the night.” Scarlett handed him a key card. “You’ll be staying in the High Noon room.”
At his raised eyebrow Jessie spoke. “The rooms are named after old movies.”
He pulled out his wallet. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing.” Scarlett smiled. “You’re family.”
Reid grimaced as if she’d offended him, then put his wallet away.
“Need help with your luggage?” she asked.
“We’ll be fine, thanks.” He nodded to Jessie. “Grab the dog’s supplies and your backpack. I’ll bring the rest of our things.”
Jessie carried Fang out of the office.
“If it’s available,” he said, “I’ll need the room for a few days.”
“You should stay at the ranch. I can move my things out of your grandfather’s room.”
“Why isn’t my grandfather living at the ranch?” he asked.
“When I moved here, Aunt Amelia insisted Emmett stay with her while I searched for an apartment. I was only supposed to use your grandfather’s room for a couple of weeks, but I’ve had so much fun with my cousin and nephews that I’ve been lazy about finding an apartment. Now that you’re here I’ll start looking again.” She moved closer to Reid, catching a hint of woodsy aftershave. “I’m sure it would be okay if I moved my things into Gunner and Lydia’s private room here at the motel.”
“Private room?”
Scarlett nodded. “They made one of the rooms into a combination office and nursery in case Gunner ever brings the baby to work with him.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’d prefer a motel room for me and Jessie.” He opened the lobby door, then motioned for her to precede him outside. “I should have asked first,” he said, “are pets allowed?”
“They are.” She pointed to the walkway between the rooms and the office. “There’s a pet station stocked with plastic doggy doo-doo bags.” Scarlett wanted to talk to Reid longer, but Jessie waited for him in front of their room.
Reid removed the suitcases from the back seat of the truck, then shut the door.
Before he walked off, she said, “You don’t remember, do you?”
The corner of his mouth curved upward. “How could I forget? I cut my lip on your braces.”
Her heart flipped on its end and twirled in a circle before dropping back into place. Reid Hardell remembered their kiss.
Scarlett’s very first kiss.
* * *
“WHERE’S ELMO?” JESSIE dug through the bag of dog supplies in the motel room.
“It might be on the floor in the truck.” Jessie had asked Reid to buy the dog toy after he’d insisted they take Fang to a vet before leaving El Paso. The visit to the walk-in animal clinic had delayed their departure and caused them to get stuck in Friday rush-hour traffic. The busy roads and having to shell out four hundred dollars for vaccinations and a year’s worth of heartworm pills and flea-and-tick protection hadn’t helped Reid’s pensive mood.
Jessie filled Fang’s water bowl. “Are you thirsty?” She spoke in a squeaky cartoon voice and the mutt’s tail wagged so hard, he stumbled sideways, his front paw landing in the water bowl. After he finished drinking, Jessie picked him up and he licked her face. “Stop.” She giggled. “That’s gross.”
Reid’s chest tightened as he watched the pair. The only time he heard his daughter laugh was when Fang gave her kisses. During the six-month probation period where he and Jessie had gotten to know one another, he’d cracked a few jokes but they’d fallen flat. As for smiles... His daughter smiled—just not at him. That’s why he’d been stunned when she’d answered yes after the social worker asked if she felt comfortable enough with Reid to live with him.
Jessie crawled into bed and Fang snuggled next to her, his bug eyes watching Reid unpack.
“Your grandfather isn’t very nice,” Jessie said.
“He’s mad at me.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t been a very good grandson.” He sat on the end of his bed and tugged off his boots.
“Why not?”
Reid didn’t want his problems with his family to influence how Jessie got along with them. “Don’t worry, my grandfather will come around.” Gramps would never take his disappointment in Reid out on a defenseless kid.
“Scarlett’s a social worker.” Each time Jessie stroked Fang’s head, the dog’s eyes closed for a second, then popped open.
“That’s interesting.” It was also interesting that whenever he’d looked into her brown eyes, he’d felt like he was being sucked into quicksand—a warm, soft quagmire.
“Scarlett seems nice.”
Her doe-like eyes had hypnotized him all those years ago and without realizing what he was doing he’d started kissing her.
“Can you get my Kindle from my backpack?”
“Sure.” Reid had learned after meeting Jessie that she didn’t go anywhere without her electronic reading device. And according to Mrs. Delgado, his daughter was of above-average intelligence. After Stacy died, Jessie had been given the option to enroll in a public school but had declined, so the social worker had supervised her studies until Jessie had been placed in a foster home, where Mrs. Valentine took over the homeschooling duties.
Reid knew nothing about homeschooling and hadn’t even been to college. He wasn’t the right person to teach his daughter. They hadn’t talked about Jessie attending a public school, but Reid didn’t see any other option.
He retrieved the Kindle, then checked the clock on the nightstand. One o’clock. “You can read until I finish my shower, then lights out.” He carried a clean pair of briefs and pajama bottoms into the bathroom and then stood under the hot spray, until the tension in his neck and shoulders eased. As his body relaxed, he focused his thoughts on Scarlett. He’d expected to encounter a few surprises returning home after all these years, but she hadn’t been one of them. He’d thought Scarlett had been the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, and she’d only grown more beautiful since then. He grinned when he recalled bumbling their first and only kiss. He’d love to show her he’d learned a trick or two about kissing since then.
He turned off the water and stepped from the shower. After putting on his pj’s, he ran the electric shaver over his face and erased his day-old beard. When he stepped from the bathroom, Jessie was sound asleep with the Kindle resting on her chest. He turned the gadget off and placed it on the nightstand.
His daughter was a tough girl. She kept things inside like he had at her age. Before he turned out the light, he studied her face, searching for traces of himself. Aside from her blue eyes and dark hair he couldn’t see a resemblance. He hurt for Jessie. It was obvious she’d been close to her mother.
And now she’s stuck with you.
But unlike his father who hadn’t given a crap about him, Reid was determined that he’d always be there for Jessie as long as she needed him.
Scarlett sipped her coffee in front of the hotel window as she watched the sun peek above the horizon Saturday morning.
She’d caught a few winks after Reid and Jessie had retired to their room last night, but she was eager to relinquish her desk duties to the part-time employee Gunner had hired to cover for him while he helped Lydia with the baby.
Her