Page 54 of Nanny for the Single Dad Cowboy
I bite my lip, smiling into the dark. Daisy is smart for a seven-year-old, so I don’t want to lie to her, but I also don’t want to commit to something with the truth, so I settle for something light. “Maybe a little.”
She quiets, thinking it over. “He likes you, too. I can tell. He smiles differently when you’re around.”
I swallow hard, keeping my voice even. “You think so?”
“Mmh,” she mumbles, then follows it with a quiet, “I wish you could stay, like forever. You could be my mom.”
The words hit something deep in me, a place I’ve been trying not to touch. Her trust is so absolute it hurts.
I press a kiss to her hair. “That’s a really sweet thing to say, Daisy.”
“Would you stay?” she whispers.
I breathe out slowly. “I want to. More than you know. But… life’s a little complicated right now.”
“Because of your work?”
Something like that. Because of the lies I told to stay safe. Because of Richard and the threat I still can’t shake.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “But I promise I’m not going anywhere right now. Okay?”
“Okay.” She yawns, burrowing closer. “You smell like marshmallows.”
I smile into the dark. “You too.”
Her giggle fades as sleep takes her. I keep my arm around her until her breathing evens out again.
For the first time in years, I feel something close to peace. Not the fragile kind that comes from hiding—real peace. The kind that grows roots.
I think of Jace. The way he looked at me in the parking lot, steady and sure, like he was already waiting for the rest of our story to unfold. I think of Daisy’s sleepy voice asking me to stay, and how easy it was to picture it—a home that doesn’t come with escape plans or false names.
I want that. God, I want it so badly it hurts.
And maybe that’s reason enough to stop being afraid. Before I drift off, I tell myself that Jace and I need to talk when I get back. It’s time to let him in on everything so he can decide if I’m worth keeping or if it’s time to kick me to the curb once and for all. The latter makes my heart clench in pain, but it’s a possibility I cannot ignore.
“I’m done running,” I whisper to the darkness, holding his daughter tight. “When we get back, he deserves the truth. All of it.”
22
JACE
They’ve only been gone a day, but I miss them like crazy. Daisy has been away before, for sleepovers, camps, and school events, but it’s never been like this. Everything is quieter without them around, tasks I used to find interesting are now mundane, and it’s making me realize just how much Tessa has come to mean to me.
The woman who was just meant to be a placeholder is now wreaking havoc in my heart, and I have no idea what to do with myself.
Beck catches me as I wheel myself out of the kitchen, whistling a tune, chewing on a blade of grass. “You look like a man who just got dumped,” he mocks, leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed.
“Shut up.”
“Why, when teasing you is so much fun? You’ve been a restless mess since they left. They’ll be back tomorrow, but you’re behaving like they’ll be gone for two months,” he remarks.
“You’re enjoying my torment, aren’t you?” I retort.
“Incredibly.”
“Shouldn’t you be focusing on choosing a date for your wedding and not nagging me?” I ask, shifting the conversation back to him.
“Quinn and I ain’t in a hurry. She’s busy with the redevelopment project, so we are happy with a long engagement. We’ll do it after the baby comes,” he explains.
