A Father in the Making

by Marta Perry

He was so excited about sharing the new plan he’d worked up that he would have welcomed a phone call, but it was much better to see Jess’s beautiful face in person.

  “I got your note,” she whispered as she entered the cabin and handed Nate the plate of brownies. “Is Gracie asleep?”

  “Yes,” he answered in a low voice. “As a matter of fact, I just put her down for the night.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t make it over before she fell asleep. Is she sleeping well for you?”

  Nate smiled. “All the way through the night, most nights.”

  Jess returned his smile. “See? I told you it would get easier.”

  Nate laughed softly. “Well, I don’t know about that, but the two of us are finally starting to get into a routine together, I think.”

  Jess peered down into the playpen where Gracie was sleeping, tilting her head to one side as she hesitated, her smile faltering. “You know, I could come back tomorrow. I’d hate it if we accidentally disturbed the baby with our chatter.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” he said hastily, shifting from one foot to the other. “You’re not getting away from me that easily.”

  Her eyes widened, but he didn’t coax the smile from her he had hoped to, with his teasing words, and it made him curious.

  The woman acted as if a man had never flirted with her before, and he didn’t believe that for a second. He wondered, not for the first time, how such a beautiful, kind woman had ended up holed away in a mountain retreat, all by herself. Why hadn’t some lucky man before now swept her off her feet?

  Well, he thought wryly, their loss was definitely his gain.

  And Gracie’s.

  If ever there was a woman meant to be a mother, it was Jessica Sabin. He was more appreciative than she would ever know for all the help she’d given him over the past few weeks.

  “If you don’t mind, we could go sit out on the front porch,” he suggested, smiling down at the sleeping baby. He was so excited about his new idea that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his enthusiasm in check if they spoke indoors.

  “That sounds lovely,” she answered. “It’s a really nice evening out, compared to how frosty the weather has been lately. Today it almost feels like an Indian summer night.”

  Nate slipped into his bomber jacket and then held the screen door for Jess and waited until she’d seated herself on the porch step before sitting down beside her. He left the door open so he could hear if Gracie stirred, but he thought they would be able to talk without bothering the baby.

  “So, what’s up?” she asked after they’d sat a moment in silence. “You’ve made some decisions?”

  He nodded. “In a way, yes. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future. And Gracie’s.”

  She tensed up, which looked to Nate like a shiver. She was right about the night being mild, but she’d only worn a light windbreaker for a jacket. Even in the summertime, the Rocky Mountains could get cold once the sun went down—and this was not summertime.

  He put his arm around her shoulders, thinking to keep her warm, and smiled to himself when she shifted, cuddling in under his arm.

  “What have you decided?” She didn’t look at him when she spoke, but rather at the shadows of the trees lengthening in the setting sun.

  “Nothing permanent, yet.” He followed her gaze, for once enjoying the mountain view. Funny how his perspective changed when Jess was around.

  “Oh.” She sounded a little bit taken aback, and Nate wondered why.

  What was she thinking? He wished he knew, but he didn’t know how to form the question to ask her about it, so he mentally dropped the subject and continued with his previous train of thought.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “I’ve been thinking about my dad.”

  “I thought you might be,” she commented, and then sighed. “I’m glad that situation worked out for you as well as it did.”

  “Me, too,” he agreed fervently. “I didn’t realize that was going to be such a giant step for me. You have no idea how much it meant to me to be reconciled with Pop.”

  “Oh, I think I might,” she disagreed, smiling softly and shyly.

  He arched one eyebrow, questioning her without speaking.

  She shrugged. “I could see it on your face when you came back from talking to him.”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said with a laugh. “At least, to me, it was. But then I’ve always had a gift for being able to discern what someone is feeling, even when they don’t say anything out loud.”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “I believe that. You always seem to know what Gracie needs.”

  “Babies are easy.”

  “Ha!” Nate burst out with a spontaneous laugh. “Says you.”

  She stared at him a moment, her lips pursed. “You’re very good with her, you know.”

  “Do you think?”

  “I know. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”

  “Hmm.”

  “I also know, based on the expression on your face, not to mention the note you left taped to my door, that you are dying to tell me something. So just go ahead and spit it out, already.”

  “Once again, you’ve read my mind,” he teased. He couldn’t wipe the grin from his face if he tried. “I do have something I want to get your opinion on. It’s about my pop.”

  Chapter 9

  “I’m always happy to offer my opinion,” Jessica answered in the same teasing tone. “So what’s going on with your father?”

  “Well, when I went to visit him, I noticed that he seemed to be cold. The central heating was working just fine, but he was shivering, even though he had a wool blanket covering him. When I asked him about it, he told me he feels like he can never get warm.”

  “That’s too bad. He has already suffered through so much with that stroke.”

  “I know,” Nate agreed. “I can’t get him out of my mind. I want to do something to help him—to make up for the way I wounded him when I left the lodge and joined the marines.”

  “You don’t have to do penance,” Jess said softly. “What’s done is done. And your father already forgave you, you know.”

  “Yeah,” Nate said on an exhale. “I know. But I still want to do something for him.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I want to build him a fireplace. You know, something easy on the eye, made out of stone, maybe, that will help him keep warm. I was thinking he could stoke it up as much as he needs to and have a lot more control over how warm he keeps the room.”

  Jess bounded to her feet, spun around and took Nate’s hands in hers. “That’s a wonderful idea!” she exclaimed, obviously sharing his enthusiasm.

  And his vision.

  He stood and hugged her, enjoying the way his heart soared at her encouragement. He was so grateful for her support.

  He thought about what it would be like to have her at his side every day for the rest of his life, and he liked the mental picture he drew. How high could he reach with her love?

  “You’ll have to run your idea by Vince, you know. I don’t see how you can get around it.”

  Her words popped the bubble of Nate’s daydream like a stickpin.

  Telling Jess had been the easy part.

  He’d already known he’d have to get Vince’s permission to proceed with his plan. Vince had the final say on every aspect of Morningway Lodge, and what Nate was proposing was a pretty major renovation.

  He dropped his arms from Jess’s waist and shrugged, hoping he’d pulled off nonchalance but knowing Jess saw right through his bravado.

  “Do you think he’ll go for it?”

  To his relief, Jess nodded. “I think he may surprise you.”

  Nate snorted. “Highly unlikely. But as you said, I have to speak to him first.”

>   “What are you going to do with Gracie while you work on the project?”

  He chuckled and flashed her a goofy grin. “That’s where you come in, honey.”

  She laughed in delight. “I’ll admit I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “I was thinking I’d drop Gracie by the day care on weekdays while I work.”

  “We’d be happy to have her,” she said, her tone suddenly businesslike and efficient.

  “There’s still an opening, then?”

  Jess looked away from him, then chuckled. “For Gracie, I’d make an opening. But in answer to your question, yes, we have an opening available.”

  She had a strange look on her face when she spoke, and she still wasn’t looking him in the eye. Nate knew she wasn’t telling the whole story.

  “What?” he queried playfully. “What are you not telling me?”

  Jess glanced away for a moment, her face reddening under his scrutiny.

  “I saved it for you,” she mumbled under her breath, shrugging as if what she said didn’t matter.

  “You what?” Nate asked, though he was fairly certain he’d heard her correctly the first time. Still, he wanted to hear her say it again.

  “Oh, all right. I’ll fess up. You know how I feel about—” she paused as if searching for words, and if it were possible, her face flushed with even more color “—about Gracie.”

  Nate cocked an eyebrow, feeling certain that wasn’t what she’d been about to say. She had mentally amended her statement from...?

  A slow grin spread over Nate’s face as he inwardly answered his own question. “Go on.”

  “I wasn’t sure what your plans were, so I saved Gracie a spot at the day care, just in case.”

  His smile widened.

  “So sue me, already,” she snapped, looking increasingly flustered.

  Sue her? He wanted to kiss her.

  With effort, he restrained himself. He didn’t want to scare the lady off, after all. As much as he recognized the strength of his own heart and wanted to propel their relationship into fast-forward, he coaxed himself to stay in check until he knew for certain she returned his feelings.

  How he would know that, he hadn’t a clue. He didn’t have much experience in reading women’s emotions; he gave himself a mental tug backward.

  Somehow, he encouraged himself, he would instinctively know when the time was right for him to speak. And this wasn’t it.

  Yet.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, mentally distancing himself from the captivating woman before him. He tried to speak, but his words came out hoarse and raspy.

  He cleared his throat and tried again. “Is tomorrow too soon?”

  Jess shook her head.

  “I thought I would talk to Vince and then go into Boulder to order materials for the fireplace. I don’t know how long it will take me.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she assured him, her big brown eyes glowing incandescently. “Tomorrow would be just perfect.”

  * * *

  Jessica seated herself on a rocking chair in the corner of the day care nursery, tucked Gracie onto her lap, and then coaxed the warm bottle of formula into the baby’s mouth. She smiled as Gracie reached out and propped the bottle with her own little fists.

  Gracie was not only pulling herself up to a standing position when she was in her crib, but she was starting to show some manual dexterity, as well.

  Babies grew into little girls too quickly, Jessica thought, with a mixture of joy and downheartedness. It would not be long now before Nate was chasing Gracie all over the mountain.

  If he was around that long. She had so hoped that when he’d said he’d made some decisions, that he had meant he was going to stay at Morningway Lodge.

  But he hadn’t said that.

  As she stared down at the sweet baby who’d completely won her heart, melancholy washed over her in black waves. She wondered if she’d get to see Gracie walking and talking and growing into a busy toddler.

  She hoped so. With her whole heart, she wanted them to stay.

  And if she were being honest, it wasn’t just Gracie she would miss when they left. There was Nate to think of, as well.

  Strong, charming, honorable Sergeant Morningway.

  She smiled tenderly when she thought of Nate. He’d been so convinced that he was going to run into resistance when he’d approached his brother with the fireplace idea, and had been genuinely astonished when Vince gave him—albeit grudgingly, Nate had assured her—consent to do the work.

  And so for the past three weeks he had been dropping Gracie off at the day care early every weekday morning and taking off to work on his new project. He had the unfettered enthusiasm of a little boy in a toy shop. It was, Jessica mused, quite contagious. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling these days, what with Nate running energetic mental circles around her.

  She couldn’t even really say it surprised her that he’d made it a practice to seek her out after hours as well. The fact that she visited his cabin as often as he came to hers was beside the point.

  When Nate and Gracie weren’t around, her life seemed conspicuously empty and quiet. While she used to consider the silence as a measure of her serenity, it was now a constant aching reminder of the past, and she found herself counting the minutes until she would see Nate and Gracie again.

  They’d fallen into a comfortable routine. Nate picked her up in the morning, saying it was silly to drive two cars when he was headed in the direction of the day care anyway. Then, when he picked Gracie up in the evening, he waited around to drive Jessica home.

  It only seemed fair that if he was going to ferry her about, the least she could do was cook him dinner. And then the next evening, he’d reciprocated, fixing her a killer omelet for supper. One evening led to another, and before Jessica realized it, the pattern had been set.

  Much to her surprise, Nate had even accepted her invitation to accompany her to church the previous Sunday. She didn’t know why she had felt compelled to ask him at all, given that he was not a religious man, and she certainly hadn’t expected him to agree.

  Now she wondered if he might not start attending church with her on a regular basis. And what, if anything, that meant about his relationship with God.

  Speaking of Nate, she thought as she brought Gracie up to her shoulder for a burp, where was the man? She had expected him to arrive to take her home by the time she had finished feeding Gracie her bottle, but he was apparently running late.

  When another half hour quietly passed and Nate still hadn’t come to pick her up, Jessica started to worry in earnest.

  Had something happened to him? Had there been an accident, maybe?

  He’d told her that morning that he was going to be working on the roof today, building a chimney. What if he’d slipped and fallen?

  She chastised herself for being a silly goose and turned her attention to Gracie.

  “Hey, baby girl,” she said, brushing her fingers through Gracie’s soft curls, “what do you say we have a little fun with your hair?”

  Gracie clearly didn’t think that Jessica gathering her curls into a sprout on the top of her head and weaving a rubber band around it qualified as fun. She squawked and she wiggled and she even tried to slide off Jessica’s lap, but Jessica just laughed and followed her movements until she’d achieved the look she desired.

  How delightful Gracie looked bobbing her head with the little ponytail in place on top. That was why little girls were so much fun, Jessica thought, at once happy and sad. It was fun to play with their hair and dress them up in plush velvet and sparkly red shoes.

  There were so many things she missed about Elizabeth, and so many more she would never see.

  Jessica shook herself mentally, not wanting to entertain her morose feelings any further. Gracie was here
in front of her, and that was all that mattered. Time moved so quickly. She needed to grasp the moment and live for now.

  Sitting cross-legged on the indoor-outdoor carpet that covered the day care floor, Jessica willed her mind into the present, where Gracie was merrily pounding away on a toy xylophone and singing in a language all her own.

  How could Jessica not find joy as she interacted with baby Gracie?

  But when yet another half hour had passed, she decided it was time for action. She didn’t have her SUV with her, but the day care van, complete with a car seat, was parked behind the building and she had the keys.

  Without letting herself think too much about it, she bundled Gracie up and headed for the main lodge. Nate had no doubt simply lost track of the time, but she couldn’t wait another second to know for sure.

  She tried to remain calm, telling herself not to panic for no good reason, but to no avail.

  Despite her best efforts, she mentally worked herself into such a state as she drove that she half expected to see an ambulance in front of the lodge, or at the very least a crowd of concerned onlookers; but upon approaching, the lodge was as quiet as ever, and Nate’s Jeep was parked in the front lot.

  She breathed a sigh of relief, mentally chastising herself for her own stupidity. It wasn’t like her to let her imagination run away with her.

  With Gracie in her arms, she beelined for Jason Morningway’s room.

  When she knocked, it was Nate’s smooth baritone that bid her to enter, and it was his beaming gaze that caught her eye the moment she stepped into the room.

  Nate was sitting at the dining table with his father, a soda in his hand.

  “Jess!” he exclaimed, bounding toward her and giving her an enthusiastic hug before sweeping Gracie into his arms. “What a surprise. What are you doing here? Is something the matter?”

  Jessica arched an eyebrow and pointedly looked at her watch.

  Nate looked at his own watch and then back at her, his expression genuinely surprised.

  Jessica laughed. “So you lost track of the time, did you?”

  He hung his head in mock shame, but he was still smiling. “I did. And I left you stranded and starving, no doubt. And speaking of stranded—how did you get to the lodge?”