“Let’s start our work together with our first rule.”

“What’s that?” Abby asked.

“Honesty. If I don’t understand something you say, I’ll ask you. You do the same with me.”

“I like that rule.”

“Good. Now, what should be our next rule?”

“We make this fun for the teens and for ourselves. If we act as if this is drudgery, the kids will sense it, and we’ll lose our chance to help them.”

“Fun?” David arched his brows as if responding to something he’d heard in his head, then sighed. “That may be harder for me to follow than the first rule. Nobody’s ever described me as fun. In fact, the opposite.”

“Well, then we’ll have to see how we can change that, ain’t so?”

He gave her the faintest grin, but she took it as a victory. As they continued to talk about possible activities for the youngsters, she couldn’t doubt he cared about his daughter and her friends. He was a man of strong emotions, though he tried to hide that fact. She couldn’t help wondering why.