Little Cowgirl on His Doorstep. DONNA ALWARD

a lot of money, but he would help out. It would be bad enough being an absentee dad, but no one was going to accuse him of being a deadbeat.

      It was the very least his conscience demanded. So why did he feel like he was taking the easy way out?

      Back at the inn he’d barely shut off the ignition when she was out of the truck and opening the side door to get Nell. She’d clearly planned ahead because she went inside and came right back out rolling her suitcase and carrying the packed-up playpen. The umbrella stroller was snapped up and stowed in the trunk of her car in no time flat and there was nothing more to do than say goodbye.

      It was not how he’d envisioned this morning going. Not with her so…cold. He didn’t quite know what he’d done to set her off, but she wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

      She turned to face him and pasted on a smile so fake it looked plastic. “I’ll be in touch after we get the results.”

      “Right. You’ve got everything?”

      “Yes.”

      “You don’t need…” He didn’t know how to finish the question. What was he trying to ask? Why was this so hard? He should be relieved that things were going back to normal, so why was he drawing the moment out rather than just opening the damn door for her?

      “I don’t need anything from you, Callum.”

      Well. That was clear, and a common enough refrain when all was said and done. Feeling helpless, he reached down and opened her car door, watched as she buckled Nell’s seat into place. He swallowed, staring down at the tiny face with the innocently blinking eyes. He slid his gaze to Avery, who refused to look at him but slid behind the wheel. When he hesitated shutting the door, she finally looked up.

      “It’s time to go,” she said, a tad bit impatiently. The tone rode on his nerves.

      “Did I do something this morning? Something to make you rush off like this?” He didn’t like leaving things on a sour note. Not when they were going to have to stay in touch for…

      For years to come. Years. They would always be connected by Nell.

      “Not at all,” she answered. “This morning just reminded me of our positions in this whole thing. There’s simply no sense prolonging things, don’t you agree?”

      No, dammit, he didn’t agree, but couldn’t say so without getting in over his head.

      “Drive carefully,” he said finally, and shut the door while she started the engine.

      He watched her car go out the driveway and turn onto the dirt lane that connected to the paved road. It felt wrong watching her drive away like that, but what else was he supposed to do? She wanted nothing to do with him. Oh, perhaps she’d been curious, just like him. He hadn’t imagined the way her eyes had snapped to his now and again, or the color that rose in her cheeks when he was around. She’d blushed that morning on the park bench.

      But a little curiosity was a far cry from working together to raise a kid, wasn’t it?

      If she’d wanted full custody, she could have just let things stand and he never would have known the difference. Instead she’d come to find him, determined that he—and her niece—deserved to know each other.

      He had to admire that. Except Miss Spencer gave him the impression that she always did the right thing, and that was a damned hard example for a flawed human being to follow.

      Restless, he turned back to his truck and noticed the back door wasn’t quite latched. He went to close it and when he looked in the window he saw the small stuffed giraffe. He reached in and picked it up. The fabric was soft and it made a jingling nose as he turned it over in his hand.

      The scent of baby powder and soap still clung to the interior of the truck.

      His kid. And he hadn’t even held her in his arms, not once. He recalled Jane’s voice explaining why she couldn’t go through with the wedding. That the baby she carried wasn’t really his; that she couldn’t marry a man who would never be there for their family. And he heard his own voice, explaining in no uncertain terms to Crystal last spring that he wasn’t interested in a wife and kids, when the truth was a family of his own had been all he wanted until Jane walked away, taking his dreams with her.

      And then he’d gotten Crystal pregnant. And now, when faced with his biggest mistake, he was the one walking away. Perhaps Avery was the one driving, but he’d done nothing to stop her.

      What kind of man was he?

      An idiot, that’s what.

      Before he could change his mind, he shoved the giraffe in his pocket and hopped up into the cab of his truck to go after her.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      A VERY PULLED INTO the service station to fill up the rental before taking it back. For the past fifteen minutes of the drive, Nell had been crying. In her haste to leave Cadence Creek, Avery hadn’t given her a bottle or changed her diaper.