come to Denver to see him.
He’d thought about becoming a family man a few times, and too many times he’d stopped himself. Most of the women he knew either wanted more than he could give or didn’t quite need enough. He always managed to drive them away, no matter their own agendas. He’d never found the right fit. But having a niece might bridge that gap and give him some experience in the commitment department.
He couldn’t wait to meet Jasmine. She was his closest living relative, after all. He wouldn’t let the girl think she’d been completely abandoned.
Not the way his brother and he had been abandoned.
The girl might not have a mother and father, and in spite of all the wedding talk she had an uncle who wanted to get to know her and give her a better life. Jonathan made a good living. He could help Jasmine receive a college education, offer her a safe place to live, take her out of this one-horse town and show her all the possibilities of living in the big city. First, he had to get to know her and her fiancé better. And to do that, he’d have to get past that perky brown-haired guardian who wore flowing skirts and apparently knew how to use a gun.
Chapter Three
“What did you say to that man, Arabella?” Jasmine asked the minute Arabella got back from dropping the girls off at preschool. “Cade and I didn’t stay to eat last night but I saw that silver car when we left.”
“I found out why he’s here,” Arabella replied to Jasmine’s rapid-fire question.
Yep, she knew why Jonathan Turner was here. Just thinking about the man had kept her up most of the night. He contradicted everything she wanted to believe about him. He’d gone about things the wrong way, but after talking to him she could almost understand his hesitancy. The man was single and a surgeon. Arrogance personified. Only he didn’t seem all that arrogant. He seemed lost and lonely.
“Who is he?” Jasmine munched on dry cereal, her eyes wide with worry.
Arabella stared at her own cold toast, wondering the same thing. “He’s a doctor from Denver.”
“Why is he here?”
“He was looking for a family member.” Asking God to help her find the strength to tell Jasmine the truth, Arabella closed her eyes and rubbed her temple with two fingers. “And … he’s found that person.”
Early-morning sunshine glinted through the kitchen windows, making Arabella wish she could enjoy the pretty fall day. She had to tell Jasmine the whole story, but so far she hadn’t found the courage. Grabbing her third cup of coffee, she took another sip.
Jasmine tapped her fingers on the counter. “You know something, don’t you? You’re not telling me everything.”
Arabella had to admire Jasmine’s shrewd no-nonsense detector. “There is more… . Go get dressed and we’ll talk.”
Jasmine frowned then headed upstairs, the slump of her slim shoulders breaking Arabella’s heart.
An hour later, Arabella sat with Jasmine in the kitchen. The old house was quiet, its bones creaking and shifting with a familiar kind of sway that usually comforted Arabella. But today it only added pressure to the tight fist holding at her heart.
“Talk to me,” Jasmine said, taking Arabella’s hand in hers. “Is that man here to stop my wedding? Is this something about my daddy?”
Arabella squeezed the girl’s hand, unable to speak.
Jasmine pulled her hand away, the tiny solitaire Cade had given her when he’d proposed twinkling like a baby star on her finger. “I won’t give up Cade. I don’t care how many spies Charley Clayton hires. I don’t care if my own daddy comes back and tries to stop me.”
Arabella winced at that declaration. “That man—he’s not a spy, Jasmine. He’s … he’s your uncle.”
Arabella hadn’t planned to blurt it out that way, but the girl was about to hyperventilate.
“What?” Jasmine held a hand to her chest, her eyebrows lifting, her mouth widening. “What are you talking about?”
“His name is Jonathan. Jonathan Turner. He’s a doctor in Denver and he only recently found out about you.”
Jasmine sank down in her seat. “You’re kidding, right? My daddy has a brother?”
“Honey, I’m not teasing you. I wish I were. And … there’s something else you need to know.”
The girl shook her head. “I can’t take anything else. I can’t believe he’s my uncle. So he’s here to see me, right? That’s why he was following us and hovering around?”
“Yes, but he didn’t mean to scare us. He only wanted to make sure he’d found you.”
“Now that he’s found me, what does he want with me?”
Arabella had to make Jasmine understand, but how could she when she didn’t even understand herself?
“Honey, he had some bad news.”
“What kind of news?” Jasmine backed away as if she already knew what was coming. “What else?”
“Your daddy … he died about a month ago. In a car accident.”
Jasmine didn’t move. She sat staring at Arabella, her mouth parted, her eyes vivid and bright, a raging river of doubt and shock. Finally, her voice cracked. “My daddy’s dead?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry.” Arabella reached for Jasmine but the girl pushed her away. “I … I need to talk to Cade. I want Cade.”
Then Jasmine rushed out of the kitchen and straight upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Arabella tossed her cold coffee in the sink, then stood staring out at the fall leaves in the backyard. She didn’t want the girls to pick up on her tension. They’d be in preschool for a few hours, but what about lunch? She’d invited Jonathan to come here to meet Jasmine.
Deciding she’d tell their teacher to take them over to the Mother’s Day Out program a lot of the moms in Clayton depended on, Arabella breathed a little easier. That would get her through this awkward lunch at least. Then she’d get the girls and settle into some afternoon baking.
But everything would be different by then. Although she didn’t relish this new development, she squared her shoulders and decided to get on with things. Some changes you just couldn’t stop or fix—like death or divorce or feuding families. She’d tried to fix all of those things and failed miserably.
“I need You, Lord,” she said on a whispered breath. “I don’t know how to deal with this. I’m tough and You’ve seen that. I never knew my daddy and I watched my mother walk away. I watched my husband pack his bags. I stayed by my grandpa, watching him die when no one else would help. I’ve tried to raise my girls the right way. But this—this is throwing me for a loop, Lord. I need You to help me get through this.” Jasmine had come to mean so much to Arabella. She’d already been bracing for Jasmine’s wedding and now this. She’d miss the girl, whatever Jasmine decided.
But
