Storybook Dad (Harlequin American Romance)

by Bradford, Laura

  * * *

  MARK CRANKED THE REEL slowly, hoping the slight movement would be enough to capture the attention of even one member of the fish population that inhabited Lake Winoka. If it did, at least he’d have something else to think about besides Emily Todd.

  From the moment he’d left Bucket List 101, his thoughts had continuously returned to the attractive woman, earning him more than a few curious looks from Seth throughout the afternoon. Mark understood the fear she felt, sympathized with her need to pretend her loved one wasn’t ill. He’d been there and done that throughout the entire year leading up to Sally’s death.

  It had been a mistake. A mistake he’d undo in a heartbeat if given the chance.

  But there would be no more chances. He couldn’t rewind time no matter how much he wished he could. Instead, he had to find a way to live with the guilt of choosing his job over his dying wife over and over again. At the time it had made such sense. Work was how he coped. The more he worked, the less time he had to think, and to feel.

  But it had been wrong. For Sally. For Seth. And for him.

  No. Mark wasn’t going to let Emily make the same mistakes. Somehow, some way, he was going to help her realize that by facing her loved one’s illness head-on, she’d be saving herself the added torture of guilt at the end.

  Determined to help, he reeled in the rest of his line and made his way across the rocks. Once he had Seth settled in bed for the night, he could go about putting together a packet of information for Emily. Maybe with more information, she wouldn’t feel the need for denial.

  And maybe, just maybe, helping Emily would enable him to shed some of his own insomnia-inducing guilt.

  He stepped off the last rock and onto the sand and looked toward the castle he’d left Seth to finish while he fished. But instead of finding his son elbow-deep in sand, he spotted him standing beside a kayak and a petite blonde woman.

  Mark quickened his pace, only to slow it again as the identity of the women became clear.

  “Emily? Is that you?”

  “Hi, Mark,” she answered.

  Eagerly, he jogged forward, fishing pole in hand. “Can I help you get in your kayak?”

  A look of something resembling irritation flashed across her face. “If I can lift a kayak on and off my car, and carry it from the parking lot to the lake all by myself, I’m quite certain I can get into the water, too.”

  He drew back at the animosity in her voice. “Oh, okay. No sweat. We’ll leave you to it, then.” Cupping his son’s shoulder, he tried to steer him in the direction of the parking lot, but Seth wiggled free and ran back toward Emily.

  “Take me with you. Pretty, pretty please? I’ve never, ever, ever been in a boat like that before.”

  “Seth!” Mark stepped forward, waving his fishing pole. “You can’t just invite yourself in someone’s boat like that, little man. It’s rude.”

  The boy’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to be rude, Daddy. I really didn’t.”

  Emily dropped to her knees in front of Seth, her black-and-gold bikini top and black spandex shorts evoking a rapid swallow or two on Mark’s part. “Maybe your dad can take you out for a few minutes and let you see what a kayak is all about.” Peeling her attention from his son long enough to make eye contact with Mark, Emily gestured toward the kayak with her chin. “I’ve already been out once this evening. Why don’t you take him out for a little while?”

  “I can’t take your boat,” Mark protested.

  “Sure you can. Have you ever been in a kayak before?” she asked.

  He willed himself to focus on her face, to refrain from looking back at her sweet curves, but it was hard. “Kayaks, no. Canoes, yes.”

  “Then a crash course is in order. Though, since I wasn’t expecting this, I don’t have a life jacket that’ll fit Seth.”

  “That’s okay.” Seth raced toward a bag several feet from his castle and tore through its contents, returning with a pair of inflatable armbands. “See? I’ve got my Floaties!”

  Emily made a face. “Not exactly the same thing, I’m afraid. But if you don’t go out too far, they’ll be okay this one time.” Turning to Mark, she said, “And you? What kind of a swimmer are you?”

  “Solid.”

  She considered his response, then gestured toward the boat. “When you sit in a kayak, you need to keep your legs together and your knees slightly bent. Keep your weight over the center line. Remember that and you won’t flip.”

  She retrieved the paddle from the sand. “Now, for locomotion, you grip this with both hands, see?” Placing her hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart, she demonstrated the correct way to hold it and move it. “The blade of the paddle can also be used as a rudder, for steering, if there’s somewhere in particular you’re trying to go or trying to avoid.”

  Ten minutes later, Mark knew enough about the boat and the paddle that he was out in the lake with Seth as Emily watched from the shore. “Wow, Daddy! The next time I play castle with my blocks at Gam’s house, I’m gonna give my prince and princess a boat just like this.”

  “You don’t think they’d prefer a sailboat or maybe a regular rowboat?” he teased. “Kayaks are kind of narrow and might not fit your princess’s dress too well.”

  “The princess will be fine. She has short dresses, too, you know.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that.” Mark paddled about, glancing back at Emily more than he probably should.

  “I like my new friend, Daddy. She’s really nice. And she likes castles, too!”

  He forced his focus back on his son, noting how the late-afternoon sun was haloing his head. “Oh? You made a new friend at preschool? What’s her name?”

  “Not at school. Here.” The motion of Seth’s body as he tried to turn and point toward the shore made the kayak rock. “Whoa! Did you feel that, Daddy?” he asked, wide-eyed.

  “I did. And it’s because you’re moving around. Remember what Emily said about staying in the center?” Mark tilted his chin toward the shore, but knew it was futile, considering Seth was facing forward, his back to him. “So you were talking about Emily just now when you said you made a new friend?”

  “She made a flag for my castle!”

  Mark had to grin at the enthusiasm in his son’s voice. “Wow, you’re right. She is really nice, huh?”

  Seth’s head bobbed up and down. “How did you know her name, Daddy?”

  Because once she told me, I couldn’t get it out of my head....

  Surprised by the thought, he willed himself to find a more appropriate answer, one that wouldn’t get the kayak rocking again. “Remember how I went and played that big-boy game in the woods today? Well, Emily was the teacher.”

  What Seth said in response, Mark didn’t catch, as the mere mention of the beauty on the beach had him glancing over his shoulder once again. She was sitting on the sand, watching their progress. When she spotted him looking, she flashed a thumbs-up.

  “Daddy, Daddy, look! Look at that fish!”

  At the sudden jerking movement, Mark swung his head back around, but it was too late. Before he was able to reprimand the boy for leaning too far to one side, they were in the water.

  Emily jumped up and dived into the lake with record speed. “Are—are you okay?” she called as she stroked toward them.

  “Yeah, we’re good,” Mark assured her, gripping Seth with one hand and the overturned kayak with the other. A mo
ment later he had his son settled safely on his back. “And, oh…remember that tip about staying in the center of the boat? That was a good one,” he sputtered through gulps of lake water. “M-maybe you could add a class on kayaking to your company’s lineup.”

  Her laugh cut through the sound of his splashing and warmed him in ways he didn’t expect in the chilly water. “I offer kayaking classes all the time, Mark.”

  Hooking a thumb over his shoulder, he gestured toward his son, who was pretending Mark was a white horse if the words making their way into his left ear were any indication. “We might want to put Seth in the front row of that particular class. So he’d be sure to catch all the helpful little tips you might decide to share.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she joked as she stopped momentarily to tread water and take a breath. “How are you holding up?”

  “We’re fine. My ego, though, hasn’t fared quite as well.”

  “Your secret is safe with me.” Nibbling back the full effect of a smile she couldn’t hide, Emily swam between Mark and the kayak, her bikini top clinging to her rounded breasts as she flipped the boat right side up. Then, with lithe grace, she hoisted herself into it before he could register much of anything besides how alluring her legs looked as they broke the surface of the water. “Now hand Seth up to me and we’ve got this.”

  Chapter Three

  Emily could feel the weight of Mark’s stare as she secured the kayak to the roof of her Jeep, his still-labored breath matching her own. She’d felt it as she’d paddled through the water with Seth safely seated between her legs. She’d felt it as Mark had pulled them onto the beach and plucked his son from the boat for a firm yet loving lecture. She’d felt it as they’d stood dripping on the sand, trying to catch their breath. And she’d felt it as she led the way to the car after he insisted on carrying the kayak.

  In fact, the only time she wasn’t aware of him watching was when she was stealing glances in his direction. But she couldn’t help it. Mark Reynolds was easy on the eyes.

  “Thanks for making that unexpected swim to help us out. It was above and beyond,” he finally said as she hooked the last clip into place. “One minute he was pointing at a fish and the next…well, you know what happened.”

  She couldn’t help it; she laughed. It was either that or get caught enjoying his dripping, shirtless chest even more than she already was. “Kayaks tend to flip a little easier than canoes. It’s why people who are skittish around water tend to shy away from them in favor of a bit more stability.”

  “Yeah, I get that now.” He bent to Seth’s level, buying her time to catch her breath. “How about you, little man? You doing okay?”

  The boy jumped from foot to foot, the adventure of the past twenty plus minutes further fueling his natural energy. “I had my Floaties on, remember, Daddy?”

  She felt Mark’s appreciative glance. “And we have Emily to thank for that, don’t we?” he continued, his attention trained once again on his son’s face. “Did you learn something from that adventure?”

  “The lake isn’t as warm as the bathtub.”

  “And…”

  Seth’s brows furrowed in contemplation. “You should always wear your Floaties?”

  “And…”

  “Emily is a really good swimmer, just like you, Daddy!”

  She tried to cover her ensuing laugh, but Mark’s exasperated eye roll made it next to impossible.

  “Yes, Emily is a good swimmer. But didn’t you also learn that it’s better to look at fish from the beach?”

  “But I got to get wet!” Seth exclaimed gleefully. “And so did you, Daddy.”

  A playful smile stretched across Mark’s mouth. “Yeah, but so did Emily. And she’d still be dry if we hadn’t commandeered her boat.”

  “Pizza might make her feel better.”

  She looked questioningly at Mark as the four-year-old rattled on. “Daddy said we’d go to Sam’s for pizza when my castle was all done,” he said. “You can come, too, if you want.”

  “I—I think I better head home, sweetheart.” Squatting down in front of him, she pushed a strand of wet hair from his forehead, then tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. “It was very nice to meet you, Seth. You are truly the best sand castle maker I’ve ever met.”

  “Please, Emily? The pizza is really yummy. It was my mom’s favorite.”

  Emily tipped her head to afford herself a better view of Mark, noting the hint of sadness in his face at the mention of his late wife. So much about his taking her class made sense now. The drive to check things off one’s bucket list always intensified after losing a friend or family member to an early death. It was as if the loss served as a wake-up call about the uncertainty and lack of promises in life. She saw it all the time.

  Still, such a loss was hard to rationalize when it came to someone as young as Seth. “That sounds like some extra special pizza if it was your mom’s favorite,” she finally said.

  “It is! Especially the pepperoni kind.” Leaning forward, Seth brought his mouth to Emily’s ear as if sharing a secret, the excitement in his voice negating any attempt at whispering. “Sometimes, if I smile really big at the waitress lady, she makes the pizza look like a great big smiley face…with funny hair at the top! So please? Won’t you come, too? Pretty, pretty please?”

  Gesturing at her damp bikini top and drenched shorts, she scrunched up her nose. “I don’t think the folks at Sam’s Pizza would be too happy to see me in wet clothes.”

  A snort of disagreement from the boy’s father brought a warm flush to her cheeks.

  “I’m wet, too. So’s my daddy,” Seth argued.

  “And Sam’s has outdoor tables,” Mark added.

  Slowly she looked from one to the other and back again, the pull for a moment of normalcy making her relent in the end. “Okay. I’m in. It sounds like fun.”

  Twenty minutes later, any residual worry over wet clothes and disapproving pizza eaters was gone, in its place the kind of happy-go-lucky fun she’d been craving for months. Any tension that came from being huddled so close to Mark evaporated as Seth kept them entertained with tales from his summer preschool program, most of which came back to a castle in some way.

  “The other day? At lunch? I built a great big castle out of everybody’s milk cartons. And then Liam? He’s my bestest friend. He made one out of Pixy Stix during playtime,” Seth said. “But then Tyler—he’s a meany—he came over and kicked Liam’s castle down!”

  Seth widened his eyes expectantly at Emily and waited.

  “You’re supposed to gasp at the things Tyler does,” Mark whispered in her ear.

  “Oh, sorry,” she whispered back, before giving the desired response.

  Satisfied, Seth continued. “It’s okay. Me and Liam, we cast a spell on Tyler.”

  She glanced at Mark, then back to Seth. “A spell?”

  “Uh-huh. And you know what happened?”

  Mark paused from taking a drink and narrowed his eyes on his son. “No-o-o…what happened?”

  “He got in trouble with Miss Drake. She said she had eyes in back of her head, which means me and Liam are good at casting spells!”

  “Then I guess I’d better watch out,” Emily declared. “I don’t want any eyes in any funny places.”

  Seth elevated himself onto his knees. “Oh, I wouldn’t cast a spell on a princess. That would be bad.”

  Mark winked at her over the top of his glass before addressing his son once agai
n. “And Emily is a princess, huh?”

  “Yupper doodle.”

  When the pizza arrived and Seth took a break to eat, Mark took over the conversation, peppering her with questions about Bucket List 101 and the clients she’d encountered since starting the business four years earlier.

  “When you drew those pictures I saw on your wall, did you know back then that you wanted to teach people how to do all those things?”

  She nibbled at the crust of her first piece and then tossed it on her plate. “Back then, I just knew I wanted to do all those things one day. By the time I was halfway through college, I knew I wanted to do them in conjunction with a business.”

  “Who’s your typical client?”

  “I’m not sure I have a typical client. People come for all sorts of reasons. Some want to conquer a fear. Some come simply because they love the outdoors. And some, like yourself, are motivated by a personal goal.”

  Seth pointed at his dad with his slice of pizza. “My mommy taught my daddy not to wait for tomorrow.”

  Mark drew back. “Where did you get that, little man?”

  Turning the pizza toward his mouth, Seth shrugged. “I heard you saying that this morning when you were standing in front of the mirror, trying to decide if you should play in the woods or not.”

  Emily watched Mark’s eyes close only to reopen mere seconds later. “I was talking to myself.”

  “Then you should be more quiet, Daddy.” The little boy took a bite of pizza and started chewing.

  “Apparently you’re right.” Mark looked at Emily with an impish grin. “Nothing like getting a behind-the-scenes look at my many shortcomings, eh?” Suddenly uncomfortable, he grabbed a slice of pizza for himself and raised it in the air like a champagne glass. “Next topic, please…”

  Story by story, they ate their way through the rest of a pizza that was every bit as good as Seth had promised. But it was the time with Mark and Seth that affected Emily most, temporarily filling a void that had been lurking in her soul for years. It was as if Seth’s sweet stories and Mark’s genuine interest allowed her to pretend, if only for a little bit, that they were her family, sharing the details of their day over dinner.