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Of course, Jaime had texted her. Emailed. Left voice messages. He’d even flown all the way across the country, rented a car, and taken the ferry to get to Renzo’s. Sure, she’d loved his pursuit. But it didn’t matter because he hadn’t really changed. The next time his daughter got hurt—or anyone close to him, really—he’d shut down again.
Besides, she was focused on her bakery now.
She came up behind the girl. “I haven’t gone shopping yet, so you won’t find much in there.” But when she peered in, she found a fully stocked refrigerator.
“That’s okay. My daddy keeps lots of stuff here.”
Uh oh.“Do you live here?” Maybe Brodie thought the place was empty when he’d offered it to her. He had three brothers, so they might not keep track of whom they let crash here.
The girl grabbed a squeezable yogurt. “No.”
“Any idea where he is?”
“No,” she said. “That’s why I’m looking.”
“Are you lost?” Grace was so confused. “Who are you with?”
“Mommy’s at the restaurant.” She stood on her toes but still couldn’t reach the can of soda on the middle shelf.
The moment she headed for a kitchen chair to drag it over, Grace stopped her. “Hang on a second. I’ll get you something to drink. But first, I need to know who brought you here.” The Bowie ranch was comprised of thousands of acres. Wildlife roamed everywhere—particularly around the more remote parts like this bunkhouse.
“Nobody. Can I have a soda?”
“Does your dad let you drink them?”
She looked away but didn’t answer.
Well, there was only one thing to do. She’d have to drive the little girl to the main house. But just as she grabbed the car keys to her borrowed car, a tall, extremely fit man raced inside.
“Ruby.” He pressed his hand to his heart. “Jesus. You scared the crap out of me.” He snatched the girl off the floor and enveloped her in his muscled arms. “What are you doing?”
“You said you’d be right back, but you didn’t come. So, I went looking for you.”
“Baby. Sweetie. Comeon. You’ve got to stop doing this. Don’t Ialwayscome back? Every time I go out, don’t I always come back to you?”
“But why can’t you take me with you?”
“Because I was working. I had to train someone. I told you—very clearly—that I’d be gone an hour and a half. An hour to train, fifteen minutes there and back.”
“And it’s been six hundred thousand hours,” Ruby said.
Grace stifled her laugh.
“It’s been an hour and a half. Plus, the extra terrifying minutes I spent trying to find you. How did you get here?”
She hunched a shoulder. “I went looking for you. Can I have a soda?”
“First of all, no. You ran off. I’m not rewarding you with junk food. Secondly, the love of my life doesn’t put crap into her perfect, growing body. Now, come home with me, and we’ll have a snack in our blanket fort.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
Once the man finally relaxed, he turned his attention to Grace. “Hey, sorry about that.” He reached out a hand. “Will Bowie.”
“Grace Giordano. Your brother said I could stay here until I got on my feet.”
“Yep. The Singing Baker, right?”
“Right.”
