A Father's Second Chance. Mindy Obenhaus

Some kind of nut?”

      One dark brow lifted.

      “What if the bear comes after me once he leaves the garage?”

      “He won’t, because you’ll be waiting inside the house. Once the bear’s gone, you shut everything down.”

      She rubbed her arms, barely believing what she’d just heard. She couldn’t go back over there. Not with that monster on the loose.

      Gage raked his fingers through his short hair and let go a sigh. “What’s the code?”

      “Code?”

      “For the keypad.”

      “You mean you’ll—”

      “Just as soon as you give me the code.”

      She chewed her bottom lip. “Um...”

      “Great. You don’t know it, do you?”

      “I do. I just have to remember what it is.” She focused on the rustic coffee table littered with cups, papers and crayons.

      “Well, if you want that bear out of your house, I suggest you remember.”

      “I will.” She tugged Emma closer, rubbing the soft sleeve of the child’s flannel nightgown. “But, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little freaked out.” A feeling she definitely wasn’t used to.

      He shoved his bare feet into a pair of boots that were next to the door. “By the way, girls, this is Celeste. Celeste, Cassidy—” he motioned to the oldest girl, who sat in the second chair “—and you remember Emma.”

      The child beside her grinned.

      “I like your princess pajamas.” Cassidy sent her a shy smile.

      Celeste’s head dropped in dismay as she surveyed her attire. Being caught in her pajamas was bad enough, but to have Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White emblazoned on the front was downright humiliating. Not to mention the pink and blue hearts all over the fleece bottoms.

      “5-9-2-7.” She jerked her head up.

      Gage took a step closer. “Come again?”

      She repeated the numbers, slower this time.

      “Is your front door open?”

      “Yes. But...what if he doesn’t leave?”

      “He’ll leave. I guarantee you startled him every bit as much as he startled you.”

      “I doubt it,” she said under her breath.

      He reached for the door. “Girls, you need to get back in bed.”

      Only then did Celeste realize that her theatrics had probably woken them.

      Emma followed him. “But, Daddy, we wanna see the bear.”

      As much as Celeste wanted to see the bear, too, if only to reassure herself that he was indeed gone, she knew she’d upset their routine. And since tomorrow was a school day...

      “Sorry, Emma.” Celeste stood. “It’s late and you have school in the morning.” She laid a hand on the child’s shoulder. “You need to do what your Daddy says.”

      The frowns on their faces nearly ripped her heart out. How did Gage ever discipline them?

      “How about I read you a story?”

      That seemed to turn their frowns upside down.

      “Night, Daddy.” Cassidy hugged him first, quickly followed by Emma.

      As the two girls started down the hallway off the living room, Gage opened the door.

      “I’ll try to have them settled before you get back,” Celeste said.

      He nodded. “Good.” Then closed the door behind him.

      * * *

      Gage tromped across the street to the condo he hadn’t seen anybody go into or out of in recent months. Ouray was a small town. But what were the odds that Celeste would live right across the street from him?

      Roughing a hand over his face, he glimpsed the starry sky. He was never going to get the girls to sleep. They were beyond wired tonight, probably from the cookies Celeste gave them. Which meant he could forget about finishing that quote. Or the laundry. Or anything else, for that matter. And he didn’t even want to think about the challenges he’d have waking them up tomorrow morning.

      He frowned as he approached the well-maintained condo. If he accepted this project with Celeste, would she bang on his door at all hours of the night, telling him how to do his job?

      Surely she wouldn’t.

      Would she?

      Not unless she found another bear in her garage.

      He’d never forget the sight of her standing on his front porch, her long blond hair piled precariously on top of her head, eyes big as saucers...right before she passed out.

      Not quite the tough facade he’d seen this afternoon. When he carried her inside, she’d looked so...small. Fragile. And smelled of vanilla.

      Chucking the annoying thought, he lifted the lid on the remote keypad and punched in the numbers Celeste had given him. He should be at home, making sure Emma and Cassidy were in bed. Not catering to some city girl. He’d done enough of that with Tracy.

      Light spilled from the garage as the door began its ascent. Gage stepped inside the front door, only to discover the window was frosted.

      He peered down the narrow hall, then up the stairwell. Only one way to get the view he needed.

      He climbed the first set of steps and paused at the landing to check the view out of the small rectangular window. Perfect. But what was that loud whistling noise?

      With no sign of the bear, he took the second set of stairs two at a time. The beautifully decorated living room stopped him in his tracks, though. Looking at the brown leather furniture with its perfectly placed throw pillows, he felt as though he were invading Celeste’s privacy. Like he shouldn’t be here.

      Probably because he shouldn’t. He should be with his daughters. Not leaving them alone with a stranger. And for all practical purposes, Celeste was a stranger. Aside from the fact that she was a good cook, bossy and had an appreciation for historic architecture, what did he really know about her?

      Training his ear on that incessant whistling, he whisked past the pristine dining area and rounded into the kitchen. On the stove, steam spewed from the spout of a kettle. He quickly turned it off and moved the kettle to another burner before marching back down to the window without so much as another glance at Celeste’s inner sanctum.

      He resumed his post just as the bear wandered into the driveway. It was a young one. Not a cub, by any means, but not an adult either. With the whistling silenced, Gage could hear the animal’s unhappy grunts, as well as a few of his own.

      The bear continued down the street, but Gage watched until it was out of sight before returning to the first level. He hurried past the bathroom and bedroom that were off the foyer then entered the garage via the interior door.

      Oh, man. He admired the black ragtop Mustang parked inside. “Talk about a sweet ride.” He slowly circled the vehicle, looking for signs of damage. A couple of scratches on the rear bumper but, lucky for Celeste, the canvas was untouched.

      Scanning the rest of the single-car space, he shook his head. That bear must have had a good ol’ time. And based on what little he saw of Celeste’s immaculate house, she was not going to like this. What a mess.

      As he suspected, the back door was open. He closed it and twisted the dead bolt, making sure it was secure, then grabbed a lawn and leaf bag from the box on the shelf and started collecting the trash that had been scattered.

       Why are you doing this?

      He