good one when I taste it.”
The man didn’t look like he ate anything but lettuce coated in lemon juice and chicken breasts, but I kept that thought to myself. “So you’re gorging now that you’re in retirement?” I took in his lean form with more than a hint of skepticism. “If so, you’re doing it wrong.”
