benefit could he gain from a four-year-old?
The man in the black Stetson seated Joey on a low-hanging branch and pointed up into the leaves.
Eve thought this was how a father and son should look. She sighed at the futility of the idea. Mac wasn’t Joey’s father and never would be. The closest he could get was stepfather. And Eve was determined to spare Joey from the same kind of pain she’d experienced while living under her stepfather’s roof.
“How’d Joey get the scar on his forehead?” Daniel’s question cut into Eve’s thoughts.
She hesitated, her mind still mulling over the picture Mac and Joey presented.
Daniel hurried on. “You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal.”
“No, I don’t mind,” she replied. “He was attacked by a dog. The same dog killed his father.”
“Damn.” Daniel shook his head. “Poor little guy.”
Tearing her gaze from Mac and Joey, Eve asked, “How’d Mac get his scar?”
He tipped his head in Mac’s direction. “Didn’t he tell you?” He shook his head in answer to his own question. “Of course, he wouldn’t.”
“I just met Mac yesterday. We’ve barely said more than a few sentences to each other.”
“Mac was in the Army up until three months ago.” Daniel examined his boots then he glanced up into her eyes, his gaze seemed to look beyond her, beyond Texas.
“Was?” Eve sensed Daniel’s reluctance to go on.
“Yeah.” He stared at Mac’s back. “He was so proud to serve his country. He was in the Special Forces.” Daniel inhaled deeply and blew out through his nose.
“What happened?” She touched a hand to his arm.
Daniel glanced at her, his eyes narrowing. Then, with an imperceptible nod he answered, “From what I could get out of him, his unit was ambushed while on a mission in Iraq. Mac took a bullet to his forehead and one in the leg.”
Eve covered her mouth to hold back a gasp.
“The man’s hardheaded. Only knocked him out.” Daniel nodded in Mac’s direction. “The leg wound meant he would never again go into battle. Next thing I know, he’d resigned his commission. Quit the Army.” Digging his hands into his pockets, Daniel rocked back on his heels. “If you ask me, he hasn’t been the same since. He works till he drops every day. I quit trying to keep up with him.”
“How awful,” Eve said. No wonder Joey and Mac were drawn to each other.
“Hey, don’t say anything to Mac,” Daniel said. “He’d kick me from here to tomorrow if he knew I’d told you.”
“I won’t say anything.”
Daniel rubbed his hands together. “I came to renovate one very old and needy house. Where do you want to begin?”
Eve forced herself to concentrate on the task and led Daniel through the house. From one room to the next, she told him what she envisioned, and he gave her pointers and suggestions. When the tour was complete, they left through the front door.
Daniel marched the length of the weathered porch bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Some of these boards are warped and need to be replaced, and this column is practically rotted through. I’m surprised the roof isn’t sagging. The good news is that the electricity was replaced fifteen years ago, the bad news is the exterior paint’s peeling and the plumbing needs work. This renovation is going to cost.”
“I expected as much. I’ve got the money set aside.” Eve’s gaze scanned the yard for her son. “Let me check on Joey.”
“Great. I’ll be just a minute,” Daniel said.
While Daniel measured the boards, Eve ambled around the side of the house in search of Joey and Mac.
They squatted in a corner of the yard staring at the dirt.
Mac pointed down and talked in a low, steady tone, his words inaudible at that distance.
Joey listened, his eyes round and eager.
Mac reached over, pressed Joey’s foot into the dust and lifted it straight up. He pointed to the print Joey’s shoe had made and to something in the dirt next to it.
Joey eyes lit with excitement at Eve’s approach. He ran to her side, grabbed her hand and tugged her in Mac’s direction. When they reached him, Joey poked a finger toward the powdery white dirt typical of the dry Texas hill country.
A perfect track of tiny shoe treads was set in the limestone dust.
“Is that your print, Joey?” Eve smiled at her son.
His head bobbed, and he pointed to the indentations next to his shoe print.
“What is it?” Eve asked.
“A deer track.” Mac stood and brushed his hands along the sides of his jeans.
Eve’s heart stirred. Mac had been showing Joey how to read tracks in the dirt. It was one of those man-things she would never have thought to teach her son. She frowned. This was the first time she’d considered how much Joey would miss by not having a father in his life. But a father was totally different from a stepfather. A father usually cared. Although, Joey’s father had cared more for his dogs than his son. The odds were even worse with a stepfather. Hers hadn’t cared, and he’d proven it over and over.
She straightened and looked up into Mac’s eyes, immediately wishing she hadn’t. This man had an effect on her, and she wasn’t so sure she liked it.
“If you’re through with my foreman, we have livestock to tend.” His voice was low and resonant.
Assimilating his words, Eve looked up and repeated, “Livestock? What kind of livestock?”
“Cattle and goats. One of our breeder nannies disappeared some time over the past two days.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said.
Mac shrugged and rubbed a hand over Joey’s head. “See ya later, big guy. Bet if you look around, you’ll find more tracks.”
Joey hugged Mac around the kneecaps, and not two seconds later, he darted across the yard, stopping every two or three steps to check the ground.
Eve smiled at Mac. “I’m impressed.”
A frown settled between his eyes. “About what?”
“I haven’t seen Joey this carefree in months.” Eve swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thanks.”
“He’s a great kid.” Mac’s gaze followed her son around the yard.
“I’m ready when you are.” Daniel said as he sauntered over to the corner where Mac and Eve stood. He smiled and nodded toward Eve. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and
