AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We were doing some investigating this morning,” Tess said quickly while she helped Willow buckle up.
“Did you find the people that hurt Legacy?” the youngest girl asked.
“Not yet. But I think we’re getting closer.” Silas buried his phone back in his pocket. He didn’t want to think about going on a mission right now. Not with Tess sitting beside him and two pretty awesome girls sitting behind him. How would he prove himself to them if he was gone for a month or two? How would he earn a place in their lives?
“Did you two have fun with Callie?” Tess asked as she drove back out onto the highway.
“So much fun!” the girls said in unison.
“We rode bikes this morning,” Willow told them.
“And Mr. Brad built an obstacle course for us!” Morgan added. “He’s soooo much fun.”
Silas tried not to take the comment personally, but they likely didn’t talk about him that way. Of course, he’d never made them an obstacle course either. Maybe he could get an epic tree house built before he went overseas…
“I fell off my bike and hurt my elbow.” Willow stuck her arm over the seat to show them the scrape. “And Mr. Brad made me feel all better.”
“Oh, and he made us the mostamazingbreakfast this morning.” Morgan took over again. “Yummy waffles withrealstrawberry syrup that he made all by himself.”
“While we ate, he sang the silliest songs.” Willow started to giggle. “We were laughing so hard.”
“Sounds like fun.” Silas smiled at Tess, but pressure was building in his chest. Brad Kline really did seem like the perfect father.
“He’ssogreat, Mom.” Morgan leaned as close to the front seat as her seat belt would allow. “You shouldtotallymarry him.”
“Morgan!” The truck swerved the slightest bit as Tess took her eyes off the road. “I’ve already told you; Brad and I are only friends.”
“You’re gonna get married?” Willow exclaimed.
“No!” The woman shot Silas an apologetic look. “Sheesh, girls. I am not going to marry Brad Kline, so you can get that idea out of your heads right now.”
“You never know,” Morgan said in a singsong tone.
Silas continued to stare out the windshield, careful to hold his expression neutral. He knew they didn’t mean anything by what they said. There was no way they could know what had changed between him and Tess. Theyshouldn’tknow. Not right now. But his heart bled a little bit hearing them talk about the man they hoped might someday be their father.
When they made it back to the ranch, he climbed out of the truck and gave both Morgan and Willow high fives and played a quick game of tag before Tess sent them into the house to wash their hands for lunch.
Before going inside, Willow paused on the porch. “You’re coming to my birthday party, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he called. The invitation for Willow’s birthday dinner had come a month ago and he’d put the date on his calendar right away.
“It’s going to be the best day ever!” the girl declared, and then she ran inside.
“I was thinking I would get her an art set.” He never knew what to get the girls for their birthdays, but Willow seemed to love painting and drawing.
“That would be perfect.” Tess walked around the truck, following him to his vehicle with a slump in her shoulders. “I’m sorry for all of that silliness on the way home.”
“You don’t have to be sorry.” He didn’t touch her in case Morgan and Willow were looking out the window. “They had fun with Brad. In a kid’s estimation, that makes him perfect marriage material.”
She laughed a little. “True. Life is so simple to them.” Tess rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were nervous. “I wish we could tell them how we feel about each other. But they get their hopes up so easily. And given the history with Jace, knowing about you and me might be confusing. I’d rather ease them into this. Maybe we’ll tell them after you get back.”
“For sure. I don’t want to confuse them.” He didn’t want to worry them either. He needed more time to try—to build them obstacle courses and kiss their owies and make them his special pancakes for breakfast. He needed more time to show them that, even though he wasn’t as good of a dad as Jace, he would give the job everything he had if that’s where things went between him and Tess. Given what Morgan and Willow had been through, Silas would only get one chance to earn their acceptance and approval.
And he could never be with Tess if he blew his shot.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Silas lifted his rifle case out of his extended cab and brought it around to lay it on the hood, opening the latch to inspect the contents. Two years. It had been two years since he’d held this gun in his hands. Two years since he’d lugged it out into the field with him before laying down his weapon to fulfill a promise to Jace.
