kissed the top of his head. “Good night, Jaxon.”
He received no response. As expected.
Mac turned the lamp off and left, striding swiftly down the winding staircase to the front porch. He leaned on the porch rail, the screen door slamming shut behind him, and sucked in a ragged breath.
Damn. He’d screwed up. Again. He hated dictating orders to Jaxon. Arguing with him. Offering weak platitudes in place of actually spending quality time with his son. He was a weak, pathetic excuse for a father and Nicole would be disappointed in him.
Head pounding, he rubbed his forehead and stared at the starlit sky above him. But what was he supposed to do? Call it quits? Sell the ranch, uproot his kids and hope he had better luck elsewhere?
He’d barely survived losing Nicole to cancer. Losing his family’s land—the only tangible memory he had left of his deceased parents—might just finish him off.
The incessant pounding grew stronger and he stilled, realizing the heavy thumps weren’t just in his head. They echoed across the grounds, too. He shoved off the porch rail and followed the sound, his steps halting beside the stable.
Dani stood in front of the chopping stump, the waning moon overhead and a camping lantern at her feet casting competing glows of white and yellow light against her curvy figure. She swung an ax and split a log. Shifting the ax to one hand, she grabbed one half of the split log and tossed it onto a freshly cut pile of wood, her long ponytail swinging across her upper back.
“Working late, huh?”
She jumped and spun around, hand pressing to her chest. Her eyes narrowed as they peered into the darkness surrounding him. “Good grief, you scared me.”
He stepped into the pool of light, smiling gently. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I heard the noise from the lodge and thought I’d check it out.”
She nodded then turned away and grabbed the second half of the split log.
“You don’t have to do this, you know?” Mac gestured toward the ax at her side. “I told you I’d take care of it in the morning.”
“After you let me down easy?” She shrugged and tossed the log onto the pile. “Figured I’d earn my stay tonight before I move on tomorrow.” Pausing, she studied the ax handle then glanced at him. “Thank you for offering me a chance here but I don’t think this is going to work out for either one of us.”
He blinked, chin lifting as he examined her face. “What makes you say that?”
Her head tilted and a humorless smile spread slowly across her face. “Well, let’s see. I wasn’t what you were expecting. You don’t think I can pull my weight.” She ticked each concern off on her fingertips. “You banished me to the stable to scoop poop, as Nadine puts it, because I wasn’t passing muster with the ax—”
“Now, hold up.” He held up a hand. “That’s not true. The fact of the matter was half my hands had lined up to ogle you while you worked and I was—”
“Protecting the weak, trouble-stirring girl?” Her eyebrows rose. “Telling me what I could and couldn’t do for my own good?”
“No.” He clenched his teeth, a streak of anger burning his gut. “I was trying to be a gentleman.”
She stared, shoulders dropping and head lowering. “I appreciate that,” she whispered. “But I’ve had enough of men telling me what I can and can’t do. It’d just be really nice to have a choice for a change.”
The resigned look on her face tempered his frustration. “Not all men are the same. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She smiled. A real one that sent a rush of pleasure through his veins. “Not all women are the same. And I’m sorry I took offense.”
Mac shoved his hands in his pockets as she retrieved another log and balanced it on the stump. “So where you movin’ on to? Back to New York?”
Dani sprang upright and faced him, expression guarded.
He examined her more closely, trepidation creeping up his spine. “Jaxon said you told him that’s where you’re from.”
Her features relaxed and she nodded. “Yes. That’s where I’m headed.”
“What do you do there?” He gestured toward the stack of firewood. “I don’t get the impression that you’ve been doing this type of work for very long.”
Her stance stiffened. “I’m in...sales.”
“What kind of sales?”
“The boring kind.” She sighed. “The kind that keeps you holed up in an office staring at walls all day.”
“So you came here for a change of scenery?”
“I suppose you could say that.” She hesitated, voice softening. “I definitely needed a change and it is beautiful here.” She hefted the ax into her hands, shooting glances at him. “I enjoyed spending time with Jaxon today. He’s a wonderful child.”
Mac smiled. “That he is.”
“He admires you a lot and talks about you often,” she said. “He told me about how you taught him to split wood and how important his safety is to you.”
His face heated and he looked away. “Yeah, well, everyone has to pitch in around here to keep things running.”
“He misses you.”
Mac’s eyes jerked back to hers, the pointed look filling the blue depths conjuring deep-seated guilt. “Putting the shoe on the other foot now, huh?” he asked. “Giving the man pointers on parenting? Going to tell me what a bad father I am?”
“No.” She looked genuinely appalled. “God, no. If anything, I’d say the opposite. I may have only been here a day but it’s obvious how much you love Jaxon. And Nadine and Maddie.”
He stared down at his boots, the heat in his cheeks scorching down his neck. Her words lingered in his head then eased into his chest, delivering a sense of comfort that he wanted to hold on to.
“I don’t have children and I have no clue what it’s like being a single parent.” Her scuffed sneakers appeared in his line of vision and the fresh scent of grass and sun-seasoned wood drifted in. “But I know what it’s like to want to be seen. Noticed. My father is a hard worker like you and when I was young, he’d always say we’d spend time together. Tomorrow or the next day. But time got away from him and it just never happened. Our relationship hasn’t been the same since.” Her tone softened. “That’s all Jaxon wants. To be seen. Noticed.”
He raised his head, finding her closer than he’d expected. The once-creamy skin of her cheeks and forehead was sunburned a cherry red and freckles were scattered across the bridge of her nose, giving her an earthy, attractive air. Her wide eyes blinked up at him, patient and kind, then focused on his mouth and darkened.
She stepped back and shook her head. “Anyway, it’s my turn to apologize. It’s none of my business and I didn’t mean to offend you. I like Jaxon and just thought I’d give you my two cents before I left.”
She moved farther away and resumed splitting wood, her movements slow and unsteady.
Mac hesitated then went into the stable and fumbled through a couple shelves in the storage room until he found a pair of small gloves. He returned to Dani and held them out.
“Here. You’ll wake up with more blisters than you can count if you don’t put these on. They’ll be too big but will help at least. And breakfast is at six if you’d like to have a decent meal before you leave tomorrow.”
She paused between swings, breathing heavily, and took the gloves. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He hovered, waiting as she tugged