Forever a Father

by Lynne Marshall

  She lifted her chin, gazing serenely at him. It was so easy to get lost in those gorgeous wide eyes, but this time they sent an insistent and obvious message. So he dipped his head and kissed her again. Wow. And just when he was halfway to kissing paradise, the alarm on his cell phone went off, reminding him he had fifteen minutes to make it to the 4Cs practice.

  Her coy smile communicated that she understood. For that, he was grateful, yet he knew they were far from finished with moments like these. The thought both excited and made him uneasy. He could get too used to it, and she could change her mind.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, dashing for the door.

  * * *

  By noon on Saturday, Keela had given up on Ron. She was damned if she’d call to remind him today was his daughter’s fifth birthday. And it was the second year he’d forgotten, or simply didn’t give a bloody care anymore.

  It was nearly impossible to paint on a cheery face for Anna; Keela’s insides were twisted with anger, and sadness weighed heavy on her heart, yet she did her best to smile. For Anna’s sake. Though her eyes stung and she feared she’d break into tears looking into her daughter’s huge, expectant stare. How could the man be so heartless?

  She should have trusted her instinct and planned a small birthday party for Anna instead of giving Ron a chance to be a hero for a day.

  He was so not a hero. She knew this for sure, since she’d recently met the real thing. Daniel. Now she’d have to scramble to bake a cake. Thank the heavens she’d bought Anna a special “big girl” backpack for school and had filled it with small presents. At least it was something.

  Even Daniel had been missing in action since their hot make-out session last weekend. Sure, they’d stolen a couple of kisses, but they’d been too busy at work to steal any more time together. He hadn’t called once all week, either, but when rushing off last night, he’d said he’d phone her today. She glanced at her watch again. Well?

  She really couldn’t depend on men.

  Though one kind thought wouldn’t let her get away with writing off Daniel. He’d held her yesterday evening, and being in his arms had felt so inviting. So right. Like she belonged there. Then he’d left without making any plans with her. She understood he was a busy man. In some ways a broken man. Even more reason not to get her hopes up about the guy. Why set herself up for more heartache?

  Her phone rang, and she nearly jumped, surprised that her first hope was it might be Daniel, and only a distant second, Ron.

  “Keela? It’s Maureen. I’m so sorry to call last minute, but I’ve got a VIP guest requesting a massage out of the blue. Any chance you can come to the hotel this afternoon? I’d be able to watch Anna for you this time.”

  “Oh, normally I’d love to, but it’s Anna’s birthday today, so I really can’t.”

  “Oh, how lovely. I totally understand, and I suppose you’ve got big plans.”

  “Not really. We’re just going to stick around home and have a low-key mommy-daughter day.” She’d promised to give Anna a mani-pedi, then watch Frozen for the umpteenth time. One of the presents in her backpack was a pretty blue costume like Elsa’s dress. Yes, she was getting sick of the movie soundtrack, but it was Anna’s favorite. And it was her birthday.

  “Well, any chance you could do the massage tomorrow? That might work.”

  “Sure.” Why not? They didn’t have any plans.

  * * *

  Daniel was driving home, fighting the weekend beach traffic, when his phone went off. It synced with his car, so he answered, hands free. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Did you know today’s Anna’s birthday?”

  Keela hadn’t said a peep about it all week. Then again, they’d hardly had a chance to talk. “I did not. Are they having a party?”

  “I just got off the phone with Keela. Had a client lined up, but she said they were hanging out, having a low-key day. Didn’t say anything about a party, just that it was Anna’s birthday.”

  If he’d called her like he should’ve, he would have known this. “Thanks for the heads-up. She’s probably gonna see her dad tomorrow.”

  “Actually, Keela’s coming here for that client massage and I’ll be watching Anna tomorrow.”

  Well, that’s not right. A kid deserves a party.

  Suddenly he felt confused. Should he do something? He’d been using the busy clinic as a great excuse to steer clear of Keela in an attempt to avoid his feelings about her. But Anna’s birthday came only once a year. And, when he let himself admit it, he liked the little squirt. Maybe the immunity was kicking in?

  He recklessly cut around the slow car in front of him on the freeway to make his exit and headed for the clinic. He needed to catch up on some paperwork, and he’d agreed to see the kid with the ankle injury again as a follow-up.

  After rushing through the appointment and locking up the clinic, he headed straight to the local toy store.

  “What would a five-year-old girl like?” he asked the nearest clerk. She walked him and his shopping cart to an aisle lined with bright colors and glitter. Loads of glitter, on everything. Dolls. Costumes. Games. Miniature-sized kitchens. Dollhouses. He’d never felt more out of place in his life.

  It hit him midaisle how Emma never got a birthday. He never knew what would set him off, and this time it was a toy store. Old pain beat through him like a sledgehammer, nearly taking his breath away. He went still, grasping the cart for support, trying to get a grip on his emotions, fighting off the profound sadness as it swept through him. It never got easier when it hit. So much for immunity. But today was another little girl’s birthday. He had to think about the present, not the past. So he forced himself to continue shopping and eventually the ache behind his sternum let up.

  Soon he spotted the perfect gift. And he didn’t stop there, tossing item after item into his shopping cart. Thinking only about now, not the past, he found that going overboard for a kid was fun. The even bigger news was he’d managed to ward off the pain and still function. Progress.

  “Can you wrap everything for me?”

  The clerk’s eyes went big. “We’ll need some time.”

  “That’s fine. I’ve got another errand to run. I’ll be back in forty minutes.” He handed the clerk a twenty to make sure they got right on task with the wrapping, then left.

  On a mission, he sped to The Drumcliffe and, taking the back employee entrance, headed for the kitchen. Finding a double chocolate layer cake in the dessert display—one of the pastry chef’s specialties—he grabbed it and took it to Rita, the soon-to-retire restaurant chef. “Can you add a name to this and decorate it for a young girl? She likes flowers and her favorite color is yellow.” He was surprised he knew that. “Oh, and her name is Anna.”

  Fifteen minutes later, with a beautiful little-kid-styled cake in hand, he stopped at the freezer, grabbing a carton of mint-chip ice cream. That was the flavor Anna ordered whenever he’d taken her for cones. Out the door he flew, intending to pick up the presents and make it to Keela’s before the rock-hard ice cream had a chance to melt.

  Once parked at Keela’s curb, it took some doing, but he stuck a party blowout in his mouth, picked up the huge toy store bag filled with wrapped gifts in one hand, the cake and ice cream in the other, then juggled his way up the porch steps and knocked with his foot.

  Anna didn’t beat her mother to the door like she usually did. Instead, Keela opened it. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, her eyes striking as always. Wearing old jeans and a tight blue tank top with black bra straps showing, Keela looked great. More than great. Daniel blew on the party favor.

  Keela took one look at him with his arms full of presents, treats and goodies, and burst into tears.

  Anna appeared behind her mother in a yellow summery dress, her mouth agape, eyes wide. He had to keep up the glee so the kid wouldn’t notice her mother crying. “Are those
for me?”

  “Who else would they be for, squirt?” he said around the blowout, since his hands were full.

  “Wow, Dr. Daniel is just like Kristoff!” she said as she launched herself at his leg.

  * * *

  Keela thought fast, though everything was blurry from happy tears, and grabbed the box with what she assumed held a cake, and the carton of ice cream, not giving Anna a chance to upend anything.

  Daniel looked surprised by her tears, but he couldn’t possibly know what she’d been going through all morning. The anger, frustration and heartbreak over the fact Ron had missed Anna’s birthday, making it two years in a row. Proving he’d become a father on paper only. But she’d promised she wouldn’t go there. Not today. Not on Anna’s special day. Then she saw Daniel, her boss—her potential boyfriend—doing an extraordinarily sweet thing for her daughter, and lost it. Next week, when she was alone, she’d call and tell Ron to take a hike. Just leave them alone. But today, for the sake of her daughter, she’d painted on a smile and kept it there until she answered the door.

  Even with the silly party blowout in his mouth, Daniel beamed right along with Anna as she hugged his leg and hip. How could a lady not fall for a man like that?

  “Who’s Kristoff?” His muffled question.

  “The hero in her favorite animated movie.” The good guy. Whereas Ron had earned the title of Hans, the bad guy hidden beneath a charming grin.

  “He likes ice,” Anna chimed in, apparently squeezing Daniel within an inch of his life. “And he has a reindeer.”

  “Speaking of ice, are you going to let me in or are we gonna let the ice cream melt?”

  Anna let go of her death grip and picked up her crutches, heading for the living room couch. “Can I see what’s in the bag?”

  Keela walked the cake and ice cream to the kitchen, leaving the Santa Claus–sized bag of gifts up to Daniel.

  After she put the ice cream in the freezer, she took a peek at the gorgeous cake, so much prettier than hers. She pushed the one she’d hurriedly baked aside to make way for the professional one. Then she returned to the living room and joined Daniel and Anna on the couch. Daniel pulled out party hats and more blowouts and insisted everyone put them on. He also insisted they take a group selfie. “Smile!” Anna giggled her way through several pictures.

  “Aren’t we supposed to wait until after cake and ice cream to open the presents?” He tried to bargain with Anna.

  “No!” she yelled, eyeing the contents of the bag. “I see a Hula-Hoop in there!”

  “Well, I guess you can have that one now, since I couldn’t wrap it.” Daniel pulled the neon-pink hoop out and handed it over. “Just because you can’t run doesn’t mean you can’t stay active, right?”

  “Right!” She moved to the middle of the room and, even with her leg in a nearly matching cast, managed to keep the glittery hoop going for several seconds. “See? Just like your grandda taught me at his party.”

  “Good going.” As Daniel watched, he set gift after gift, wrapped in pink, purple and blue strips, on the coffee table. Anna’s eyes grew bigger with each one.

  “Well, I guess I better get some plates for the cake and ice cream, then,” Keela said. “So Anna can open her presents.”

  “I’ve got just the thing.” Daniel dug deep into the bag, coming up with paper plates that matched their party hats and handing them to Keela.

  “You shouldn’t have,” she said quietly, so that Anna, in her Hula-Hoop frenzy, couldn’t hear. Keela’s heart was nearly bursting with warmth.

  He subtly lifted a brow. “Something tells me I most definitely should have.”

  Not only was the guy sweet and sensitive, he also turned out to be intuitive.

  In shame, she bent her head, or maybe it was anger welling up again for Ron. But she couldn’t look at Daniel right then, so she went off to the kitchen.

  She moved her small, homemade version of a birthday cake from the table to the counter to make room for the perfect one Daniel had brought. She was hoping to distract herself enough to prevent another bout of crying, when she saw a shadow behind her.

  “May I ask why you didn’t plan a party?”

  Keela cast a quick glance over her shoulder, pretending she was too busy to turn around. “I was foolish enough to leave the day open for her father to step in.” She bit her lower lip, forcing down the sadness. “When will I learn?”

  “That is cold.” Daniel’s warm hand gripped her shoulder, bringing comfort.

  In the living room she heard Anna counting the number of presents Daniel had brought. Why couldn’t Ron be a doting dad like that? Truth was, he did dote, but on Diesel, not Anna. “He just doesn’t seem to give a damn about her since we moved here. I’ll never understand.”

  “It doesn’t make sense, that’s for sure.” Daniel turned her to face him. “But let’s give that girl a party she won’t forget, okay?”

  Keela fortified herself and gave him a wink. “You’re on.” She turned back, handing him the fancy cake, now dotted with the five candles she’d planned to put on her hokey homemade cake.

  He took it and set it back on the counter. Instead he picked up her cake and transferred the candles to hers, then carried it to the kitchen table. Yeah, the guy was definitely a Kristoff. “Don’t forget the ice cream,” he said.

  Filled with a flood of good feelings, she gave a weepy smile before heading to the freezer, adoring how silly and great the man looked wearing a kid-sized party hat. Another thing to like about him: he was sure enough of himself not to worry about appearances. He was honest and sincere and... Well, feeling the way she did at the moment, the list could go on and on. “I noticed you brought her favorite flavor.” And observant!

  “She’d never forgive me if I brought the wrong kind.”

  Humble, too.

  * * *

  An hour later, full of cake—since they’d decided to sample pieces of both—and ice cream, Anna played with her assortment of gifts. A build-it-yourself castle, plus building-brick sets for both an adventure camp and a tree house, which would keep her busy for days, putting them together. An adorable, nearly life-size stuffed bulldog she’d instantly named Tuffy was stationed by her side.

  “Why didn’t you plan a birthday party for her?” Daniel asked quietly again.

  Keela sighed, trying to figure out how much to tell him. “I thought for sure her father would have plans, since he’d promised last year he’d never miss her birthday again,” she whispered. “But honestly, with her leg, I wasn’t sure she’d enjoy a party with other little kids because she wouldn’t be able to do much.”

  “That’s understandable.” He glanced across the small room at Anna concentrating as she put the pink-and-purple castle together. “You need any help?”

  “No.”

  “She’s quite good with things like that. I’m amazed you picked the perfect presents.”

  “Just a hunch. Anyway, I get what you mean about not being able to participate. But kids like parties.”

  “And you gave her a perfect party.” When Keela smiled, she hoped he understood one-tenth of how much his coming today had meant to both of them. He’d literally saved the day! Again.

  Anna had gotten money from her Irish and American grandparents from out of state, unaware of their son’s neglect toward their granddaughter. Keela and Anna had talked about how hard it would be to buy clothes for school with her cast on, so they’d agreed to wait. In the meantime, she’d let Anna pick out a couple small but special gifts, one from each set of grandparents. “Next year I won’t wait for her father. I am so done with that man.”

  Daniel’s expression was hard to interpret, but when he nodded, she took it to mean he liked her decision.

  Anna had set up the kids’ zoo animal version of Monopoly while they chatted. “Will you play with me?” How could they refuse?


  Anna seemed to have the run of the board during the second game, thanks to some obvious mistakes by Daniel.

  “When can I use my sand baking kit?”

  “The next time you go to the beach,” Daniel said, taking his turn with the dice and moving his small dog on the game board.

  “Will you take me?”

  “Sure, but it might be a while, since I’m really busy with work.”

  “What about right now?”

  Keela laughed as Daniel got railroaded by her daughter. Good guy that he was, he suggested they all take a late-afternoon drive to the beach.

  She’d had a great opinion of the man since the day he’d hired her, but today he’d become nothing short of a true hero. Who deserved a reward. “I wasn’t planning anything fancy for dinner, but can you stay for hamburgers later?” Keela asked on their way out the door.

  He pulled her close in a sideways hug. “Sure. I’ll even grill them if you have a barbecue.”

  She wrapped her arm around his waist and smiled as they all walked to her car, since it had Anna’s booster seat. Somehow, a day that had gotten off to a horrible start had managed to right itself in a wonderful way. Thanks to her boss.

  Hours later Keela put Anna to bed. She’d insisted many birthday gifts from both her mom and Daniel got put on her bed, leaving her and her cast-wrapped leg hardly any room to move. He’d been completely aware how the entire afternoon and evening had felt like a family affair, with him stepping in as the surrogate father, and it gave him pause. Was he ready to take over that kind of role? Wouldn’t it be easier to date a woman without that extra component?

  But that woman wouldn’t be Keela.

  He leaned back on the couch, hands behind his head, wondering if he was making the right move, getting more and more involved with the two of them. But not for long, because he glanced up in time to see Keela rush through the doorway and launch herself at him.