up to see Mack at the top of the stairs. She braced for a barrage of questions about her not staying in her dad’s rooms. He wouldn’t understand her feelings. He had always been her dad’s ally.
“Your daughter is adorable.”
His comment caught her off guard. “Thank you. She’s my whole life.”
“I understand that now more than ever.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m Lucy’s guardian. She came to live with me six months ago. I’ve had a steep learning curve on fatherhood.”
Mack, a dad? She hadn’t expected that. She’d assumed he was watching his niece, not raising her, though she remembered he’d always been good with the kids who came to the lodge and campgrounds. “Where’s Valerie?”
He took a long moment to respond, and she could tell by the shadows in his eyes something was wrong.
“She got into some trouble. She’s in prison for the next decade.”
Her heart clenched. “Oh, Mack.” She reached out and touched his arm. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” Valerie had always been troubled, even back when Carly first met Mack. She’d run away from home, and Mack and his mom had been sick with worry. His dad had walked out on the family when Mack was a toddler.
Mack laid his hand on top of hers, sending a strange current along her nerves, leaving her with a conflicted desire to pull away and remain at the same time.
“She tried to turn her life around, even got a good job on the coast and moved Mom down there to help with Lucy, but after Mom passed away, she fell back into her old ways. Thankfully, she arranged for me to have Lucy.”
“So you live on the coast now?”
“Gulfport for the time being.”
She pulled her hand from beneath his, rubbing it slightly to dispel the lingering sensation of his broad palm. “You’re moving?” A wry smile moved his lips.
“I’d like to raise Lucy here at the lodge. She needs a family, and between me and the Thompsons she could have a good life.”
A long-forgotten memory flashed into her mind of a childhood spent outdoors, hiking, canoeing, climbing trees and sitting around campfires. It was quickly overshadowed by other memories of shouting and anger and betrayal. She squared her shoulders. “If you’re trying to play on my sympathies, it won’t work.” She stepped past him and started down the stairs.
“I’m only telling you what I want for my niece. She deserves a real home, and I can only give her an apartment and part-time father.”
Carly stopped. She was in a similar position, raising her daughter alone without a father. She understood his concerns. Looking over her shoulder, she met his gaze. “Lucy is very fortunate to have you, Mack.”
“I’m the fortunate one. She’s changed my life.”
A thread of empathy fluttered along her nerves. “Children can do that.” Her mind bloomed with a bouquet of sweet memories from childhood until the last one scrolled by, shading all the others in a dark cloud. She moved away toward the stairs.
“Carly, I was sorry to hear about your husband.”
She spun around. “How did you know about that?”
“Your dad told me.”
“How did he know? I never told him.”
A deep frown creased Mack’s forehead. “Why wouldn’t you tell your father that your husband died?”
“A better question might be why would he care?”
“What? Carly, how can you—”
She hurried down the stairs and made her way quickly to the backyard. The fragrant spring air filled her lungs with the familiar scent of water and earth and pine. Giggles floating on the air from the swing set made her smile. It was so good to hear her daughter laugh again. She knew how hard and unfeeling her words sounded to others, but they didn’t understand. Her father was the one who’d destroyed everything. She swallowed the old hurt, and smiled at Ella and Lucy on the swing.
“Hello, girls. Are you having fun?”
Ella grinned and dragged her toes on the ground to slow the swing. “This is the best swing ever. It goes really high.”
“Mr. Wade built it a long time ago.” Lucy made the announcement with a very serious tone.
“I know. He built it for me when I was your age.”
“Who’s Mr. Wade?”
Ella’s question nearly brought Carly to her knees. In her animosity toward her father, she had totally forgotten that he was Ella’s grandpa, too. “Mr. Wade was my daddy.” She had some explaining to do. Coming back here was going to be much harder than she’d ever dreamed. “Ella, why don’t you come inside for a moment and I’ll show you which room we’re in. Then you can come back out and play with Lucy.”
“Okay.”
Lucy followed them inside.
“Mommy, can we stay here for a long time? I like it.”
Even her own daughter was falling under the spell of the lodge. Carly’s heart wrenched. “We’ll see, honey. I don’t know yet how long we’ll be here.”
“I hope it’s a whole week because I want to play more with Lucy.”
She’d never felt so outnumbered. Everyone but her wanted her to stay at Longleaf. Why couldn’t they understand that the memories were too painful, the betrayal too deep.
This place had torn her family apart.
She could never live here again.
Mack had been patient long enough. He’d held his tongue during the delicious feast Thelma had prepared. As they sat around one of the large tables in the lodge dining room, Dwayne and Thelma tried their best to keep the conversation light by talking about amusing guests that had stayed at the lodge and reminiscing about happy times in the past. Carly had only nodded and made a few muffled responses, choosing to stare at her food most of the time. The girls had helped keep the meal from being awkward by sharing the fun they’d had during the day.
When Carly announced that she was putting Ella to bed, Mack had to speak up. Time was crucial, and he wasn’t about to let Longleaf Lodge go to auction and end up with an owner who didn’t understand or appreciate the history and significance of the place. He stopped her at the foot of the stairs.
“We need to talk, Carly. We can’t put this off any longer.” The look on her face told him that was exactly what she wanted to do. She glanced up at her daughter, who was hurrying up to her room, and her expression shifted to one of resignation. When she faced him again, her brown eyes were filled with determination.
“Fine. I’ll come back down after I put Ella to bed.”
Mack watched her as she took the steps, each graceful movement reminding him of his old attraction. His heart skipped a beat and he turned away. That was a long time ago and the will loomed between them now, making any kind of friendship difficult.
He stood by the stone fireplace staring into the empty firebox, his mind scrolling through old memories, all of them centering around Carly. He’d fallen for her the first time he’d seen her—not in a romantic way since she’d only been twelve, but she was cute and smart and her cheery personality had been adorable. As the years went on, she’d changed into a feisty teenager with a heart for the guests. When she’d turned sixteen, things had started to shift. Mack had admired her from afar. Her being the boss’s daughter and an underage teen were obstacles that