Fool's Gold Collection Volume 4: Halfway There / Just One Kiss / Two of a Kind / Three Little Words

He wore a white shirt tucked into jeans. Not the least bit threatening. Still, she couldn’t help thinking she could make a dash for the back door if she had to.

“I’m not the man I was,” he told her. “For years, I had lousy priorities. I lost my wife and my son because of that.”

“You didn’t lose your son,” she told him. “You walked away. There’s a difference.”

“You’re right. I take responsibility for what happened with Ned. I’ve tried to see him, but he has no interest in me.” His green eyes grew thoughtful. “I can’t blame him for that, but I do wish things had been different.”

She tensed. “You’re here because of Lillie.”

“I’d like a chance to get to know her.”

She wanted to tell him no. To scream at him to get out of here and never come back. Lillie didn’t need another male relative breaking her heart.

“I’m retired now,” he went on. “I have been for a few years. I took stock of my life and realized I’d focused on the wrong things.” He gave her a slight smile. “I went into therapy and figured out what I’d done wrong. I want to do better, be better, for my granddaughter.”

“Can you think of a single reason why I should trust you?”

Steve shook his head. “Not one.”

She could feel herself getting angry. She wanted to scream that nothing about this was fair. Instead, she spoke the truth.

“I blame you for Ned’s behavior. He did what you taught him. He walked away. Do you know he never sees Lillie? He signed away all rights to her so he wouldn’t have to pay child support. She’s a sweet, smart little girl and I’m the one who had to explain why she doesn’t have a daddy anymore. For now she accepts what I’ve told her, but what do you think is going to happen when she’s older? When she figures out that her father simply wasn’t interested in her? How much do you think that’s going to hurt?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Being sorry isn’t good enough. It’s bad enough that Ned left me, but he also abandoned my daughter and I’ll never forgive him for that. There is absolutely no reason for me to trust you with Lillie. Not ever.”

He held out his hands, palms up. “You’re right. There is no reason to trust me. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m Lillie’s grandfather and I want to get to know her. I want to be a part of her life. I’m asking for a chance with her.”

“What’s the plan? Are you going to show up a few times, get her to like you, then disappear and break her heart?”

“No,” he said quietly. “I’ve moved nearby. I want to be close to the only family I have left. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to earn your trust.” He hesitated, as if he had more he wanted to say, then shook his head. “Please think about it,” he added.

Patience hated that an outright no wasn’t an option. While there was nothing he could say that would make her trust him, that wasn’t the point. If Steve wasn’t a complete jerk, then Lillie deserved to know her grandfather. She deserved to have more family, more people to care about her.

Steve pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket. “Here’s my cell number. I’ll be around. You can limit my visits, supervise them or make me post a bond.” He gave her a quick smile. “Whatever it takes, Patience. I’m sorry for how my actions affected you. If I could change them, I would. Believe me.”

He handed her the card, then left. She shoved the card into her back pocket and did her best to forget about it. Having Lillie’s grandfather show up like that was one thing she didn’t want to have to deal with.

* * *

JUSTICEKNOCKED ON the house’s front door. A couple of minutes later, Ava opened it and smiled at him.

“Patience isn’t here,” she said by way of greeting. “She’s working at the salon this afternoon.”

“You’re the one I came to see.”

Ava laughed and invited him in. “I will take that comment in the spirit in which you meant it and not infer any other motive.”

Justice grinned. “Thank you.”

She led the way to the sofa. Today her steps weren’t as steady as they had been before and she was using a cane. The disease, he thought, wishing there was a way for her to get better.

When they were both seated, she turned to him. “How can I help?”

“Lillie came to see me.” He explained about Zack and how Lillie was uncomfortable around the boy. “She wants me to find out what’s going on and make it stop. She says she’s not being bullied, but I’m less sure. Under normal circumstances, I’d confront the guy myself. But he’s a ten-year-old kid.”

“I can see how that would make you uncomfortable,” Ava told him. “I didn’t know Lillie was concerned about anyone.”

“I think she came to me because I’m a professional. But this is out of my area of expertise.”

“I understand.” Ava thought for a second. “I’m going to call the school and arrange a meeting with the counselor and the teacher. Maybe we can get an answer that way. I’ll tell Patience, but ask her to let you and me handle this. That way if Lillie asks if she was there, you can say no.”

“I appreciate your help.”

Ava smiled. “You’ve always been very sweet to my girl. Even when you were much younger. I’m happy to help now.”

He wasn’t sure he would define his feelings as “sweet,” but that wasn’t a conversation he was going to have with Patience’s mother. He wasn’t sure he would even have it with Patience herself. He didn’t know what was happening between them. He knew what he wanted, but going there meant inviting danger. His need to protect Patience was more important than his desire for her. Which left him with something of a dilemma.

CHAPTER SIX (#ulink_f1716e84-7080-50ad-a8e6-2cca14917291)

“THANKSFOR meeting me,” Patience said as she slid into a booth at the Fox and Hound. “I’m sure I sounded mysterious on the phone.”

“There was a James Bond element to your request,” Justice told her. He mumbled something suspiciously like “It runs in the family.” But that didn’t make sense, so she shrugged it off.

She’d called him that morning and asked if he was free for lunch. She had a million things she needed to be doing, but this was too important to put off. Plus, who could complain about having lunch with an attractive man, even if that man confused the heck out of her?

Wilma, the sixtysomething, gum-snapping waitress, peered at Justice.

“I don’t know you, but you have the look of my Frank. That’s a compliment, in case you were wondering.”

“Thank you,” Justice said.

Wilma turned to Patience. “He with you?”

“Sort of.”

Wilma’s penciled-in brows rose. “Well, isn’t that the cat’s pajamas? What’ll you have?”

“Diet Coke,” Patience said, knowing she could no more stop the town from paying attention to her and her personal life than she could stop the rotation of the earth.

“Coffee for me,” Justice told the waitress. “Black.”

She wrote down their orders. “There was a small accident in the kitchen earlier. Nothing to worry about, but I’d get one of the wraps if I was you.”

Patience held in a groan. Obviously they should have gone somewhere else. “Thanks for the information.”

Justice looked at her. “Is there a wrap you recommend?”