Lights, Action...Family!. Patricia Thayer

followed him inside. She was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a blue cotton top with ruffles around the neck and sleeves. Her hair was pulled back in a slightly crooked ponytail. The little girl beamed when she saw her. Emily held out her hand and Sophie came to her.

      “Good morning, Sophie. Are you hungry?”

      The child nodded.

      Nate handed Reece a cup of coffee. “Why don’t you stay for breakfast,” he said. “There’s plenty.”

      “Thanks, but we were going to eat in town.”

      Reece watched as Emily escorted his niece to the table. He stiffened. He knew the invitation was a friendly gesture, but he needed to stay away from the warm family scene. To keep this strictly business. He also needed to stay clear of the attractive leggy brunette with the smile that got him stirred up. She had him aching, and not only with physical need. But the truth was he had all the commitment he could handle right now with Sophie.

      Reece forced himself to make eye contact with Emily. “I stopped by to see if you talked to your mother?”

      “Oh, right,” she said. “Nate, do you think Mom would consider renting Reece the garage apartment?”

      Her brother blinked. “I don’t see why not, it’s been empty since Shane and Mariah moved out.” He looked back at Reece. “It’s only a one-bedroom, but the sofa pulls out into a bed.”

      “Sounds good,” Reece said. He hated to be indebted to the Hunters any more than he already was, but he didn’t have a choice. “When will you be able to talk to your mother?”

      “I’ll call her now.” Nate reached for the telephone on the wall. “She’s usually finished with her run my now.” He dialed his mother’s number, then spoke into the phone.

      “Hi, Mom.” He paused. “No, Tori’s okay. I just had a question about the garage apartment. How would you feel about renting it to Reece McKellen and his niece?” He paused again and listened. “Okay, fine. I’ll talk to you later, Mom. Bye.” He hung up and turned to Reece.

      “She only hesitated because it hasn’t been painted in a while. She says it’s not a problem, and you can come by any time to see it.”

      “That’s great.” Reece blew out a breath. “I still need to find someone to look after Sophie while I work, but this is certainly a start.”

      “You know, Mom might be able to help you with that, too,” Nate said. “She runs the summer program at the elementary school. She might know of someone willing to baby-sit.”