Page 2 of Single Dad Dilemma

The man replies without looking at me. “I’ll have a glazed donut and a cup of coffee.” He looks down at the girl. “What do you want, sweetie?”

“It all looks soooo good,” she says, her eyes only getting wider.

I giggle. “I’ll get your coffee while we wait,” I tell the man.

I spin around and pour the coffee while the two of them talk about what the girl should choose. I can’t help but to take him in. He’s tall and stocky, not too thin, not too thick. It’s easy to see that he works out, but it also looks like he enjoys life and isn’tone of those stuck up “I only eat healthy and exercise” type of people.

I wonder how old he is. He doesn’t seem very old, but he doesn’t seem like he’s in his early twenties either. He has small wrinkles around his eyes, but nowhere else on his face, almost like he’s just lived a hard, stressful life. The lines beside his dark eyes and the scruffy beard only give him a hardened edge that draws me in.

I hand his coffee over to him and grab a box to put his donut in. “Have we decided?” I ask the little girl.

She puts her finger on her chin. “Ummmm, I think I want that pink donut.”

“This one?” I ask, pointing at the one in the case.

She shakes her head, causing her curls to bounce. “No, the one with the sprinkles.”

“Got it.” I pick it up and put it into the small box. I take the box over to the register and put it down. “Will there be anything else?”

“That’s it,” the man says.

I ring them up. “That’ll be five sixty-four.”

The little girl catches something out of the corner of her eye, and she gasps as I’m swiping his card.

“Daddy!” she says, yanking on his shirt. “I want that cookie!”

“Sorry, honey. I already paid,” he tells her, but she looks so sad I can’t stop myself from cheering her up.

“How about, if it’s okay with your dad, I give you that cookie for later? Like…maybe a treat for after supper?”

She smiles wide and looks up to him.

The man can’t say no to that face, so he rolls his eyes. “Alright.”

She jumps up and down, clapping her hands and giggling.

I reach into the case and take out the cookie, putting it in a small bag for later. “Here you go, honey.”

“Thank you,” she says as she takes it. Her voice is so sweet.

“You’re welcome, honey,” I reply.

“My name is Margo, not honey,” she says, scrunching up her nose.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Margo. I’m Violet.” I reach across the counter. She places her hand in mine and shakes it, more giggling erupting. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thank you.”

I look up at the man and smile. “And it was nice to meet you too. Your daughter is adorable.”

“Thanks. I’m Carson Evans, by the way. We just moved into town.”

“Oh, well, I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of one another then. I own the bakery. I’m Violet.” Then I remember that he probably already knows my name since he was standing right next to his daughter when I told her. “Oh, I already said that, didn’t I?” I can’t hold back my nervous laughter. I feel my face heat up.

He blushes but quickly wipes it away again, like he just recalled a bad memory. “Well, I guess we better get going. You ready?” he asks, looking down at his daughter.

She’s already managed to sneak her donut out of the box, and she has pink icing all over her face. She nods, too busy chewing.

---