From Bachelor to Father

Firefighter Liam McGregory is used to staring down five-alarm fires—but becoming a father to his two little nieces has him sending out a call for help. When the girls return a lost pup to its beautiful owner, Liam thinks widow Sarah Blackburn is just the person he needs—or who the children need. He’s promised to never marry again. Sarah takes his deal: she’ll watch his kids and he’ll watch her menagerie of pets—but the new father is off-limits. But two determined little matchmakers can be hard to resist when they need a mom to make one big happy family...

He was a hero.

He stood there, a smile lighting his eyes, looking so proud of himself. As proud as she was that he’d rescued his niece and her kittens from the tree. But wasn’t that what firefighters always did?

“Uncle Liam needs a hug.”

His niece’s statement broke into her thoughts. She looked at the girl, who wore the biggest grin. Did she want Sarah to hug him? Then again, hadn’t he just saved one of her precious pets? Heat suffusing her face, she gave him a quick embrace.

She led him out of the yard, Liam following close behind her. She kept her head forward, her cheeks still flaming. At the gate, she swiveled around. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

He closed the space between them. “I’m glad you did. I can always use a hug. It’s been a difficult time adjusting to fatherhood, and I have a feeling it’s been hard for you, too, since you came back home.”

Yes, it was. And as she looked at Liam, she had a feeling it was going to get even harder…

MARGARET DALEY, an award-winning author of ninety books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread, and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret, visit her website at margaretdaley.com.

The Firefighter Daddy
Margaret Daley

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For the Lord is good;

His mercy everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

—Psalms 100:5

To all firefighters, you do a great job.

Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

The sound of a loud crash from the rear of the shop reverberated through Snip and Cut Hair Salon. Sarah Blackburn held her scissors poised over her customer’s white hair for a second then whirled around and looked at her mother in the station next to hers. She was in the middle of shampooing a client. “I’ll take care of it, Mom. Mrs. Calhoun, I’ll be right back.”

Sarah made a beeline for the small kitchen area, her heart pounding. What had Nana done now? Please, God, let her be okay.

Sarah entered the room and came to a sudden halt. Nana stood in the middle of a puddle of red and brown dyes splattered all over the tiled floor with a large cat racing through the color mixture toward the open bay window. The tomcat, with splashes of red and brown on its white fur, leaped onto the table, jumped to the windowsill and wiggled his big body under the raised screen, disappearing from sight.

“Oh, dear. Sammy didn’t even finish his food.” Her forehead knitted, Nana glanced at Sarah. “I need to find him.”

Before her grandmother started for the rear door, Sarah moved into action, cutting off her path. She slung her arm around Nana’s thin shoulders and turned her away. “You’ve got dye on your legs. I need to scrub it off before it turns your skin red and brown.” She sat her grandmother in the chair nearby, grabbed a wet cloth and began scrubbing the dye off her skin.

“Sammy will get hungry if I don’t go get him.”

“Nana, the tomcat is long gone. How did you get him inside? He usually eats outside on the back stoop.”

“I left the door open while I fixed his food. He came in.” Nana beamed. “Until lately, Sammy hasn’t always come to me.”

“Sammy,” as her grandmother called the white tomcat that had been showing up lately at the shop, was a stray that Nana thought was her pet when she was a little girl.

“Mama, what did you do?” Sarah’s mother asked as she charged into the kitchen.

Nana peered at her daughter and pursed her lips. “My job. I was preparing a dye for a customer. One bowl slipped from my hand, and I must have dropped the other. The sound scared Sammy. I’ve got to find him.”

Sarah’s mom sighed, her shoulders drooping forward as she faced Sarah. “Go finish Mrs. Calhoun’s cut then style Beatrice’s hair for me. I’m taking her home—” she glanced at Nana “—and get her cleaned up. Good thing they’re our last clients.”

As her mom took over with Nana, Sarah reentered the front of the small hair salon, plastering a grin on her face, when she didn’t feel like smiling. Not when she understood her grandmother’s need to look for what she thought was her pet. Three days ago Sarah’s dog had disappeared. A lump lodged in her throat at the thought of not seeing Gabe again. Her late husband had given her the black Lab on their second anniversary, and Gabe had helped her get through the deaths of Peter and her unborn child. Many late nights she’d held the Lab and cried over her loss.

“Is everything okay?” Mrs. Calhoun’s question drew Sarah from the past, and she mentally shook Peter from her thoughts.

“Nana dropped a bowl of dye. No big deal. Mom is taking care of her.” Sarah shifted toward Mrs. Miller, who was sitting in her mother’s booth with wet hair. “I’ll be with you soon. Mom had to drive Nana home.”

Beatrice Miller snorted, muttering, “I told your mother Carla needed to be put in a nursing home.”

Sarah took a deep breath and refrained from saying anything to the woman who wasn’t that many years away from retirement herself. She hurried to her customer, snatching up her scissors. “I only have to make sure it’s even, Mrs. Calhoun, then blow-dry your hair and—”

“Nonsense. It’s almost dry, and I love this short cut the way it is. You have more pressing issues to take care of, dear.” The older woman winked at Sarah in the mirror and gave her a huge grin as she turned and pointedly looked at Mrs. Miller.

It was people like Mrs. Calhoun that had made it bearable coming home to Buffalo, Oklahoma, after fleeing five years ago because of the overwhelming memories of what she’d lost, crushing her until she hadn’t even wanted to leave her house.

It was the thought of Mrs. Calhoun’s smile and wink, which Sarah carried with her through fixing Mrs. Miller’s hair and listening to the woman’s complaints the whole time she did, that helped. After she left the shop, Sarah cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, locked up then slid behind the steering wheel of the restored yellow MINI Cooper that Peter had given her on their first anniversary.

As she headed to her mom’s house, she glimpsed a sign for the highway that led to Tulsa, and the urge to go there swamped her. Only home three months, she felt as though she were experiencing the loss of Peter all over again everywhere she went in Buffalo. She hadn’t even been able to drive by the house they had rented and had been thankful it wasn’t near any of the usual places she frequented.

She approached the intersection where an old man had run a stop sign and changed her life forever. Forcing herself to continue, since it was the fastest way home, she crept toward it, her hands shaking. Usually she avoided it. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and kept going at ten miles under the speed limit.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a poster on a telephone pole of a black Lab. She pulled over to the curb, fortified herself with a deep breath, climbed from her car and then jogged over to the picture to read it.

One look at the black Lab on the sign and she knew it was Gabe. Her spirits soared at the prospects of getting her dog back. She snatched the poster from the pole, hurried back to her car and drove through the intersection with her mind focused on seeing Gabe again.

* * *

When Liam McGregory entered the kitchen to fix the dish he was going to take to his second meeting with the Single Dads’ Club, he came to an abrupt halt and scanned the mess. What happened? After putting away the groceries, he’d only left to wash up and check the mail. No more than ten minutes.

His seven-year-old niece, Madison, stood on a stool with a mixing bowl in front of her, dumping something that looked like sugar into it. Obviously she’d already put flour in, because the counter was covered in a dusting of white powder. Madison stirred whatever was in the dish while looking at a book next to her. “Milk is next.”

On a chair pulled over from the table, Katie put a half-gallon milk carton down on the counter after pouring some into a glass and then passed it to her older sister. “Here.” In the middle of the transfer, hands wobbled and the white liquid splashed all over the marbled-granite top, dribbling its way through the flour.

“I’m not gonna let you help me next time.” Madison dumped what was left into the bowl, grabbed the carton and poured more straight into the concoction she was making. “You spilled most of it.”

“You did, not me.” Katie’s expression morphed into her pouting one, her baby blue eyes narrowing. She snatched the milk from her older sister so hard more went flying out of the half-gallon container and splattered everywhere.

“Madison and Katherine McGregory, what are you two doing?”

Both girls suddenly twisted toward Liam, Madison’s ponytail whipping around so fast it hit Katie in the cheek. Two sets of blue eyes, round as saucers, fixed on Liam.

Madison recovered quicker than her younger sister. “We’re helping you, Uncle Liam. Aunt Betty said you’ve been working hard and we need to pitch in more.” Her set jaw challenged him to disagree.

He inhaled a calming breath and moved toward his nieces, who he’d adopted when his younger brother died six months ago. “How you two can help me is to make sure the black Lab has water in his bowl out back.”

The girls hopped down from their chairs at the counter and raced for the door to the backyard. Katie tried to go first through the entrance, but Madison quickly maneuvered herself into the lead. Only eighteen months separated them in age, but Madison was determined to make sure her younger sister remembered she was the oldest.

Before Liam began cleaning up, he needed to check that they weren’t creating another mess outside, or they might never make the meeting for single fathers and their children started by the church his brother and nieces attended. He walked to the large window in the breakfast nook that afforded him a good view of his fenced-in yard. The black Lab came up to Madison and Katie, his tail wagging. His nieces lavished attention on the lost dog with no tags they’d found three days ago at the nearby park.

As far as his nieces were concerned, Buddy, their name for the dog, was theirs to keep. Reluctantly they’d agreed to help Liam put up posters about the lost Lab before he’d gone on his twenty-four-hour shift at the fire station yesterday morning. Liam had tried to explain to them that Buddy’s owner was probably looking for him.

Buffalo had more than twenty thousand people but with a small-town feel to it. Residents looked out for each other. However, Madison and Katie were sure they were going to get to keep Buddy. Just another problem in the myriad issues he had been dealing with the past six months.

As Madison took the water bowl over to the outside faucet and filled it, Liam sighed and headed for the mess that needed to be cleaned up before he started dinner. How could two little girls manage to cover the whole counter on one side of a big kitchen with various ingredients in such a short time?

When his brother had died in that work-site accident, Liam’s life had changed completely. Sure, he was still a firefighter. But everything else was different—new town, new family, new friends, new problems. When Gareth had asked him to be Madison and Katie’s guardian if anything happened to him, he’d readily agreed, never thinking anything would.

Liam grabbed a wet washcloth and began wiping up the sugar-flour-milk mixture. When he peeked into the bowl, on closer inspection, he found a partially cracked egg in the middle of the concoction. He took the bowl to the sink and dumped it in the side with the garbage disposal.

Chimes rang in the air. The doorbell. Liam quickly checked on Madison and Katie then headed for the entry hall. When he opened the door, a petite woman with long blond hair framing an attractive face stood on the porch with a poster about the lost dog in her hand.

“Can I help you?” he asked, drawn to her dark brown eyes with their long, black lashes.

She smiled, and his attention zeroed in on her mouth and a dimple near its left side. “I hope so. I saw this on my way home from work, and I’m sure this is my dog. He’s been missing for three days.”

“Come in. I think I can help you. I’m Liam McGregory.” He pushed the screen door open, and she stepped inside.

“I’m Sarah Blackburn.”

She held out her hand, and Liam shook it. Her hair—a cascade of curls—instantly reminded him of his ex-wife. He stepped back, thankful she looked nothing like Terri.

He’d started to tell the woman about the dog they’d found, when the sound of the back door opening followed by running feet and a couple of deep barks announced his nieces as well as the black Lab heading this way.

Liam turned toward the hallway that led to the back of the house. The dog appeared and made a beeline straight for the woman next to him.

The black Lab lunged for her, propped his front paws on her shoulders and licked her. She had the biggest grin on her face.

“I thought I lost you.” Sarah Blackburn hugged the Lab.

Madison halted by the entrance to the hallway. “Uncle Liam, we didn’t mean to let him inside. He barged past Katie before we could catch him.”

“I tried. Buddy is super fast.” Katie, followed by Madison, moved to Liam.

He glanced at his nieces, who flanked him, staring at the woman hugging the dog. Tiny lines grooved their foreheads as they assessed what was going on. “I’m assuming from your welcome, he’s your dog,” he said, bracing himself for a protest from Madison and Katie.

The lady peered at him and nodded. “I didn’t think I was going to find him. The few times he’s gotten out of the backyard, he’s always been on the porch when I came home from work.”

Liam braved a glance toward his nieces. Katie’s mouth hung open, while Madison’s eyes glistened. “Girls, this is Ms. Blackburn, and the dog we found is...” He peered back at the woman.

“His name is Gabe. I live down the street on the next block,” she said, gesturing in that direction. Then with her hand stroking the Lab, she calmed him and knelt next to him so she was more on the level with his nieces. “Have you two been taking care of him for me?”

Katie crossed her arms over her chest.

Liam prepared for her outburst, but instead Madison stepped forward and patted the Lab on the head. “Yes, we have. Are you sure he’s your dog?”

“Here, let me show you.” Sarah walked a few paces away and swung around to face Madison next to the dog. “Gabe, come.”

The Lab walked to her.

“Sit,” she said, and when he did, she ran him through some commands, which he performed.

“He knows tricks. We didn’t know that.” Madison crossed to them. “Can I try one?”

“Sure.”

“Bud—Gabe, shake my hand.” The dog held his paw up, and Madison shook it, grinning from ear to ear. “Cool.”

“His name is Buddy.” Katie stamped her foot, her lower lip sticking out.

Liam moved to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Honey, we don’t want to confuse Gabe with another name.”

“Buddy is friendly with everyone. We don’t know for sure you’re his owner.”

“Katie, you knew this was a possibility. I talked to you about it.” When he’d trained in Dallas to be a firefighter, he’d never received a course in dealing with a six-year-old losing something she had quickly bonded with, especially on top of losing her father six months ago.

“I tell you what. You all can walk with me to my house, and I’ll show you a photo of Gabe and me. Will that prove to you I’m his owner?” Sarah asked in a calm, patient voice, as though she knew exactly what Katie was going through.

“I think that’s a great suggestion, Ms. Blackburn.” Liam caught the woman’s gaze and, for a brief few seconds, a connection sprang up between them.

“Please, I’m Sarah. You have saved me hours of worrying about Gabe.” She stuffed her hand into the large pocket of her light jacket and pulled out a leash. “I brought this to take him home with, but I see he managed to slip out of his collar again. It had all his information on it. Even when he wasn’t on the porch, I thought for sure I would get him back right away.”

“Then you can’t walk him home. Without a leash, he might run off.” Madison planted herself next to Liam.

“He’ll be fine. He’s well trained. He’ll heel if I tell him,” Sarah said, again in that even tone.

Her eyes narrowed, Katie lifted her chin. “What’s that?”

“He walks on my left side right next to me.”

Madison yanked on Liam’s T-shirt. “Can we have a dog and teach him tricks like Gabe?”

He peered into Madison’s pleading expression, meant to wrap him around her little finger. “I’ll think about it, but first let’s walk Sarah home. It’s been a long day for all of us.” Definitely an understatement for him with six different calls during the twenty-four-hour shift at the station that had ended at eight this morning. Two of their runs had been serious with one cutting a man out of a wrecked car. “Let’s go, girls.”

Madison hurried to be on one side of Gabe, sandwiching the dog between her and Sarah. Katie tried to walk right behind her older sister but kept running into Madison, who immediately swung around and pushed her back.

When Sarah stopped, her dog sat, and she looked at Katie. “Would you like to be over here with Gabe? You can be the one to tell him to heel if he tries to walk too fast or slow. I’ll be right behind you with your dad.”

“He’s our uncle,” Madison immediately said, frowning.

“Yeah and a firefighter. He helps people.” Katie took Sarah’s place by Gabe.

Madison glanced at him. “And he helps animals.”

In that second all weariness from his last shift evaporated. Sarah and his nieces had reminded him of why he worked crazy hours. But, mostly, it reconfirmed why he’d left everything he had known and come to Buffalo. The girls needed time to adjust to him before he moved them to Dallas. He’d told his captain he would return in a year with his nieces.

* * *

There were times he felt he’d made several strides forward with Katie but not necessarily with Madison when it came to their accepting him as their guardian. He was afraid losing the dog would set their relationship back. The death of his younger brother had hit them all hard.

“I’ll be with your uncle and tell you when we reach my house.”

Katie started forward, saying, “Heel,” to Gabe.

Still scowling, Madison skipped a few paces to catch up with them.

“Did I say something wrong?” Sarah fell into step next to Liam.

“Madison is the oldest, and she’s having a hard time accepting that her dad died. Katie’s younger and seems to have accepted me as their guardian, most of the time. I don’t do everything like their dad did.” He’d tried, but he usually discovered he couldn’t follow the same routine. His work schedule wasn’t the same as Gareth’s, who’d had an eight-to-five job with weekends off.

“Oh, I can imagine. My parents divorced, and when my father moved to Chicago, I rarely heard from him. What about their mother?”

“She died six years ago. Our aunt Betty helped Gareth with the girls and thankfully has been a lifesaver for me. She lives behind us, and when I’m working, she takes care of them.”

“Betty Colton?”

He nodded. “Do you know her?”

“Yes, she comes every week to the hair salon I work at. I just moved back to Buffalo a few months ago when my mom needed help with my grandmother. We all work in the salon. Snip and Cut. It’s been in the family for three generations now.”

“Where were you before that?”

“Tulsa. How do you like Buffalo?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I lived in Dallas all my life and love a big city.” Liam stopped at the corner and waited while the girls checked both ways before crossing the street.

“My house is the white brick one with pink shutters almost at the end of this block,” Sarah said as she and Liam trailed his nieces to the other side.

Madison twisted around and walked backward. “I love that house. Pink is my favorite color.”

“Mine is purple,” Katie said over her shoulder. “I hate pink.”

“I don’t have a favorite color. I can’t make up my mind,” Sarah said in spite of the glare Katie shot her way.

When Katie halted, Gabe did, too. “He stopped! Good boy.” She petted his head then whirled around, her ponytail whishing. “I thought everyone had a favorite color. Why don’t cha?”

Sarah shrugged. “I guess I’m the exception. I love all colors.”

Liam wondered what else she was the exception to. Too bad he had little time to get to know Sarah. She seemed nice. But with his job and raising his two slightly rebellious nieces, he didn’t. He’d always wanted to have children, and this would be the closest he would come to having a family.

“Uncle Liam, what’s your favorite color?” Katie asked as she resumed walking.

“Blue.”

Madison giggled. “No wonder. You’re a boy.”

A boy? He hadn’t been one for years. At thirty-five he’d left his childhood behind in more ways than age. In his job he saw a lot of tragedy and was still trying to make sense of it. Look at all the deaths the two girls had dealt with in their short lives.

Sarah slanted him a look. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I was thinking about the last time I felt like a boy. Even as a kid, I was the man of the house. My dad was a firefighter, who died in an apartment fire when I was seven.”

“And you wanted to follow in his footsteps?”

“Yeah. I knew I would be a firefighter when I first rode on the ladder truck as a kid. Even after Dad died, the guys from his station would come around and help Mom as much as possible.” And he’d become a firefighter at that very station. When Terri had walked out on him, his buddies had been there to help him pick up the pieces.

“Girls, this is my house,” Sarah called out and then turned to Liam to ask, “Would you all like to come in?”

Liam started to decline, thinking about the dish he needed to make before he and the girls left for the single dads’ meeting at Colt Remington’s ranch. But before Liam could answer, his nieces both said, “Yes.”

As the others started toward Sarah’s house, Liam hung back. He missed the guys from the fire station in Dallas. He hoped the Single Dads’ Club would fill the void he’d experienced since coming to Buffalo. Even with Aunt Betty’s assistance, he was alone, raising two girls who hadn’t come with any instructions.

Chapter Two

When Sarah entered her childhood home, Gabe barked then loped toward the kitchen, where his food, water and bed were located. She showed Liam and his nieces into the kitchen while Gabe settled himself in his doggy bed. She checked the garage and wondered where Mom and Nana had gone. It was probably for the best her mom wasn’t here. One look at Liam and she would try to figure out how to match them up. Her mother wanted grandchildren. Sarah wanted children. She’d been pregnant almost five months—until she miscarried after the car accident.

“Have a seat at the table. I have lemonade or iced tea. Which would you like?” she asked as she closed the door to the garage.

“Lemonade,” Katie said while Madison replied, “Iced tea.”

Sarah glanced at Liam, sitting across from the girls, a look in his golden-brown eyes—perhaps sadness—that made her wonder why he’d given up everything to move to Buffalo instead of taking his nieces to Dallas. It couldn’t be easy becoming the guardian of two girls and also dealing with his brother’s death and a new town and job. “How about you?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine. We can’t stay long. I need to make something for dinner.”

“Sure. I’ll get their drinks then go find the photo.” She turned to the refrigerator for the lemonade and iced tea.

Liam McGregory had the same color hair—dark brown—as the girls, but the similarities stopped there. Their eyes were a crystalline blue, his a warm brown. His facial features were angular and hard, while theirs were soft and delicate. She peered back at him, intrigued by what little she’d learned today.

A minute later as Sarah set their glasses in front of the girls, she caught Liam studying her. She hurried from the kitchen before he saw her blush. Since coming home to Buffalo, she’d avoided her mother’s attempts to fix her up with a son of one of her friends. Sarah wasn’t interested in dating, especially when memories of Peter bombarded her everywhere she went in town. She hadn’t thought about that when she’d quit her job at a high-end salon, left her friends and returned home. Maybe that was why she felt a connection with Liam. He had to be going through some of the same problems she was, since he’d done the same thing when he’d come to Buffalo.

When Sarah found the photo with Gabe, she made her way back to the kitchen and put the frame on the table between Madison and Katie. The photo was of her Lab standing in eight inches of snow next to her. “Mom took that six weeks ago during the last winter storm. Gabe loves to play in snow.”

“Me, too.” Katie gulped down half her lemonade. “But I like swimming more.”

“Yep, it’s only...” Madison held her hand up and said, “April, May—” a finger popped up for each month “—two months to summer vacation. I can’t wait.”

“Not until I know you two can swim.” Liam slid the picture frame across the table, looked at it and then gave it to Sarah.

She took it. “Did you know that the high school has an indoor swimming pool? In the evening, they have it open for swimming classes through their community outreach program.”

Liam’s gaze snared hers. “At this time of year?”

“Yes, especially now. A friend I grew up with runs the program. I can give you her name. You can check to see if there are any openings left. Her next eight-week session starts in two weeks. I help her out two nights a week. I love to swim. It’s better exercise than running.”

Katie bounced up and down in her chair. “Can we? Can we?”

“I’ll look into it when Sarah gives me the number, but you two know my crazy schedule.”

“Ask Aunt Betty to take us.” Madison drained her glass.

“We’ll see. We don’t even know if there are openings.”

Although Madison didn’t say anything else, her mouth tightened, and she stared down at her lap. For a couple of seconds it appeared as though Liam wanted to say more, but when he didn’t, Sarah rose. “I’ll write the number down for you.” She moved to the desk under the wall phone and jotted the contact information on a piece of paper.

Madison clapped her hands. “Oh, goody. I know how to swim, but Katie doesn’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t.” Madison glared at her.

The noise of the garage door opening sounded as Sarah returned to the table and passed the paper to Liam. Now she would spend all evening answering questions about Liam McGregory. She contemplated trying to hurry the trio out the front door before Nana and Mom came in the back, but dismissed that strategy because if it wasn’t Liam, her mother would home in on someone else. She just wasn’t ready yet. She needed to get that point across to her mother.

“It won’t hurt for both of you to take classes,” Liam said as the door from the garage opened into the utility room. “Finish your drinks, girls. We need to leave.”

Her mom’s gaze latched on to Liam then drifted to Madison and Katie. A gleam lit her eyes. Sarah could almost see the hundred questions flying through her mom’s brain right now.

Sarah faced the two women entering from the utility room. “This is my mom, Tina Knapp, and my grandma, Carla Knapp.” She gestured to the trio. “This is Liam McGregory and his nieces, Madison and Katie. They live down the street and—” she swept her arm toward Gabe waking up and rising from his doggy bed “—they found Gabe. They put up posters. I saw one tacked to a telephone pole today.”

Her mother grinned, put her purse on the counter and shook Liam’s hand. “That’s great. Sarah has been so upset about Gabe being gone. We need to fix that hole in the fence better. Obviously what we did last time didn’t work. I declare that dog of yours is like Houdini.”

Katie scrunched up her face in a thoughtful expression. “Hou—denny?”

“One of the best escape artists, child,” Nana said, her purse still hooked over her forearm. “My mother used to tell me about the time she saw Harry Houdini escape from a water container while handcuffed in a straitjacket and then lowered into it upside down. She said he was amazing.”

“How did he do it?” Madison asked.

“By holding his breath three minutes while under water.”

Madison’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Nana nodded then took off her hat, something she insisted on wearing whenever she left the house. Sarah inspected her grandmother’s legs that still showed a faint reminder of where the dyes splashed her. But the tennis shoes she wore were shiny white as if they’d just come out of their box.

“I took Mama to get a new pair for work. The others were ruined,” Sarah’s mother said as she sat at the table.

Liam smiled at her mother next to him. Sarah had visions of her launching into her interrogation before he had a chance to escape. Sarah started to say something, but he stood.

“Girls, it’s time to go. We still have to make something to take to the meeting.” Liam turned to Sarah’s mother and grandmother. “It was nice to meet you both. I’m glad Gabe is back home.” Liam corralled his nieces toward the hallway so fast Sarah’s mom could only blink.

Katie paused, signaled her uncle to bend down. She cupped her hand near his ear and whispered, loud enough that everyone heard, “I’m not glad. I’m gonna miss him.”

“Shh, Katie. He isn’t our dog.” Liam was the last to disappear from view.

But Sarah heard Madison say, “We shouldn’t have made those posters.”

Sarah’s mother laughed. “He has his hands full with those two. I’ve heard some stories from Betty about her grandnieces. So that’s Gareth’s older brother. Betty has brought them to church, but I haven’t seen much of him.”

Here come all the questions. “Liam is a firefighter and has a crazy schedule.”

“Ah, yes.” Her mom tapped the heel of her hand against her forehead. “I remember Betty telling me that.”

“I’m going to my room,” her grandmother muttered as she shuffled toward the hallway.

Sarah’s mom waited a minute after Nana left, then said, “I had to take her back to the shop and make sure there was enough food for Sammy on the stoop. She was worried he would get hungry.”

“That cat has to weigh twenty pounds.”

“And Mama put most of those pounds on him.” Her mother crossed to the fridge and poured herself some iced tea then retook her chair, peering at Sarah.

She sat across from her mom. Dark circles she insisted were from allergies highlighted the weariness in her mother’s eyes. This was why she’d come home. She needed to remember that rather than get frustrated at her mother’s attempts to play matchmaker. That first week back in Buffalo she wouldn’t have stayed if she’d felt her mom hadn’t really needed her. Not only had her health suffered, the salon had, too.

She sipped her tea. “It’s a shame he can’t join his nieces at church more. Gareth was there every Sunday.”

“I think Liam feels a little overwhelmed with everything that has happened, being a single dad, new job and town.”

“That’s why he needs a woman.” Her mom eyed Sarah. “Someone like you who is organized and a hard worker. Loves children.”

Sarah held up her palm. “Stop right there, Mom. You’ll get grandchildren when I find the right man, with no help from you.”

“I’m not going to say another word about Liam McGregory today,” her mother said. “I know it hasn’t been easy coming back to Buffalo, but I appreciate your assistance.”

Today was the only word Sarah really heard. What about tomorrow or the next day?

“Hon, I’m gonna need you to fill in for me on a committee I’ve been on the past five years. I don’t think I would be very creative and helpful with all that has been happening with Mama these days.” Her mother pushed to her feet. “In fact, let’s order pizza. Right after dinner I’m going to head to bed.”

“Nana had a bad day.” Thankfully Sarah hadn’t seen in the past eleven weeks she’d been home too many of that type of day. “Did she give you any problems at the shoe store?”

Her mother put her glass in the sink then turned, her mouth twisted into a frown. “Other than insisting on buying a pair of heels for work? No.”

“I remember when I was a kid she always wore heels to the salon.”

“But in the past few years she’s worn tennis shoes. She’d break her neck if she worked in heels. Can you fill in for me on the committee? It meets at noon at a restaurant downtown. For April and May once a week, or until everything is taken care of. The fund-raiser is June 4.”

“I’ll get the dates from you and make sure I don’t have any clients scheduled at that time.”

“We’ll figure something out. The next meeting is this Tuesday.”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s for the day camp at our church. It gives needy children in the area who can’t afford the cost a chance to go. The fund-raiser kicks off the camp, which the kids can attend for June and July. Money is tight. For many working parents it’s a lifesaver.” Her mother headed for her room. “Will you order the pizza, please? I need to get off my feet.”

Sarah watched her leave, not surprised her mother was on a committee planning for a fund-raiser for children. Sarah was an only child, not because her mother hadn’t wanted more children, but because she couldn’t have them. She knew the kind of longing her mom felt because she did, too. She loved children and would love to be a mother.

* * *

Running fifteen minutes late for his second meeting with the Single Dads’ Club, jokingly referred to by some of the men as the Lone Wolves, Liam had to stop at a restaurant to purchase shredded barbecued beef on the way to Colt’s ranch. They had stayed longer at Sarah’s than he’d realized. There had been no time to cook. He remembered one of the firefighters at his station, Brandon Moore, had requested his homemade macaroni and cheese after Liam had served it for lunch last week. He’d intended to do that.

“We’re late,” Madison said from the backseat. “I hate to be late.”

“So do I. See, we have that in common.” Using the rearview mirror, he glanced at her and, as usual, she gave him a frown.

He sighed and kept his attention focused on the road leading out of Buffalo. When he’d first come to take care of them, Madison wouldn’t even talk to him. At least now she did, although sometimes he wished she didn’t, especially when she would point out that he wasn’t her dad. He’d tried not to let those words hurt him, but they did.

“I like to be on time, too,” Katie said right behind him.

“We have that in common, then.” In the mirror he smiled at the six-year-old, who was missing one of her front teeth.

Why couldn’t Madison be more like Katie? Earlier, when she hadn’t wanted to give Gabe back to Sarah, had been one of the first times she had been difficult. The sisters argued all the time, but Katie hadn’t argued with him. In fact, when he’d arrived to be their guardian, she’d latched onto him and had hardly left his side for the first month.

The main gate to the Remington Ranch came into view. Another car disappeared through it. Good, he wasn’t the only one running late. As he turned into the ranch, a truck drove up behind him.

“It looks like others are late, too.” He followed the Jeep in front of him, the road winding in an S with tall pecan trees on each side lining their path.

As they emerged from the green canopy, a large white house appeared, a veranda running the length of the front.

Madison whistled. “This is a big house.”

“We’re having a picnic out back, and then the kids can ride horses.”

The sounds of cheers and claps filled the car.

“I guess you all want to ride?”

“Yes,” they both said together.

Liam parked next to a white SUV and grabbed the food.

The girls hopped out before he had a chance to open his door and raced toward a group of kids. The last time they’d discovered several friends from school, so he’d hardly seen them the whole evening.

At a slower pace, he walked toward the food table.

Brandon came up behind him. “Macaroni and cheese?”

Liam set his dish with the others. “Nope. Didn’t have time. The owner of the dog we found the other day showed up for him.”

“How did the girls take it?”

“Considering they thought the Lab would be theirs forever, not bad. But I have a feeling they’ll be bugging me every day about getting a new dog.”

Brandon clapped him on the back. “Welcome to the club. My oldest son has had a string of pets over the years. If I let him, he’d open a zoo at our house.”

Liam scanned the kids for Brandon’s eleven-year-old son. “Where is Seth?”

He waved toward the rancher surrounded by six of the children. “He’s bugging Colt to let the kids ride before dinner. I see your nieces found their friends.”

Madison and Katie were in the middle of a group of girls. Colt’s nine-year-old daughter stood next to Madison. The girl with Down syndrome grinned and nodded.

Colt stuck two fingers into his mouth and whistled. The loud sound caught everyone’s attention. “I told the kids we’ll eat right now, so the ones who want to ride can afterward.” When a few children ran toward the food table, he added, “Let’s say grace first.” The three boys halted and bowed their heads as Colt blessed the dinner, ending with, “Give us the knowledge to do what is right, Lord. Amen.”

When Colt finished the prayer, all the children hurried for the food, juggling for their places in line behind the fathers of the younger ones who went first to fix plates for their toddlers.

Fifteen minutes later the kids sat at a long table, the older ones a buddy for the young children. The dads settled in lawn chairs, close enough to make sure everything went all right while far enough away to talk freely about any problems they needed help with. Liam was between Colt and Brandon.

“Who wants the floor first?” Colt, the founder of the Single Dads’ Club, asked the group. When no one said anything for a long minute, he smiled. “I’m not afraid to get this started. I freely admit I don’t have all the answers, but I hope between us—” his gaze skimmed the faces of all eleven men present “—we can figure out what to do. Beth came home the other day crying. There was a birthday party last weekend, and everyone in her class was invited but her. It’s hard seeing your little girl’s heart broken.”

“Confront the parents of the kid with the birthday,” a man across from Colt said.

“No, you shouldn’t do that. Have Beth ignore the child,” another suggested.

For the next ten minutes different options were voiced. Liam listened to the men talk over a wide range of solutions, some he would never have thought of. “What did you do, Colt?”

“I held her then tried to take her mind off the birthday party. I’m not sure that worked. But y’all have given me something to think about. Anyone else have something they want to discuss?”

At the first meeting Brandon had told Liam about Colt’s wife walking out on their marriage not a year after Beth was born. She couldn’t handle their daughter having special needs. She’d disappeared with their son.

Liam was at least thankful he hadn’t had children when his wife divorced him, but then, that was the reason why she ended their marriage. The last he’d heard, she was married and had a baby on the way. That was what she’d always wanted, but it hurt knowing he hadn’t been enough for her.

“I feel out of my depth with two girls.” Liam finally said what he’d been feeling for the past six months. “They’re different from boys. Do you find that a problem for you?”

Michael Taylor, a dad with two boys and one girl, chuckled. “Like day and night. What’s going on at your house?”

“They insist on keeping their hair long. But you should see me trying to get it untangled in the morning before school. I suggested cutting it, but you would have thought the world was coming to an end. They were tardy for school that day.”

“Do you have a detangle brush?” Nathan asked.

“I guess not. I don’t know what that is. Where do you get it?”

“In the hair product section of the supermart. It was a lifesaver for me. Another dad with two daughters told me about it.”

More problems and solutions were tossed back and forth until the children stood around looking at them because they couldn’t go to the barn without their dads.

Colt rose. “I guess that’s all for tonight. Feel free to call any one of us for help.”

Suggestions for different situations filled Liam’s mind. The first time he’d attended a meeting, he’d left numb with so much discussed and debated. This time hope bloomed inside him as though he might have a chance to make them into a real family.

All he needed was time and patience.

* * *

At noon on Saturday, Liam stuck the chicken casserole in the oven at the station house, set the timer for forty-five minutes and then refilled his cup with freshly brewed coffee. He headed for the patio behind the building to sit and enjoy his drink after a hectic morning.

When he’d returned from that multiple car wreck on the highway, he’d immediately started lunch while some of the guys had finished up cleaning the equipment and trucks. He’d become the cook on his shift after the others realized he knew how to prepare not just an edible meal but a delicious one, too.

Two other firefighters were outside on the patio. Brandon was stretched out in a lounge chair, catching some sun, while Lieutenant Richie Dickerson worked a crossword puzzle at the picnic table. He looked up as the door closing disrupted the quiet.

Liam took a seat across from Richie. “After we eat, I’ll need to go to the store to stock up for next week. Earlier you said something about coming along, too.”

The lieutenant put his pen on top of the New York Times’s puzzle. “Yep. I’ve gotta pick up some other items for the station.”

“Are there any other errands to run?”

“Nope. That should be it today except for our refresher course in CPR at three. Of course, this schedule could be a moot point if an emergency comes up.”

For the past two days both Madison and Katie had been moping around the house. Nothing Liam suggested for them to do was met with an enthusiastic response ever since Gabe’s owner had retrieved him. And yet with him gone for twenty-four hours at a time, he was concerned about getting a pet for them.

“I do have a job for you. The captain suggested you could help Brandon with the fund-raiser for the kids’ summer camp. Every year we’re one of the sponsors of the event, and we send two firefighters to be on the committee overseeing it.”

Liam glanced at his friend, probably pretending to be asleep. “When are the meetings?” he asked, hating to have to ask Aunt Betty to babysit any more than she already did.

“That’s the great part about it. It’s during the weekday at lunch. If it’s a day you’re working here, you’ll go as part of our community outreach.”

“What if we are called out?”

“Usually, I can spare one, possibly both of you, depending on the emergency. On your days off, I still need you to attend the meeting. You’ll get together once a week in April and May. The fund-raiser is scheduled for Saturday June 4.”

“That’s fine, since the girls will be in school. I think it’ll be fun.” Liam started to say more, when his cell phone rang. Hmm... Aunt Betty calling. Not good. She only called him at work when something was wrong. “Liam here.” He steeled himself for what his nieces had done this time.

“I went out into the backyard to get the girls for lunch. They were playing in a fort they built out of blankets. But they’re gone.”

“You know how they love to play hide-and-seek.”

“Liam, I promise I looked everywhere before calling you. They aren’t at my house, and I even went over to yours, but they aren’t playing in the yard there, either.”

His brother had installed a gate between the two properties when, at three years old, Madison had tried to climb the fence to see Aunt Betty on her patio. “I’ll be right there. You might talk to your neighbors and ask if they saw anything.”

“I just went inside to make lunch. I brought it out to have a picnic. I knew something was wrong when it got so quiet.”

With his nieces, that was usually an indication they were up to something. When he hung up, he turned to the lieutenant. “Madison and Katie aren’t where they’re supposed to be.”

“You go. I’ll follow with a couple of the men.” Richie strode toward the bay area of the station while Liam made his way to the parking spaces at the side and jumped into his red car, his heart racing.

What if someone had kidnapped them?

Eight minutes later he arrived at his house and noticed the girls’ pink and purple bicycles weren’t leaning against the back of the fence where they’d put them last night. The sight of them gone calmed him a little as he loped toward his aunt’s yard. If someone had taken them, their bicycles wouldn’t be missing.

At least he prayed that was true. He wanted the Lord to show him where they were, but he doubted he would hear from Him. He couldn’t blame God. Liam hadn’t had the strongest faith, and when his wife had walked out on his marriage, his life had fallen apart. Since coming to Buffalo, he was trying to change that because of his nieces.

Aunt Betty rushed out the back door. “A fire truck pulled up out front.”

“A few of the guys are going to help us look for the girls.”

“Should I call the police?”

“I don’t think anyone took them. I think they went riding on their own.” Liam rounded the side of his aunt’s house toward the front with her following. He spotted his lieutenant and waved. “I’m going to drive my car around the area. The girls’ pink and purple bikes are missing. They love the park two blocks away. Can you and the guys search there while I go up and down the streets?”

“Sure. If we find them, I’ll call you on your cell phone.” Richie turned to leave.

As the company of firefighters climbed back onto the engine truck, Liam headed toward his car.

Aunt Betty hurried after him. “I’m coming with you.”

“No. Stay here in case they come back. You have my cell number. Call me. If I find them, I’ll let you know.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. I’m so sorry. I should have made them come in when I did, but they were having so much fun with the fort.”

The sorrow in his aunt’s voice halted his steps. He hurried back to her at the gate between their yards. Tears filled her eyes. Her short graying hair wasn’t its usual neat style but looked as though she’d run her fingers through it repeatedly. “This wasn’t your fault. I suspect the girls wanted to go riding and left without asking you because you would have said no.”

“Of course. They’re too young to go by themselves, and I could never keep up with them while walking.”

“I’m going to make sure they understand that when I find them.” How, he wasn’t sure. It was possible they rode to the park to play on the swings as they had yesterday evening with him. If so, Richie and the others would find them.

Driving about ten or fifteen miles per hour, he started down his street, going all the way to the dead end. He got out of his car and yelled their names into the wooded area near the creek. That was another place they loved to play, but there was no sign of them.

He started back the other way, inspecting every place he could. An invisible band around his chest tightened, threatening his breathing. When he reached the block Sarah lived on, he thought he spied the back end of a pink bike in her yard. He increased his speed, afraid to be optimistic. But as he neared, he saw the pink bike and then Katie’s purple one.

He exited his car, praying they were at Sarah’s. He rang the doorbell. No one answered. Stepping to the large picture window in her living room, he pressed his face close. Empty. He shouldn’t be surprised. Most likely Saturday was one of her busiest days at the salon.

But if the girls are here, then where are they?

He reached for his cell to call Sarah at work. A deep bark echoed through the noonday air, and he stuffed his phone back into his pocket. He rushed around the side of the house and went into the backyard through the gate in the wooden fence. Giggles echoed in the quiet and spurred his pace. When he rounded the house by the kitchen, he found his two nieces lying on the grass, playing with Gabe.

Finally he allowed relief to loosen the tight hold tension had on him. He sank against the side of the house, watching his nieces so enthralled with Gabe they didn’t even know he was there. He understood their attachment, but he couldn’t let them think they could leave the house without a word to anyone. What should he do?

He took a step toward Madison and Katie, their laughter filling the air and wrapping around him. He hated to see it come to an end, but he had no choice if he was going to do his job as their guardian.

At the sound of the back door opening, Madison looked toward the deck and smiled. “Hi, Sarah. You said we could visit, and we figured Gabe was lonely while you’re working.”

Liam focused his attention toward the young woman, who had occupied his thoughts more than he wished these past few days since he’d met her. She glanced at him, puzzlement in her dark brown eyes.

He fortified himself with a deep breath. “Girls, you need to get your bikes. We’re going home. Now.” Amazingly he said it in a calm voice, but he’d learned in stressful situations that shouting didn’t do any good.

Madison stared at him for a few seconds then whispered something into Katie’s ear. Immediately both girls shot to their feet. Madison started for the gate at the side of the house while Katie bent and hugged Gabe before quickly catching up with her big sister.

When his nieces passed him, he said, “Wait by the car. I need to let Sarah know what happened.”

“Uncle Liam, we didn’t—”

“Madison, we’ll talk when we get back to Aunt Betty’s house.”

Both girls slumped their shoulders and hung their heads as they trudged the rest of the way to the gate.

As Sarah descended the stairs to the deck, commanding Gabe to stay, Liam called Richie and his aunt to let them know he’d found his nieces and would be back shortly. Sarah caught up with Liam as he exited the backyard to keep an eye on his nieces.

She looked him up and down in his firefighter uniform. “It’s obvious you didn’t bring them over here.”

“No. I was at work when my aunt called to tell me they were missing. They left her backyard and rode their bikes here without permission.”

“I can imagine the commotion that caused. The neighbor across the street called when she saw you peeking into a window then heading for the backyard. She knows we work all day Saturday and...”

“Thought I was here to rob your place?” He grinned.

“Something like that. But when I saw the SUV and the bikes, I figured it was you. She’d called the police, and I managed to get hold of them before they arrived. They were on the way. My neighbor told me when I pulled up.”

“Madison and Katie are good kids, but sometimes they act without thinking about the consequences. My aunt was beside herself with worry.” Not to mention he was, too.

“Did you think someone abducted them?”

“Not when I saw their bikes gone. I’m sorry you had to leave the salon.”

“No problem. I had a thirty-minute window to eat lunch. I’ll grab something here and be back before my next client.”

“Still, the girls need to apologize to you and Aunt Betty.”

“I agree. I’ll walk with you to your car.”

He approached his nieces with Sarah next to him. Her presence eased the last remnants of tension in him. “Girls, leaving without letting anyone know was not okay. You scared Aunt Betty. You scared me. Sarah came home from work to check on who was at her house uninvited. What do you have to say to her?”

Katie mumbled, “Sorry,” while staring at her tennis shoes.

Madison took in a deep breath and peered right at Sarah. “We just wanted to let Gabe know we miss him. I’m sorry.”

“Okay, you two, into the backseat. I’ll put your bikes in the trunk. I need to get back to work.”

After he’d set the larger one in the trunk, Sarah picked up the smaller bike and handed it to him. “Have you thought of getting them a dog?”

“Yes, but I can’t ask Aunt Betty to take care of a dog and the girls when I’m working. Dogs require more attention than other pets. After today, she might not want to watch the girls. I’m sure they added a few more gray hairs to her head.”

“How about a cat? They’re pretty independent. I seem to remember when I was a teenager that Betty had a cat. She used to talk about it with my mom when she came to get her hair done. She might not mind helping you with one.”

“I’ll think about it. But not for a while. They need to realize the seriousness of what they did.” He walked toward the driver’s-side door. Before climbing in, he twisted toward her. “Thanks for being so understanding about my nieces.”

Liam opened the door and slid behind the steering wheel, then carefully backed out of the driveway since the trunk lid was up all the way.

Both girls cried out at the same time, “We’re sorry, Uncle Liam,” as if they had rehearsed what they had said. “We won’t do it again.”

“I’m locking up your bikes for the next week. No television, either. When you two disappeared like that, it scared Aunt Betty and me. We didn’t know what had happened to you.”

“But we’re sorry and won’t do it again. Promise,” Madison said in a whiny voice.

Liam locked gazes with his eldest niece in the rearview mirror. “I’m glad, because next time I would have to take the bikes away for a month.”

Katie’s eyes grew round. “A month!”

“Daddy would never do that,” Madison added.

After pulling into his driveway, Liam gripped the steering wheel until his hands ached. When Madison was really upset, she would invoke his brother. He didn’t have a response to that. The mention of his brother just brought forth his sorrow once again at losing his only sibling and his inadequacies as a father figure.

Would he ever be able to follow in his brother’s footsteps?

Chapter Three

After church on Sunday, Sarah changed into capri jeans and a T-shirt imprinted with a photo of Gabe then headed toward the garage to pick up the flat of pink impatiens she would plant under the shade of the oak tree. The day was too beautiful to spend inside. She relished her two days off. She worked hard, but she loved relaxing and gardening. She didn’t cook much, but she could spend hours in the yard.

As she knelt on the ground under the tree, she turned the soil over, preparing to put the flowers in. Gabe sat beside her. But when the back door swung open, he stood, his tail wagging. She glanced behind her.

Madison and Katie, carrying pieces of construction paper, scurried down the stairs and made a beeline for her Lab. Then Sarah caught sight of Liam coming outside, her mom remaining in the doorway. Sarah’s heartbeat kicked up a notch as it had done earlier when she’d glimpsed Liam coming into the church service late, his nieces flanking him. They’d sat in the back and left before she could welcome them. It had been the first time she’d seen him at the later service.

As the girls greeted Gabe, Liam cut the distance between them, grinning as he looked at his nieces, the papers in their hands plummeting to the grass.

Sarah rose. “What brings you by?”

He smiled at her. “After church, the girls had an idea to make cards telling you and Aunt Betty how sorry they were. We just came from my aunt’s house.”

“So that’s what they have with them.” Sarah winced when Gabe stepped on the card Katie had just dropped.

Katie snatched the card from the ground and tried to smooth it out, but there was a long tear in it. Her lower lip puckered as she stared at her work of art. Then she glanced at Sarah. “It’s supposed to be for you.” Her bottom lip stuck out even more as she handed it to Sarah. “I’m sorry.”

“I love pictures of flowers. How did you know that?”

Katie shrugged. “I was gonna draw Gabe, but I didn’t have time.”

“I did.” Madison placed her card on top of her sister’s. “My teacher says I draw good.”

Sarah quickly held one picture with the words “I am sorry” across the top of the construction paper in her left hand and the other in her right. “What a great idea! Thank you.”

Katie thrust her shoulders back while Madison beamed.

Sarah peered at Liam. “Can you stay for some cookies? Mom made chocolate chip when she came home from church.”

“Yes!” the two girls said in unison.

Liam chuckled. “I’d have a riot on my hands if I turned your invitation down.”

Madison moved forward, her attention shifting between Liam and Sarah before she asked, “Can we play with Gabe?”

“That’s for your uncle to decide.”

“For a little while.” As Katie ran across the yard to pick up a tennis ball, Madison hurried after her while Liam added, “I didn’t mean for our visit to interrupt what you’re doing.”

“The ground is ready. All I have to do is plant the impatiens. That won’t take long. Besides, they’re doing me a favor. Gabe could spend all afternoon running after that ball. After fifteen minutes my arm gets tired. This way everyone is happy.” She removed her garden gloves and started for the house. “I’ll bring some lemonade, too.”

When she entered the kitchen, her mother was in the middle of the room, her hands on her waist, facing her grandmother. “Today isn’t a work day, Mama.”

Sarah glanced at her grandmother, dressed in the hat she usually wore to the salon as well as one of her plain dresses that had become her uniform when at work.

“Yes, it is, Tina. If we don’t hurry, I’m going to be late. I have a shampoo to do. I don’t like to keep Marge waiting.”

“We went to church this morning. It’s Sunday.” Sarah’s mother’s voice rose.

Nana shook her head. “We didn’t. I would remember that.” She pointed at the calendar on the side of the refrigerator. “I checked that. Today is Saturday, April 2.” She tapped the date. “See it hasn’t been crossed out yet.”

“Nana, I forgot to mark off yesterday. Sorry.” Sarah took a black marker and slashed an X through the date. “A friend and his two nieces are here to visit. The same ones who rescued Gabe this week. Why don’t you come out and have some lemonade and chocolate-chip cookies with us?”

For a few seconds confusion clouded Nana’s eyes before she switched her attention to Sarah’s mom uncovering the cookies. Chocolate chip was her favorite kind. “I guess so. If you’re sure this isn’t Saturday.”

Sarah nodded. “I’m going outside on the deck. Madison and Katie are playing with Gabe.”

“I need my floppy hat and to change into long sleeves. I can’t be in the sun too much.” Nana glanced once more at the calendar then left the kitchen.

“I’ll bring it out, hon. Go entertain your guests.” Her mother reached into the refrigerator, pulled out the pitcher of lemonade and set it on the counter.

Sarah started to protest, knowing exactly what her mom was doing—trying to put them together. Then she realized the uselessness in attempting to explain. She’d just met Liam, and he was dealing with a lot right now. He might not be the biological father of the girls, but he was a good father—the type she would like for her own children. She gasped. That thought came unbidden into her mind and took her by surprise. She certainly wasn’t hunting for a husband right now.

“Is something wrong, Sarah?” Her mother retrieved some plastic glasses from the cabinet.

Sarah crossed to the back door. “No.” Especially if she made sure to keep those kinds of thoughts to herself. That would be all she needed if her mother thought she was interested in Liam. If she’d learned one thing coming back to Buffalo, it was that her running away from her hometown after Peter had died had only delayed her dealing with his death.

Outside she joined Liam, who sat on the deck steps. “By the time I came out of the church service this morning, you and the girls were gone.”

“We would have gone to the early service with Aunt Betty, but Madison kept changing her clothes. She had to look a certain way. A lot of her friends attend there. Do you always go to the eleven o’clock one?”

“Yes. I can’t get going much earlier than that.” As Sarah lifted her arms to rest them on her thighs, she touched Liam’s. Her breath caught. She should have sat on the bottom stair instead of next to him, but she hated having to twist around to talk to him and then back to watch the girls and Gabe.

“I have to admit when I arrived at Aunt Betty’s at eight this morning, all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. We had to fight a fire in the middle of the night. I thought of having them just go with Aunt Betty, but after the stunt they pulled yesterday, she needed some time without them. We went home so I could change from my uniform, and Madison decided to change her outfit five times. I’m not sure if she was stalling or what, but I was determined we would get to church even if we went to the later one and I was exhausted. Gareth always took them and, when I’m not on duty, I try to do what he did.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

“An hour. I’ll be going to bed at the same time they do tonight. I’m still working on getting this daddy gig down.”

She thought he was doing a good job, considering six months ago he had been a bachelor with no children. Taking on a ready-made family overnight wouldn’t be easy for anyone. When a husband and wife had a baby, they had nine months to prepare. Liam hadn’t had any time. “I could watch the girls for a few hours while you catch up on some sleep. I could have them help me plant some flowers, and then we could go to the park with Gabe.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t. I volunteered.”

“But—”

“I’d love to. Gabe enjoys them, and that way he won’t be pestering me to throw that ball all afternoon.” She gestured toward Madison and Katie taking turns tossing the tennis ball for her dog.

“If I hadn’t been exhausted before this, I would be now watching him running after it over and over. How old is he?”

“Seven years old. In his heart he still thinks he’s a puppy. When he crashes, he’ll sleep for hours then want to do it all over again. Much like a child, he wants attention, but Mom and I work often from eight to six, five days a week. When we come home after being on our feet all day, we’re tired, and he’s ready to play all night.”

“That sounds like me when I have a shift where I work most of the time, like yesterday’s. All I want to do is crash onto my bed and catch up on sleep. Usually the kids are at school, but not when I work Fridays or Saturdays, which is every two weeks.”

“What happens when the kids are out of school in a couple of months?”

Liam rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t figured that out yet. Aunt Betty has been wonderful, but she is seventy-five. My girls can run rings around her.”

She loved the way he referred to Madison and Katie as his girls. He might be their uncle, but he was settling into the role of being a father well. She wondered if he had ever been married. Instead she asked, “Was your brother younger or older?”

“Younger by three years. I’m thirty-five, and I know better than to ask a woman her age.”

She laughed. “If I can ask, then you can, too, but I’ll save you the bother. I’m twenty-eight.” When the sound of the back door opening announced her mother was joining them, she glanced over her shoulder, wishing she had chosen to sit farther away from him than she had. It didn’t take much to encourage her mom to matchmake.

“If you’re sure about letting the girls stay, I’ll grab a cookie—” a twinkle sparkled his eyes “—or two before I leave and tell my nieces where I’m going.”

“They may not want to stay.”

“Are you kidding? I heard them plotting in the kitchen after church. Katie was sure I’d bring them over if they made cards for you.”

Sarah rose. “It seems your youngest niece knows you well.”

“You mean she has me wrapped around her little finger. I admit sometimes she does, but I wanted to see you again so I agreed after only a little begging.” He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “But don’t tell them.”

“They won’t get it from me.” She turned to the yard and called, “Do you two want some cookies and lemonade?”

Madison had her arm in midthrow and stopped. The ball plopped to the ground near her, and the girls raced toward the deck. Liam stepped to the left while Sarah moved to the right. Madison and Katie ran between them and skidded to a halt at the glass table. Just as she and Liam were going to close the gap between them, Gabe loped by.

“I have some wipes you can use to clean your hands.” Her mother handed each one a cloth.

Sarah looked up at Liam. He chuckled then said, “They came to me that way. They go full throttle like Gabe then crash hard—” he checked his watch “—in about five hours.”

“If I only had half that energy.” Sarah walked toward the table, watching the smile on her mother’s face as she poured the lemonade and made sure the girls had enough cookies. Gabe lay down between Liam’s nieces, probably hoping to lap up the crumbs that fell on the deck.

When Sarah and Liam sat, her mom scrutinized him as she took a chair next to Madison. Sarah braced herself for the interrogation that would probably follow.

“Liam, I understand you haven’t been living here long. How do you like Buffalo?” her mother asked while his nieces were busy finishing their first treat and starting on another.

“It certainly is different from Dallas.” He took a bite of the cookie. “Mmm. This is delicious. Better than the ones I make.”

Her mother’s eyebrows shot up. “You bake cookies?”

“I didn’t set out to be a cook, but in Dallas that became my job at the fire station. I’ll admit I liked doing that more than cleaning the place. Over the years I’ve kept adding recipes to what I can prepare. I figure if I’m going to cook, I should do it well. The guys on my shift here quickly put me in charge of the meals.”

“We used to eat out a lot. Not now. His pizza is the bestest I’ve had.” Katie’s legs swung back and forth as she stuffed the last of the second cookie into her mouth.

“I love his fried chicken.” Madison patted her stomach. “Oh, and macaroni and cheese. It’s not from a box,” she added in astonishment.

“I like to cook, too, but alas, my daughter doesn’t. I’d love to share recipes. The chocolate-chip recipe was my mother’s.”

“Mom, Nana should be out here by now.” Sarah hoped she took the hint and went inside to see about Nana before she started asking Liam more personal questions.

Her mother frowned and pushed to her feet. “You’re right. She’s having one of her days.”

After her mom went inside, Liam asked quietly, “Is your grandmother okay?”

“Some days she forgets things.”

Although she had kept her voice low, Madison heard what Sarah said to Liam. “I forgot how to spell Buffalo on my spelling test, but I remembered Oklahoma.”

“That’s great, Madison.” Sarah was glad the girls didn’t start asking questions about Nana’s memory, and she would remember in the future even when they didn’t look as though they were listening, the girls were probably paying attention.

Katie sat straighter. “I know how to spell my whole name.”

Madison jumped to her feet. “Ready, Gabe.”

The black Lab stood, his tail wagging.

Katie snatched another cookie and started to follow Gabe and Madison.

“Girls, I’m going home in a few minutes.” Liam finished his drink and put his glass on the table.

Madison whirled around. “You can’t. We wanna play with Gabe more. He wants us to.”

Katie nodded over and over.

Liam rose. “I know. Sarah thought you could stay here for a while then go with her to the park with Gabe.”

“After the park, I’ll take you back to your house. Today is just too pretty to spend inside,” Sarah said as the back door opened and her grandmother and mother appeared.

“In fact, when you three come to my house, I’ll have dinner almost ready, and if Sarah wants to eat with us, that’s fine with me.” Liam peered expectedly at Sarah.

“How can I turn down that invitation? I’d love to.”

Madison put her hand on top of the Lab’s head. “So Gabe can stay at our house, too?”

“Yes, while Sarah is there.” Liam smiled at Nana, who had on her floppy hat but was still in her work clothes with short sleeves.

The girls charged down the steps to the yard and ran toward the tennis ball on the ground near the back fence.

“Who’s this young man?” Nana asked as she took a seat. “I haven’t met you before. Are you sweet on my granddaughter?”

Heat flooded Sarah’s face. There was no telling what her grandmother would say. On her good days she wouldn’t have said that so bluntly. She usually was the subtle one.

“We’re friends, Nana. Liam found Gabe when he was lost.”

“Gabe was lost?” Her grandmother chewed on her lower lip, trying to think.

“Yes, a few days last week. Mom, will you keep an eye on the girls while I show Liam out?”

“Sure. Take your time.”

The urge to roll her eyes at her mother was strong, but she refrained from doing it. Instead she walked with Liam around the side of the house and through the gate. When they were in the front yard, she said what she hadn’t wanted to say with his nieces nearby. “Nana is eighty and has bouts of forgetfulness. Today is one of those times. When Mom asked me to move home to help her at the salon and with my grandmother, I couldn’t turn her down. Family is important to me.”

“I agree. Now if I can just figure out this daddy thing, life will run much smoother.”

“I don’t know if that will ever happen, but you’re doing fine.”

He smiled. “You’re kind. You didn’t see me trying to get my nieces to move this morning when we were late for church.”

“It happens to all of us.”

“I’m beginning to see that when I hear the stories some of the guys talk about at my single dads’ group.”

“Networking is important. I’m looking for a group for caregivers that my mother can join. I think she would appreciate the support and a place to talk about her problems. We talk, but it’s not the same thing. I haven’t yet gone through the problems she has, but I can stay home with Nana while she attends.”

“There isn’t one at church?”

“No, but maybe Mom could start one. That’s a great idea, Liam.” She heard the gate open and watched as the two girls raced out of the backyard with Gabe right behind them, barking.

Madison skidded to a stop first, excitement on her face. “You’ve got to come look.” She tugged on Sarah’s arm while Katie tugged on Liam’s. “You won’t believe it.”

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