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I stand. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t be here.
The woman and her daughter head back to the playground equipment, and I return to my car. I unlock the door.
“Trouble?” Lucas’s voice comes from behind me, and I spin around. There’s no sign of the blond girl with him.
“I didn’t realize you were going to be in Ash Falls, Cannon.” I keep my tone breezy, not wanting to give away that I’m dying on the inside.
“Ditto. What are you doing here?”
“I was meeting with two artisans in the area. I had just finished meeting with the second one when I saw you playing hopscotch with the little girl. Who is she?” Who is the girl who has stolen your heart?
“Ashley. She’s the daughter of one of my Marine brothers. He saved my life in Afghanistan. I haven’t told you about him because I didn’t want to cause you more pain due to what happened with Aiden. Drew was our captain. And…” Pain flickers and burns so bright in Lucas’s eyes; I almost have to turn away. “Ashley was diagnosed three years ago with leukemia. She fought it and went into remission. But the cancer is back.”
The pain and despair on his face jolts the air from my lungs, and my veins turn to ice. “Oh, God.”
He pulls me to him, and I hug him, resting my head on his shoulder, letting him know that I’m here for him. He loves Ashley even though she isn’t his daughter. That much is obvious.
He pulls away after a moment. “Now that you know about Ashley and Drew, I’d love to introduce you to them. If that’s okay with you.”
I know what he’s asking. “I’ll be fine, Lucas. He’s your friend and he was an important part of Aiden’s life at one point.”
Lucas takes my hand, and we walk to the bungalow he was playing in front of a short while ago. A ramp of paving stones curves from the driveway to the front door. We walk up it, and Lucas rings the doorbell.
A young girl’s voice calls out that she’ll get it. The door opens.
Ashley sees Lucas, and her face glows like he’s the moon and the stars and an ice-cream sundae. “Hi, Uncle Lucas.” She turns and yells, “It’s Uncle Lucas and a pretty woman.”
“This pretty woman is my wife, Simone.” He rubs the top of the girl’s head, making a mess of her hair. “And this is Ashley.”
“Are you planning to let them in or make them wait outside?” A man’s voice, stamped with amusement, comes from inside the house.
Ashley opens the door wider, and we step into the foyer. A good-looking man with sandy-brown hair wheels down the hallway toward us. His navy T-shirt stretches across a well-toned chest, and his biceps bulge as his arms push the hand rims of his wheelchair.
He grins at us. Father and daughter share the same bright blue eyes and mischievous smile. “So, this is the gorgeous woman you’ve been keeping to yourself.” He winks at me, and I grin back.
“Simone, this is Drew Tanner,” Lucas says. “My old captain.”
Drew and I shake hands. “I’m sorry about your brother. Aiden was a great man. Not to mention quite the prankster.”
I flash him a politely gracious smile, the same one I paint on every time someone talks about my brother. “Thank you. He was.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t make it to your wedding.” His smile shifts into something sadder. “Ashley had a medical appointment in Portland we couldn’t change. But congratulations. You couldn’t have picked a better man.”
I smile at Lucas—all the love and admiration I feel for him poured into the smile. “I know.”
The grin Drew directs at his daughter is brighter than the one I just witnessed. “Why don’t you tell your momma we’ve got guests?”
“Okay, Daddy.” Ashley skips down the hallway, and Drew leads us out onto a patio filled with planters crowded with colorful flowers.
Lucas and I sit at the table. Drew navigates his chair into place. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you earlier, but Ashley’s oncologist called while you two were playing.”
My heart clenches at oncologist. I glance at Lucas in time to catch the pain flicker back on his face before it extinguishes.
“Her doctors think she might be a good candidate for a new drug they want to try.”
Ashley runs out of the house, giggling, before Lucas and I can respond. She tears around the backyard, blowing bubbles and chasing them and popping them.
Lucas and Drew are talking. About what? I don’t know. All I can think about is the memory of Lucas playing with Ashley and how great a father he would be. The topic of kids is one I always avoid whenever it’s brought up.
