had never wavered.
Charlie’s on-and-off girlfriend, Brittany, had learned of her pregnancy only a few weeks after Charlie had been deployed to Afghanistan. There’d been no doubt that Charlie would have stepped up as a devoted father to his child. During their last phone conversation, Shane had promised he would take care of the child if anything should happen to Charlie. A month later, Charlie had been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, leaving his family devastated and his pregnant girlfriend stunned and rootless. The grieving family had rallied around Brittany, even though she’d never been particularly receptive to any of them except Shane, whom she’d seemed to like well enough.
But then Shane had been deployed overseas, only three weeks after the birth of his niece. To the distress of his father and grandmother, Brittany had disappeared with the baby only weeks after Shane left the country. A few months later, they’d gotten word that the baby had been placed for adoption and that Brittany wanted no further contact with any member of the Scanlon family.
Shane had vowed then that he would track down his niece. It was the only way he knew to fulfill his promise to Charlie. He owed it to Charlie, to Charlotte and to his dad, who, before he’d died, had asked Shane to keep an eye out for the family in the future. Those promises had weighed heavily on Shane’s shoulders, and he’d done his best to fulfill them.
Figuring it would be difficult to access adoption records, he’d decided to find Brittany and attempt to learn Charlotte’s whereabouts from her. After discovering that Brittany’s estranged family hadn’t heard from her since before Charlotte’s birth, he’d hired a private investigator.
The search had taken longer than he’d have liked. Volatile Brittany had changed her name and her appearance and lost herself in the shadowy New York nightlife, trying to escape the emotional demons that would always haunt her. Still, Shane had found her eventually. After almost a week of meetings with her, of negotiations and promises—and a generous contribution to her finances—she’d grudgingly given him the name of the woman she’d personally selected through an open adoption agency to raise her daughter. Charlie’s daughter.
Shane had vacillated from the start about how to approach Elle—whether to be candid from the onset, or simply hover in the background for a few days, observing and assessing Charlotte’s current circumstances. He knew there was a good chance that Elle would be angry when she learned the truth. That she’d send him on his way with firm instructions to keep his distance from both her and Charlotte. In other words, he’d been a coward—not something a thirty-one-year-old ex-soldier cared to admit.
It certainly complicated matters that his brain seemed to scramble every time Elle smiled. Even had the circumstances of their meeting been different, he would have likely tried to resist her charms. During the hectic months since he’d returned to civilian life, he’d done his best to avoid preventable complications, and a busy single mom definitely fell into that category. His increasingly urgent quest to find his niece was the exception. He’d felt pressured by his grandmother’s declining health and the promises he’d made to his brother and father.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he thought back over these past difficult two years since Charlie died. He had to put his attraction to Elle out of his mind, keep his focus on his family. There was only so much a guy could juggle without taking a risk of having it all crash around his feet.
* * *
THE ANNUAL SHORTY’S LANDING Fall Festival was held that Friday evening at Paradise Park, located only a few blocks from The Perkery. Organized by the Chamber of Commerce and funded by donations from local businesses, the Halloween-themed celebration was always a big hit with both kids and adults. Elle’s parents had brought her every year when she was growing up, and she wanted to do the same for her daughter.
Elle and her mom arrived with Charlotte only a half hour after the official 5:00 p.m. opening, and the event was already in full swing. The festival grounds were packed with kiddie rides, inflatables, games, food vendors and various other family-friendly attractions. Children in an amazing array of costumes sprinted from one trick-or-treat station to another for candy, stickers and other goodies.
Dressed as a kitten with pink-lined cat ears attached to a headband and a fuzzy black tail pinned to her black leotard, Charlotte was wide-eyed as she clutched her plastic pumpkin bucket and took in all the activity. A smudge of pink makeup on the tip of her little nose and eyebrow-penciled whiskers on her chubby cheeks completed the costume. Her proud grandmother privately proclaimed her the most adorable child in the park. Elle couldn’t disagree, though she kept the thought discreetly to herself.
Elle and her mom had also dressed for the holiday. Elle wore a long, thin black robe over her clothes with a witch’s hat headband holding back her hair. Her mom, of course, was a fortune teller in a caftan and turban. Detained frequently for chats with acquaintances, they made their way slowly from one orange-and-black festooned booth to the next. Charlotte happily crowed, “Tricker Treat!” at each stop, earning more than a few “awws” from adults enchanted by her charms.
Reveling in the fun her daughter was having, Elle couldn’t stop smiling. Perhaps there was a little wistfulness when she saw doting fathers with their little ghosts and goblins, but as she listened to her mom and Charlotte giggling together, she told herself she was a very lucky woman, indeed. Whatever feelings she’d once had for her ex were gone now. The jagged cracks in her heart had healed, leaving a few scars but only memories of pain. She had a family she adored and a business she loved; what more could she ask?
One of her most faithful customers waved and called out a greeting from a few yards away, and Elle smiled and waved in return. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Charlotte slipped her hand out of Elle’s loose grasp and made a dash for a colorful fishing-for-prizes booth. Elle spun to give chase. She knew she could catch up before the short-legged two-year-old reached the attraction, but she was surprised when a man stepped into Charlotte’s path to block the escape. With a hitch in her step, Elle identified him immediately. Shane Scanlon—dimples, black jacket and all.
Apparently recognizing Shane, Charlotte crowed happily and dove at him, raising her arms to be picked up. He lifted her high into the air and she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. Shane laughed. Elle heard every female within sight sigh appreciatively at the image of the good-looking man and the sweet little girl smiling at each other. She was fully aware that her own sigh blended with the soft chorus.
Shaking her head to clear it, she moved toward them.
Shane smiled at her. “Look what I caught.”
“So I see. Hello, Shane.”
“Shane,” Charlotte repeated, patting his cheek with a gentle hand.
Elle would have sworn he blushed a bit, and her heart melted a little in response. Careful, Elle.
“Shane.” Her mom approached with a flutter of her vivid orange-and-black-printed caftan, bracelets jingling as she rested a hand familiarly on his arm. “What a nice surprise. Were you looking for us?”
“Actually, I was on my way back from a business meeting when I saw the festivities going on here. I’m staying in the motel just down the street. I didn’t have anything better to do, so I thought I’d stop to check it out. That’s when I caught sight of this runaway kitten.” He bounced the giggling toddler in his arms as he studied Elle’s outfit.
Elle smiled at him. “Nice catch.”
“Nice hat.”
“Thank you.” She reached up automatically to straighten the plastic headband.
