that first-crush, puppy-love kind of way, completely unrequited.
But now…he’d changed so much that he didn’t seem like the same guy. She saw hints of the guy she’d crushed on in high school, but that wasn’t the only thing that drew her. When they’d walked the streets in New York surrounded by people, she’d been the only one that had mattered to him. Or when he maneuvered them though the airport, always careful to make sure she didn’t fall behind or get lost. Or when he touched her face to wipe away the tear when she’d confessed about her own father.
To say that she had a crush on Brady was putting it mildly. The way he was with Amber when he was in the moment and focused was amazing. He’d even caved to her request about work. Even if he missed coming over, he’d respected her wishes.
“You okay?” Penny stepped into the kitchen and slid down the cabinets to sit next to Maggie.
“I don’t know.”
“You know I love to tease you, right?” Penny bumped her shoulder against Maggie’s.
“Yeah.” Maggie leaned her head against the cabinet and rolled it until she faced Penny. “What am I going to do?”
“First, you are going to thank me for distracting your daughter.”
“Thank you.” Maggie reached out and took Penny’s hand. “Really. Thank you for being here for me. You don’t know how much I rely on you.”
“What are best friends for?” Penny shrugged but squeezed Maggie’s hand. “As for Brady…”
“Yeah. Brady.” Maggie thudded her head against the cabinets.
“You’ve got a great daughter, Maggie. And maybe Brady won’t be that bad of a dad for her, but you have to look at the big picture.”
“What’s the big picture?” Maggie desperately wanted to know.
Penny clasped her hands around Maggie’s. “Amber is putting this together faster than either of you expected. Brady needs to come clean and you need to figure out what type of relationship you are going to have with each other and with Amber.”
“I already told him that I didn’t want to get involved with him because of Amber.”
“Why not?”
Maggie struggled to find words, but finally pulled it together. “Because—”
“Brady isn’t your dad. He’s not going to leave Amber. At his worst, Brady’s a workaholic. He earns good money and has kept fit unlike most of the men around here. You could do a lot worse than Brady Ward.”
“But—”
“Don’t give me the whole New York-versus-here thing. What are you really worried about?”
Maggie took a deep, shaky breath. “That the only reason he wants me is because he loves Amber.”
Brady pocketed his phone as he got out of the car. He’d made sure to set the ringer to vibrate in case Jules needed to reach him. All day they’d worked with a contractor who was refusing to listen to anyone but Brady, which was frustrating for both Jules and him. Something he hoped Peterson didn’t get wind about.
When Brady hadn’t been on the phone or the computer, Sam had kept him busy working the farm.
He wasn’t about to let another day go by where he didn’t see Amber, though. A sharp high-pitched bark met him as he opened the rear car door.
“Are you ready?” Brady said to the puppy in the cardboard box.
The puppy wagged his tail and barked in response. Brady hooked on the leash to the new collar he’d bought and set the puppy on the ground. Barnabus, Sam’s dog, was a pretty big dog and this “puppy” was going to be large like his daddy. He was already the size of a small dog.
Maybe Brady should have checked with Maggie before bringing the gift, but he remembered Amber saying that she’d always wanted one. When Sam had begrudgingly brought home a couple of the pups to pawn off to other people, he’d happily given one to Brady.
The puppy took off toward the house with Brady in tow. Brady knocked on the side of the screen door.
“Just a second.” Maggie. The sound of her voice rushed through him.
He tried to stop the direction his thoughts were headed, but when Maggie appeared at the door with her hair wet in a pair of cut-offs and a green T-shirt that made the green in her hazel eyes stand out, his brain stopped altogether.
“Hey, Brady, Amber’s bus gets here in about ten minutes.” She met his eyes and smiled.
The puppy whined and her smile faded as her eyes dropped to see the white fuzz ball. “You brought a dog?”
“He’s a puppy.” Brady’s brain was occupied with mentally peeling off every layer of her clothing and imagining what they could do in ten minutes.
“That is a puppy?”
His gaze lingered a moment longer at her breasts before finally arriving at her not-pleased-at-all face. His brain shifted into gear. Definitely should have checked. “Yeah. Sam’s dog got out in the spring and this little guy is the end result.”
“There is nothing little about that puppy.” Her eyes rounded in horror. “Please don’t tell me you brought that for Amber.”
“Why? She was saying how much she wanted a dog the other day and how she couldn’t have one…” Realization settled in his stomach like a lump of Sam’s burned eggs. “And you were the one who didn’t want a dog, right?”
“Do you know how much work a dog is? Let alone a puppy?”
He hated hearing the disappointment in her voice. Hated it even more because he was the one she was disappointed with. “I can say he’s come for a visit?”
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “You know the minute she sees that fur ball she’s going to love it.”
“I guess he doesn’t have that effect on you?” Brady said curtly.
“Who do you think gets stuck with the feeding and cleaning and taking him out at three in the morning in the snow? Not to mention housetraining.”
“Like I said—”
“You got me a dog!” Amber’s squeal of delight was met by little excited puppy barks.
Maggie gave him the see-I-told-you look. But Amber’s eyes glowed with happiness as she shrugged off her backpack and knelt before the puppy. When the puppy proceeded to bathe her face with his tongue, her giggles made Brady feel as if he’d brought her the moon and not a mutt.
“You are such a licker. I’ll name you Flicker,” Amber proclaimed. “Licker would be weird.”
Brady cleared his throat to get Amber’s attention. “I brought him for a visit.”
Her fingers tightened into the puppy’s fur and her face fell with disappointment.
