needed to remember that her entire life had been turned upside down by Lyle’s death. “It’s a shame you have to leave everything behind, like your friends. A boyfriend …?”
She looked surprised at his question. Not as much as he was. He stood and went to the window. “I only meant, Lyle had you make a tough choice.”
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment, and my sister is my best friend. So sometimes a fresh start is good.” She turned the tables on him. “Isn’t that why you came to Destiny?”
He didn’t look at her, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t catch her scent, or wasn’t aware of her closeness. He took a step back. “I came here to make a life for my daughter. She’s everything to me.”
Lori smiled at him and again his body took notice. “From what I’ve seen, Cassie feels the same way about you. You’re a good father.”
“Thank you. I’m not perfect. But I do try and want to make the job permanent.”
His gaze went back to her. Darn. What was it about her that drew him? Suddenly he thought about his ex-wife, and the caution flag came out. He needed to stay focused on two things—business and his daughter.
A happy Cassie skipped into the room and rushed to him. “Maggie said to tell you that dinner is ready.”
“Oh, honey. We should head home.” He glanced at his watch. “Maybe another time.”
“No, Daddy. We can’t go. I helped Maggie make the biscuits, so we have to stay and eat them.”
He was caught as he looked down at his daughter, then at Lori.
“I can’t believe you’re passing up a home-cooked meal, Jace Yeager,” Lori said. “Maggie’s biscuits are the best around, and probably even better with Cassie helping.”
“Please, Daddy. I’ll go to bed right on time. I won’t argue or anything.”
Jace looked back at Lori. It was her first night here, and would probably be a rough one.
Lori smiled. “Now that’s a hard offer to turn down.”
“You’re no help,” he told Lori.
“Sorry, us girls have to stick together.”
That was what he was afraid of. He was losing more than just this round. He hated that he didn’t mind one bit.
“Okay, but we can’t stay long. We have a bedtime schedule.”
“I promise, I’ll go to bed right on time,” Cassie said, then took off toward the kitchen.
He looked at a smiling Lori. “Okay, I’m a pushover.”
“Buck up, Dad. It’s only going to get worse before it gets better.”
Suddenly their eyes locked and the amused look disappeared. Lori was the first to speak. “Please, I want you to stay for dinner. I think we both agree that eating alone isn’t fun.”
“Yes, we can agree on that.”
He followed Lori into the kitchen, knowing this woman could easily fill those lonely times. He just couldn’t let that happen. No more women for a while, at least not over the age of seven.
AT EIGHT-THIRTY the next morning, Lori was up and dressed, and grabbed a travel mug of coffee from Maggie, then she was out the door to the construction site. Not that she didn’t think Jace could do his job, but she wanted to meet the crew and assure them that there wouldn’t be any more delays with the project.
When she pulled through the gate and saw the buzz of activity, she was suddenly concerned about disturbing everyone.
She had every right to be here, she thought as she climbed out of her car and watched the men working on the trim work of the two-story structure. Jace hadn’t wasted any time.
She walked carefully on the soggy ground. Okay, she needed more protection than her loafers. A good pair of sturdy boots was on her list. She headed up the plywood-covered path when a young man dressed in jeans, a denim work shirt and lace-up steel-toed boots came toward her.
He gave her a big smile and tipped back his hard hat. “Can I help you, ma’am?”
“I’m looking for Jace Yeager.”
The man’s smile grew bigger. “Aren’t they all? I’m Mike Parker, maybe I can help you.”
All? Lori couldn’t help but wonder what that meant. She started to speak when she heard a familiar voice call out. They both turned to see Jace. He was dressed pretty much like the others, but he had on a leather vest over a black Henley shirt even though the temperature was in the low fifties.
Lori froze as he gave her a once-over. He didn’t look happy to see her as he made his way toward them.
Jace ignored her as he looked at Mike. “Don’t you have anything to do?”
“I was headed to my truck for some tools.” He nodded to her. “And I ran across this nice lady. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Lori Hutchinson.”
Mike let out a low whistle. “So you’re the big boss? I can’t tell you how good it is to meet you, Ms. Hutchinson.”
She tried not to cringe at the description. “It’s Lori. I’m not anyone’s boss. Jace is in charge of this project.”
That was when Jace spoke up. “Mike, they’ve finished spraying the insulation up in the lofts, so I need you to get started hanging drywall.”
“Right, I’ll get on it.” He tipped his hat to Lori. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Mike.”
She watched him hurry off, then turned back to Jace. “Good morning. Seems you’ve been busy. What time did you start?”
“I had a partial crew in at five.”
“What about Cassie?”
He seemed surprised at her question. “I wasn’t here, but my foreman was. My daughter comes first, Lori. She always will.”
“I didn’t mean … I apologize.”
That didn’t ease the scowl on his face. “Were we supposed to meet this morning?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Did you come to work?” He looked over her attire. “You’re not exactly dressed for a construction site.”
She glanced down at her dark trousers and soft blue sweater under her coat. “I have an appointment at the bank later this morning. I wanted to stop here first to see if everything got off okay. Do you need anything?”
“No, it’s fine. I know it looks a little chaotic, but things are running pretty smoothly for the first day back to work. It’s most of the same crew so they know what I expect from them.”
Lori had no doubt that Jace Yeager was good at his job. “So everything is on schedule?”
“If the weather holds.” The wind picked up and brushed her hair back. “Come inside where it’s a little warmer,” he said. “I’ll introduce you to the foreman.”
“I don’t want to disturb him.”
“As you can see, it’s a little late for that.” He nodded toward the men who were watching.
She could feel a blush rising over her face as she followed Jace inside the building to a worktable that had blueprints spread out on top. A middle-aged man was talking with another workman.
“Hey,