HOLLY STOOD NEXT to Cash in the recreation room of the women’s center, looking at the jumble of boards and props and Christmas decorations before them. Some they’d brought in from the truckload they’d gotten at Pudge’s; others they’d pulled out of a closet under the direction of Yasmin’s new secretary, Pearlie.
“So,” Cash said, staring blankly at the materials before them, “a photo booth? Any idea exactly what Norma means by that?”
Holly was busy trying not to stare at him. What was it about a guy with rolled-up sleeves, and muscles that strained the shoulders of his shirts?
And how did Cash have that kind of muscles, anyway? His work in the business world must be sedentary, but he was the restless, never-sit-still type. He probably paced while talking on the phone and jogged through airports. Worked off his extra energy at the gym.
She was dangerously close to falling under his spell. Which could never happen. Especially not with what she’d learned about Tiff and Cash’s father.
She forced herself to get businesslike. “It’s just a background where you can take cute Christmas pictures,” she said briskly. “You make it real festive so a family can get a nice picture. Then the organization, or the family, can put a cute filter on it.”
“Like when my nieces and nephews got their pictures taken with Santa.” He nodded and rubbed his hands together. “You tell me what you want it to look like, and with my amazing carpentry skills, I’ll build it.” He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis.
She laughed. “Do you even have amazing carpentry skills? In addition to being a business whiz and...everything?” She clamped her mouth shut just in time. She’d been about to say “in addition to being the most handsome and sexy guy in Safe Haven.”
He was, but no need to let him know she thought so.
“Actually, no.” He held up his phone. “What I do have is the internet. And my brother Sean, who’s an actual carpenter, on speed dial.”
“Good enough.”
So she found a few example photos, and Cash started hammering boards together while Holly worked on untangling long strands of red velvet ribbon and evergreen garland. She found herself exquisitely conscious of him: his striking blue eyes, his easy smile, his catlike grace.
Her feelings weren’t his fault, and she needed to get over them. The solution was to be a friend—a kind friend—and nothing more. “That was a lot, what Rita figured out today,” she said. “How do you feel about it? If you don’t mind my asking,” she added quickly. Maybe he wanted to be private about it.
“Very weird.” He paused in his hammering. “I hadn’t thought about those people coming over with dogs in ages. I must’ve been pretty young, under five, because Liam wasn’t around.”
“Were things good in your family then?”
He shrugged. “When you’re a kid, everything seems fine if you have food and clothes and toys. And a mom who takes care of you.” He looked thoughtful. “Which Rita did, I think. Sean, who’s closest to her and remembers the most, says she was a great mom, took us places and read to us, stuff like that.”
“But you don’t remember that.”
“Bits and pieces,” he said, and shrugged. “I think, like Ma Dixie said about Sean, I’ve blocked some things.”
“Hey, more supplies!” Pearlie came in, carrying a big box. “Yasmin called and let me know we should use these, too.”
Cash, with his Southern manners, had risen to his feet the moment the older woman had come in, and he took the box out of her hands and set it beside the one Holly was working on. “You should have called me in to carry that.”
“Now, now, Cash O’Dwyer, there’s no need to exert that trademark charm on me. Or to coddle me, even though I’m old enough to be your grandma.”
“Trademark charm?” Holly was amused.
“Oh, my, yes. He’s notorious in these parts.”
Cash looked skeptical. “Is that right?”
“Yes, sir.” Pearlie nodded vigorously. “It’s all good, though. You’re good boys.” She took Cash’s hand and held it. “Don’t you forget that, or let anyone tell you different.”
Some emotion flashed across Cash’s face and was gone so quickly Holly wasn’t sure she’d seen it. Vulnerability, maybe? Longing?
But surely the confident, wealthy Cash O’Dwyer wasn’t vulnerable, didn’t long for the approval of a local women’s-center secretary.
“Y’all let me know if you need any help. Otherwise, I’ll be out in the office, getting Yasmin caught up on her paperwork. It’s crazy, all the permits and reports we need to do to get the expansion of this place underway.” Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she took it out, spun and hurried out.
“I didn’t know Yasmin had found a secretary,” Cash said. “I was going to suggest you apply. It’s part-time and flexible. You might even be able to bring Penny to work.”
Reality swept back down around Holly—a reality she’d been able to forget for a few hours. “If it’s that casual and part-time,” she said, “it probably wouldn’t make me the money I need.”
“Which is why you need to accept my offer of more child support,” Cash said. “That way, you can spend more time with Penny. Like you want to.”
“No,” she said without heat. “I need to find a job or... I’m really hoping I can find a way to make the dog-walking business work. I have no competition, and surely most people won’t listen to that Mitch guy. My other clients have been superpositive.”
Except for the ones who had quit, of course.
She started twisting garland around the frame Cash had put together. “We’ll wrap some empty boxes so it looks like presents, and maybe we’ll find a pretty old chair out in the church parlor. And...h-e-eyyy.” She snapped her fingers. “I just got an idea of how to get the word out about my business.”
“Yeah?” Cash pounded a loose board into place and looked up at her, nails bristling from his mouth. “How?”
“I could offer to do dog photos here. Like, bring the dogs I walk and take pictures and share them on social media. Tag the town, so local people start hearing about me.”
Cash took the nails out of his mouth and grinned. “I do admire your entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.
“If you wanted to help, you could be Santa,” she teased. “Although you don’t exactly have the figure for it.”
“I’d help, with pillows for stuffing,” he said. “Or even better, you could get Pudge to help. I’ve seen him dress up as Santa a bunch of times. And he’d be good with the dogs.”
“That would be perfect!” Holly clapped her hands together, and then had another, more sobering thought. “Although...is he in good enough health?”
Cash frowned. “I can’t get a bead on that. They’re not telling us everything. And, anyway...” He broke off, looked at her, looked away.
“What?”
“You’d have to let yourself depend on him. Ask him for help. I’m starting to figure out that you don’t like that.”
That he’d noticed that about her, paid attention, made her face go hot. “True, but if it’s Pudge...”
“What? He isn’t a threat?”
She looked away, hoping he wouldn’t notice her blush. “Right.” Not as much of one, anyway. There was something about the good-natured older man that got through her defenses.
“Am I a threat?”
The question hung between them. She stole one glance at him and then focused on the paper she was twisting into a star.
Because Cash was definitely a threat, more and more every time they were together. She was seeing beneath the suave surface now. Seeing the part of him that genuinely wanted to help others, that related to country people like Ma and Pudge, that would build a photo booth for a women’s center even when his phone kept buzzing, undoubtedly harkening business opportunities, responsibilities and deals.
She felt rather than saw him scoot closer. “I don’t mean to be a threat, Holly,” he said. “And I’m no kind of good risk, but I’m starting to feel—”
“Oh, that’s beautiful!” Pearlie’s voice saved them from whatever revelation might have been forthcoming, and Holly should’ve been grateful, but she wasn’t. “Someone needs to test it out. Why don’t the two of you get up there and I’ll take a few shots so you can check the lighting and spacing and such.”
“You game for that?” Cash asked.
When she nodded, he stood gracefully and then held out a hand to help her up. They’d brought in an old-fashioned love seat, and when they sat down together on it, there was no way to be except close. Close enough that she could smell his cologne and the good manly scent of him, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his leg next to hers.
“Now, don’t sit so far apart,” Pearlie coached.
Was the woman joking? They couldn’t be much closer.
“Put your arm around her. That’s how the families will sit when we do the photo booth for the class.”
“You’re not playing matchmaker, are you?” Cash asked.
“Would I do that?” Her smile was wide and innocent. “Here, give me your phones and I’ll do some pictures on them as well.”
They both set up their cameras and handed them over, and the little bit of tension was broken.
Broken, that is, until Cash put his arm around her.
She didn’t make a conscious decision to nestle in. Her body decided for her. He pulled her closer, tucking her beneath his arm.
And Holly, who never relied on anyone, felt the strongest urge to just rest in his arms and let him take charge, take care of her.
“That’s perfect. Yeah. Like that. Now look this way.” Pearlie was snapping pictures as she spoke, changing phone cameras like a pro. When she finally paused, she looked at a couple of the shots and brought the phones over to them. “See what you think.”
There was a noise in the outer hall then, and Pearlie checked the time and snapped her fingers. “I have a vendor coming this afternoon. This must be him.” She handed them their phones and hurried off, shutting the door behind her.
They looked at the pictures, and Holly’s heart turned over. They looked like a happy couple. A couple in love. Something she’d never expected to have and never known she wanted.
Something she shouldn’t want. She clicked off her phone and slid it into her pocket.
Cash put away his phone, too, doing all of it with one hand because his other arm was around her. Every minute she expected him to take it away, to move away, but he didn’t.
Instead, he pulled her the tiniest bit closer.
Her breath caught and her heart started pounding faster. She should get up. She should really extract herself and get up. Because otherwise...
“I should get up,” Cash murmured, close to her ear. “But this feels too good.”
Her heart thumped harder.
“At least, it does to me.” His breath tickled her temple. “How about you?”
She swallowed. “It feels good,” she admitted, her voice a little hoarse.
He lifted a hand and ran a finger along her jawline, and instinctively she glanced up at him, only to find him looking directly into her eyes. She hadn’t been this close to him before, and the blueness of his eyes was disconcerting.
Gorgeously disconcerting.
“Holly...” He broke off.
“Yeah?”
He shook his head a little, laughed. His fingers played with her hair now. “You look very kissable,” he said.
“Oh, do I?” Her own voice sounded breathless. She had so little experience with men, with kissing. Whereas Cash... She started to pull back, but he leaned in at the same time and the effect was that she pulled him to her.
He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.
His kiss was glorious, the sun and moon and stars all together. She tasted him a little, felt the slight scratch of that unshaven beard. He shifted to pull her closer, took her arm and gently moved it from where it sat in her lap, then wrapped it lightly around him. All of it with complete confidence and expertise, and it was so different from the few fumbling kisses she’d experienced before that she just sighed and let it happen.
Sensations rushed through her, making her muscles clench with awareness. If she wanted a man to introduce her to the ways of love, Cash would be a masterful teacher.
But it was the tenderness that got to her. With his experience, he might have pushed to deepen the kiss too fast, let his hands roam, especially since she wasn’t resisting at all. Instead, he kept it so very gentle. His hand came up to skim her cheek, just lightly, and then stroked her hair.
She was melting, right down to the bones.
He lifted his face from hers, barely. She could still feel his breath against her lips. “That’s the best kiss I ever had,” he half whispered, half growled.
She pulled back and sucked in a breath, and with it, reality. They were in the women’s center where anyone could walk in. In fact, Pearlie’s voice sounded from somewhere, an indistinct murmur.
And this was Cash O’Dwyer, who couldn’t possibly be telling the truth about this being the best kiss he’d had, because he must have had hundreds, thousands. He was lying, not in a horrible way, but in a fake, flattering way that meant he had something up his sleeve.
Even if he didn’t, she needed to get a grip on herself. Getting involved with Cash, even in the superficial way he’d undoubtedly want, would be a big mistake because of Penny. Not only the background—Tiff’s motives that he didn’t and shouldn’t ever know about—but also the fact that it looked like she and Cash would be dealing with each other while Penny grew up.
Making that dealing uncomfortable by adding a romantic history to it would be a big and damaging mistake.
She wasn’t just making an excuse because she was afraid of getting close to a man. She wasn’t.
She drew in another breath and scooted away as far as she could on the bench, regretting the chill that replaced that warm, close feeling. “Hey, uh, we shouldn’t.”
His face tilted a little, and his forehead wrinkled as if her words puzzled him. His blue eyes looked almost...vulnerable.
But that wasn’t possible, was it? Cash had been in similar situations with dozens, probably hundreds of women, and with his personality and looks and money, he’d surely been able to call the shots.
“Shouldn’t what? Kiss under the mistletoe?”
“There’s not...” She looked up. Sure enough, hung on the evergreen garland she’d strung above them was one of those mistletoe balls. Who had put it there? Cash? Pearlie? Or had it already been hooked to the garland, and she just hadn’t noticed it?
It changed things a little. Maybe this had just been a meaningless mistletoe kiss. She scooted farther away and forced out a chuckle. “Right. Well. Wow, look at the time.” She pulled out her phone as she said it and saw that, in fact, it was time to go.
Even though the picture of her and Cash that flashed on the screen somehow gutted her.
“I’ve got to get back to Penny,” she said, because he was oddly silent. “Can you run me home or...? I can get a ride with Pearlie, if you can’t.” She got off that horrible, treacherous love seat and started gathering her things, then slid into her coat.
He cleared his throat and stood. “Right. Sure. Let’s get you home.” He looked around. “I’ll run you there and then come back and straighten up, get the rest of this stuff back to Pudge.”
“Do you mind? Do you want me to help?” Oh, this was awkward. Which just went to show what a mistake it had been to kiss him.
Even though her lips still tingled from it, and her body yearned to press itself to his side.
“No, that’s okay. I don’t mind. You ready?” He was putting on his coat as he spoke, then started toward the door.
“Sure.” But she wasn’t. Wasn’t ready for the awkward car ride home. Wasn’t ready to dive back into her busy, lonely life.
She didn’t have a choice, though. She straightened her spine and scolded herself and headed out of that magical place as if walking away from Cash O’Dwyer’s embrace wasn’t the hardest thing she’d ever done.
THE NEXT DAY was Sunday. Cash felt a little strange dressing up in a suit and walking into the back of the small church in Safe Haven that most of his family attended. He wasn’t a regular churchgoer. Not that he had anything against it, but he didn’t often make the time to attend.
Time was, his brothers had been the same way. Like a lot of people, though, their views had changed when they’d become parents.
This morning, his nieces were in the Christmas pageant. Hope was, appropriately, an angel, while Hayley was the Virgin Mary. He’d agreed long ago to come, wouldn’t miss it.
He’d intended to ask Holly to come and bring Penny. But after that disastrous kiss yesterday, he hadn’t done so.
He blew out a breath and slumped back into the seat of the Tesla. Looking at the church, he really didn’t want to go, not anymore. He wasn’t like his brothers. He wasn’t a family man looking to raise his kids in the church, giving them a port in life’s storms.
He was just a guy who’d accidentally fathered a child. A sperm donor with a wallet.
Around him, cars were pulling in and doors were slamming, people greeting each other with extra good cheer. Yeah. Christmas, church, community, family—all of it was what people wanted, what he wanted when it came down to it.
But nobody got everything they wanted.
The church bells rang out and he got out of his car and headed toward the door. He would go in the back, sit where he could escape easily. Somehow, he just didn’t feel like talking to anybody.
He walked in the door and there she was.
Holly stood talking to some guy. She was wearing a short skirt, holding Penny.
His blood boiled.
He started forward.
“Easy, bro, that’s the pastor,” Liam said from behind him. He had Yasmin on one arm and was holding little Gino in the other. “Come sit with us, unless you have a better offer.”
“I don’t.” Why hadn’t Holly let him know she was coming? Why hadn’t she called him to help her with Penny?
“Hurry up, it’s crowded.” Yasmin shifted out from under Liam’s arm and walked ahead. When she found half a pew, she gestured to them to hurry up.
As soon as they’d sidled into the pew, the music started and then Norma was there, whispering for them to scoot down. Right behind her was Rita.
And then came Holly and Penny.
There was a little argument in the aisle. Rita and Norma tried to go back out so Holly and Penny could sit beside Cash.
She shook her head and smiled and waited until the older ladies had gone in, then she sat on the end.
Cash sat looking at his knees. Rejection stung. Rejection in front of his family and friends stung worse.
The children’s skit wasn’t the whole church service, just the opening act, and Cash wondered how hard it would be to slip out after watching his nieces steal the show.
Then the pastor started making announcements, and the first hymn was “Angels We Have Heard on High.” On the long “Glo-o-o-oria” refrain, Liam looked over at him and grinned, and Cash remembered they’d hammed up that song pretty well when their foster parents had arranged for them to all meet up at Christmas-Eve services. On the second verse’s chorus, Sean turned around and gave them a thumbs-up, his mouth formed into a round, laughing O, and Anna elbowed him in the side.
As soon as the song was over, the children marched in, a ragtag parade of shepherds, angels and a couple of mysterious-looking beings draped in sheets, with four human legs each and papier-mâché donkey heads on top. Giggles emitted from the donkeys, and “shhh” from a very irritated angel.
Cash’s insides settled as tradition and the Christmas story made him rise above his own hurt feelings. This church would always have kids, and they’d always behave mischievously, and hopefully, they’d grow up to bring their own kids. Like Sean was doing; like Liam was.
Even, Cash realized with some sense of shock, like he was.
First time he’d been to a kids’ church pageant as an adult, of course. He remembered his dad avoiding any school shows or events he and his brothers were involved in. “That garbage is for women,” he’d said once when their mother had told him it would mean a lot if he’d come to the boys’ talent show.
In his head he knew that was wrong. His brothers, new to fatherhood, enthusiastically attended everything their kids did.
But somewhere inside, Cash had always figured that, because he was like his dad in some ways, he’d end up sharing all his attitudes and he would have no interest in kids’ activities or shows.
But that wasn’t true. It had taken Hope and Hayley thirty seconds, max, to persuade him to come.
The pageant started with bible readings, read aloud and acted out. Cash was proud that both Hope and Hayley got to read verses and barely stumbled; he had to restrain his impulse to clap after each one. Things got a little dicey when the kid cast as Joseph tripped over a shepherd’s crook and fell into the manger, knocking the baby doll representing Jesus onto the floor. Most of the adults in his aisle—Rita, Norma, Liam—shook with repressed laughter. Yasmin bent next to little Gino, who was frowning with concern.
Again he was proud when Hayley helped Joseph get up and go back to his place—scolding him a little on the way—while Hope picked up the baby doll and placed it tenderly back in the manger. The Sunday-school teacher who was in charge gestured to the pianist and then led the kids in a vigorous rendition of “Away in a Manger,” and then it was over and everyone did applaud. Cash even let out a “bravo” and then looked around sheepishly, but he saw only pride and joy in the people around him, no posturing or judgment.
Man, did he love his adopted hometown.
He glanced down the aisle at Holly and Penny as the service went on. Holly listened to the bible readings and then the sermon with rapt attention. Cash’s jealousy surged again, until the minister mentioned his wife in a loving way. After that, he was glad Holly was getting a moment to sit quietly and reflect. It couldn’t be a common occurrence in her life, not these days with the responsibility she’d assumed for Penny.
He probably should help her out more, at least while he was here in town.
When Penny got fussy, he slipped past Norma and Rita, then scooped Penny out of a surprised Holly’s lap. “You stay here. We’ll be in the nursery downstairs. Or somewhere close by.”
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to protest and then closed it again. When he started to head down the aisle, she called quietly after him, and he figured she’d changed her mind. But she was just holding out the diaper bag. He grabbed it, feeling sheepish to have forgotten it, and went down the aisle.
He found the nursery but didn’t want to put Penny in it. She was settling down now, but there was no telling how she’d react to an unknown caregiver. Besides, he felt proud to be able to calm her, loved the sweet weight of her in his arms, the way she cuddled into him.
He found an empty classroom full of bright toys and with a comfortable-looking rug on the floor. He was just sitting down with Penny when Sean came in with HoHo, looking harassed. “Can you watch him for a few? Apparently Hayley spilled punch on her dress and is all upset, and I don’t want to bother Anna. She needs a break.”
“Sure, no problem,” Cash said, and Sean plunked down the baby and his diaper bag and disappeared.
So here he was, Cash O’Dwyer, CEO of a multimillion-dollar investment group, up to his ears in childcare.
And he didn’t even mind. He dug around in the diaper bags and found both babies some little crackers, and when the need became obvious, he changed Penny’s diaper. He found a couple of toys the two babies could bang at and suck on, and kept them busy and entertained that way.
Then HoHo flipped over into an expert crawl, sped over to a chair and pulled himself up. Cash found him a push toy and he toddled merrily after it, laughing at the bells and blinking lights.
Penny just sat there.
Cash tried to entice her to move, but she seemed uninterested, even with the example of HoHo’s rapid movement.
HoHo rammed his push toy into a wall, crashed down onto his rear end and began to wail. Cash hurried over, picked him up and joggled him on his hip until he settled.
A deep sense of peace came over him. He was managing kids and particularly his own kid, and doing an okay job of it. So maybe he wasn’t such a horrible person after all.
He turned back to set HoHo beside Penny. Halfway there, he stopped and stared.
Penny was crawling, all right...backward. In fact, she was backing herself right under a table and chair set, pushing herself with her arms as if her legs didn’t even work.
Cash put down HoHo and then swooped over to pick up Penny before she got stuck. Once he’d gotten her out and handed her a binky to keep the imminent meltdown from happening, he studied her legs. They were so small and thin, especially compared to chubby HoHo’s. Was there something wrong with her physically, in addition to the delays they’d discussed with the pediatrician? They’d had a preliminary assessment from the early-intervention team, who’d been reassuring. But the way Penny had been crawling was downright weird.
He couldn’t help it; he texted Holly. Come to room next to nursery.
Then he set down Penny a few feet away from HoHo, facing him. “Come on, sweetie, this way.” Hadn’t she crawled forward before?
But although she pushed up with her arms and rocked back and forth, in the end she scooted backward again. She was staring at HoHo as if she wanted to come toward him but couldn’t.
Her face screwed up in a cry just as Holly burst through the door. “What’s wrong?” she asked, hurrying toward Penny and picking her up. “Is everything okay, sweetie?” She sat on the edge of a chair to study her.
Dog that he was, Cash couldn’t help but notice her great legs, clad in tights and boots, her short denim skirt and sweater further revealing her sweet figure. He tore his focus away from her looks and refocused on his daughter. “Did you know she crawls backward, not forward?”
“Yeah, I’ve been noticing that.”
He stared at her. “You noticed, and didn’t tell me? Aren’t you worried?”
“Yeah, I noticed, but...I don’t know, I think it’s kind of common for babies to crawl in weird ways. Usually when they’re younger, but Penny has those delays.”
He went over and knelt beside the two of them, holding out Penny’s leg for Holly to look at. “Look how skinny she is. She needs more exercise for her legs.”
“I guess that’s what her backward crawling is doing, right?” She rolled a bouncy ball past Penny, who stared at it with rapt attention.
She didn’t seem in the least bit upset or worried, and that made Cash mad.
“I don’t want you hauling her around in a carrier anymore. Her legs are atrophying!”
Holly dipped her chin, raised her eyebrows and stared at him. “Are you accusing me of causing her physical delays?”
“No, but having her immobilized for most of the day isn’t helping her.” He’d identified a problem and he wanted to solve it. That was what he did; that was how he’d survived and thrived in the business world. “You need to quit walking dogs and get her more stimulation. Maybe we could start her in one of those classes for babies, where they do gymnastics or—”
“Cash, she’s a year old! We can’t start her in gymnastics!”
Penny stared at Holly, and she rubbed the baby’s back and lowered her voice. “And we asked the developmentalist about her coming along when I was walking dogs, remember? She said it’s good for Penny to have the stimulation.”
“It’s obviously not, though.” He swung up HoHo for her to compare. “Look at his size compared to Penny’s, and he’s only a month older.”
She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, as if she was struggling to find patience. “That’s normal. She’s a girl, and Tiff was petite. And don’t forget, we’re going to have therapists visiting a few times a week once the paperwork goes through.”
He shook his head, still in problem-solving mode. Penny was his daughter, and she wasn’t going to suffer from lack of parental knowledge and support. He hadn’t intended to become a parent, but it had happened, and despite his flaws, he was going to do his best to raise her right. “She needs more. Better food and more exercise.”
“I’m doing the best I can!” Holly’s eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t say anything more as they packed up the babies and headed out into the throng of people just released from church.
Oh, well. Women cried. He’d make it right as soon as he handed off HoHo.
Once they reached the parking lot, though, Cash got caught up talking to Sean. Then Hope and Hayley came running up to him, and he had to congratulate them on a job well-done, commiserate about the clumsy Joseph and commend them for how they’d handled the glitch in the show.
When he turned to look for Penny and Holly, they were gone.
Oh. So he’d made Holly more upset than he’d realized.
“What’s wrong, Cash?” Sean’s wife, Anna, laid a hand on his arm. “You okay?”
He turned to her. Anna had raised her twins to age five basically on her own, defending them from an abusive father. If anyone knew how to parent in trying circumstances, it was her. “I’m worried about Penny,” he said. “She’s crawling backward, and she’s way skinnier than HoHo. But Holly doesn’t seem to take it seriously.”
“Lots of babies crawl backward. No big deal.” She glanced over at HoHo, wiggling in Sean’s arms. “And the pediatrician wants us to watch what HoHo eats. He’s almost too chubby.”
“Really? I think he’s cute. Perfect.”
She smiled and leaned into him, putting an arm around his waist. “Thank you. I think he’s perfect, too. But whenever someone questions his size—or anything about him—I start doubting myself. Worrying it’s my fault, wondering what I should be doing differently.”
“Yeah. Guess I’m doing that, too.”
She studied him. “You and Holly can be a lot of support to each other. I know Sean’s great when I start worrying about HoHo or about the girls. Balances out my worrying.”
“That’s good.” But he’d done the reverse with Holly. When she hadn’t taken his worries seriously, he’d started blaming and accusing her. No wonder she’d fled.
He sighed as he turned toward his car. Obviously, he had a lot to learn, not only about being a father, but also about being half of a parenting team.